We're continuing and venturing a bit further on the Titus Canyon trail, which, according to the guides, requires a 4x4. Why this trail? Because Zitounet’s topic, giving Death Valley 5 stars, and his various posts about this national park, piqued my curiosity. And I thought, if he gave it 5 stars after seeing all the national parks and monuments in the West, it’s not just for Badwater and the Zabriskie Point viewpoint, which many people limit themselves to.
Okay, let’s be honest, the first part of the trail isn’t exactly thrilling—it’s actually pretty boring.
However, at the start of the climb toward Reds Pass, the scenery changes dramatically!
The mountains start taking on colors. With this overcast sky and rare breaks of sunshine, I only take a few photos because they’d turn out poorly. Every ray of sunlight is put to use. Note that the trail is one-way for 90% of its length—only the last part is two-way. The temperature at 2 PM is only 4°C! So yes, Death Valley has a winter too.
After about an hour, we pass two guys equipped with tripods and photography gear, patiently waiting at a strategic spot for the sun to finally show itself. They might be waiting a while.
Here’s what we see as we pass them 😕
But what a feast for the eyes—I can’t say it enough! Every turn brings new large-scale rock colors!
I don’t know it yet, but we’ll experience the same sensation on a hike the next day. It’s a bit like the photos of Artist Palette, but on a grand scale!
We finally arrive at Leadfield, of which almost nothing remains: 2-3 tin shacks and a few scattered pieces of metal here and there.
The main attraction of Titus Canyon Road is the trail itself, not this ghost town.
After a few easy washes or ruts that still require good ground clearance, we reach a real challenge. 😮
The photos don’t necessarily capture the reality, but the passage is barely wider than the car, and above all, there’s a huge rock sticking out.
A series of stones have been placed around this rock by people, but if you skid on them, you’re guaranteed to have a major mechanical issue under the car. After more than 5 minutes of work to find other rocks and wedge them properly, we proceed very slowly.
It passes with just a few centimeters to spare underneath and on the sides. Not sure a long-wheelbase 4x4 would make it without scraping!
Another very rough wash passage where we scrape the undercarriage. After checking, no damage. But our progress is much slower than expected: count 3 hours 15 minutes total without Fall Canyon.
As time goes on, by the time we reach the Fall Canyon trailhead, we no longer have time for this 8 km hike with negligible elevation gain. 😕
No big regrets since the light is poor, and walking in a slot canyon without good light isn’t very enjoyable.
We finally reach the last part of Titus Canyon, the two-way section.
We pass several non-4x4 vehicles struggling in the wash, where ruts and moderately deep sand follow one after another (didn’t take a photo of this section).
We even suspect a passenger car of not being able to turn around as it advanced and ending up beyond reasonable limits. The people inside don’t look too confident, and they might not make it back before nightfall at the rate they’re going...
The last switchbacks in the canyon are really great,
and then the sun finally reappears just as we leave the slot canyon!! Grrr!
The breaks in the clouds combined with a threatening sky make for some nice shots, but what a wind on the road!!
I wanted to stop at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes to experience the sunset, which is why I skipped Fall Canyon earlier. But now, it’s impossible to get out! You can see a few rare people braving the storm, eating sand like it’s raining.
We head straight to Stovepipe Wells, where the wind is just as strong. For a first night camping, we’re in for it 🤪. Around 5:30 PM, the wind still hasn’t let up! We try as best we can to set up the tent, but the only thing we risk doing is tearing the fabric or breaking the stakes!! Impossible to set up anything...
So we decide to sleep in the car.
Meanwhile, we do our hygiene at the campground restrooms, which involves using baby wipes soaked in soap on a large scale—all over the body. If it cleans babies’ bottoms, why wouldn’t it clean the rest of the body 😏? Do babies complain about it?? We use a lot, but we’re happy with the result! Thankfully, I packed 4 big packs in the suitcases... 😛
For dinner, because of this darn wind, we have all sorts of trouble heating the pot of pasta, and we end up eating cold pasta with cheese, seasoned with crunchy sand, while getting sand in our eyes and ears. 🙁
And to think there are at least 5 tents already set up around us, firmly anchored in the sandy ground! They must have arrived well before the storm and had time to set up and secure them properly before the elements unleashed.
Night: one word comes to mind—it’s the worst night we’ve ever had. Goodbye car nights, never again 😕, at least not with 4 of us! 2 people is comfortable, but 1 adult with 2-3 kids is impossible...
Tim slept widthwise in the back of the trunk while the three of us adults were crammed lengthwise. At least we didn’t get cold, we were so packed in! 😏
What worries me is that Tim had to go to the bathroom 4 times during the night. I hope he didn’t catch a chill, otherwise it’ll affect the rest of the trip. From now on, hats will be mandatory all day.
Summary: Last night we were still at San Francisco airport, and less than 24 hours later, we’ve visited the Alabama Hills and already enjoyed Death Valley a lot. We’ve had a day as intense as three others at a relaxed pace, but it suits us—the kids aren’t complaining. 😎
Alabama Hills: 16/20 A fun, exotic park, not crowded, with landscapes similar to Joshua Tree (without the Joshua trees), plus lots of little arches to discover! We’ll come back as a full group to catch a sunset...
Titus Canyon: 16/20 Worth doing again in the sun for an even better experience (possible even in summer) to enjoy the landscapes that are truly worth the detour! I understand why Zitounet recommends this activity in Death Valley.
