Vegas / Death Valley in summer

<p>I know there is a lot of stuff on here already but I'm planning a summer trip soon to Vegas and Death Valley. Anything I should especially see or avoid since it is going to be summer?<br>

<br />Thanks</p>

<p>How many days are you planning?</p>

<p>Going for about 10 days. <br>

Also if anyone knows the area and wants to meet up for some photography let me know!</p>

<p>You're going to Death Valley in the SUMMER?? You know why they call it Death Valley, right? And why places inside Death Valley are called names like Furnace Creek? Expect temperatures over 120, getting down at night to a cool 98! <br>

See or Avoid? See the tops of the closest mountains. Avoid getting out of your air conditioned car.<br>

Well, I'd forget Death Valley until at least October. Go North a little, like Bishop. Bishop will also be hot, but you can journey up to the Bristlecones at 12000 feet, or the other way into the Sierras, hike to some mountain lakes. </p>

<p>I presume you know that it'll be very hot and have confidence in your ability to prepare for and handle that whilst enjoying yourself. </p>

<p>To me, the other big disadvantage of DV in summer is the long days and the harsh light and glare. Nearly all the really good photographs you'll see of DV are made around dawn or in the half hour or so afterwards. Same at sunset. Look up what time sunrise and sunset are going to be on your dates. I anticipate that you might have a very early morning and a sunset about the time most people will be eating dinner, with a long and not very productive day (photographically) between them. Unless you're staying in the park its going to be tougher to hit those times. The best hotel, the expensive Furnace Creek Inn will be closed for the season. If you have thoughts about staying outside the park and rolling in about 9am after a comfortable breakfast then leaving at say 5pm to catch a shower and a margarita before dinner, then as a photographer you're heading for a disappointing experience. </p>

<p>Have you considered Zion, Bryce, or the Grand Canyon? They are all much higher in elevation and therefore cooler. I've only been to Death Valley in March when it was around 70F. Where do you live? If you're used to high temps and high humidity you may be okay. I've been in Moab in July when it was 100. Coming from North Carolina where it breaks 100 with extremely high humidity I found Moab's dry 100 no problem at all. Take a few gallons of water and you'll probably be fine.</p>

<p>I'm somewhat used to dealing with heat (although not 120 plus.) (Traveling from NJ but used to live in Tucson.) David you're right though about having limited time. I do all my best photography before the sun is up. If the sun comes up later that really give me extra time to work instead of waking up super super early. I'll check out Bishop.<br>

Walt, I've already been to Zion and actually may head back there for a few days on the same trip (looks like a 5 hour drive) I had never been as tired as I was after hiking all day through the Narrows carrying 30 plus pounds of photo equipment. (narrows highly recommended, carrying 30 pounds of photo gear not.) I really enjoyed zion but didn't get a chance to do angels landing trail or visit the subway. Bryce was disappointing when I visited (possibly because it was mid day) I haven't been to the grand canyon yet but as I'm attempting to visit all National Parks I want to save that one for later (when I'll hopefully have more time.)</p>

<p>Daytime temps (from NOAA weax sites) are ranging from 80s in the high country like Grand Canyon North Rim and Bryce to well over 100 degrees in Death Valley. they are also having some monsoonal thunderstorms in some desert areas. Places like Zion are possible day trips from LV but it's not easy. The GC and Bryce are farther. Last time I was in Vegas for a June graduation I watched a woman lean up against a guard rail at Boulder Dam to lean over an edge for a shot, she burned her legs. Her husband, sensitive soul I guess, asked if it was hot?</p>

<p>Bishop and the eastern Sierra, Mammoth, Mono Lake isn't a day trip from Vegas but not too difficult to reach with a goodly drive. But a complete different world from the rain shadowed basin and range territory to the east.</p>

<p>I was under the impression that the poster was not going to do everything based on day trips out of Vegas. 10 days just one of those spots (especially vegas) is too much for me. Drive around and enjoy a few different areas.</p>

<p>Wow, that's pretty impressive. There are a ton of places to see and visit in Death Valley. You can check out my gallery here:<br>

<a href="http://aaronlinsdau.com/usa/california/deathvalley/deathvalley.html">http://aaronlinsdau.com/usa/california/deathvalley/deathvalley.html</a><a href="http://aaronlinsdau.com/usa/california/deathvalley/deathvalley.html"></a><br>

for some shooting ideas. The first time I went, I spent 5 days and still missed quite a few locations. Go with a high-clearance vehicle and you'll be able to see more than with a small car.<br>

Please note - be careful. Don't go into the dune field and expect to stay there past early-early morning. You might dehydrate, pass out and perish before you know what happened.<br>

Vegas - valley of fire is always good. Lake Mead will be roasting but you can enjoy the water.</p>

<p>Think also about going south. Go to Baker on I-15, have a Gyros at the Mad Greek and then go down Kelbaker road to Kelso depot, kelso dunes, and other interesting points. Check out the East Mohave National Monument (used to be Scenic Area). It'll be hot there too. Take a gallon of water per person per day. </p>

<p>Pitch a tent at Mahogany Flats, way up in the relatively cool Panamint Mountains. (8000+ ft elevation.) Sleep during the days and shoot the valley by the light of the moon and twilight / sunrise hours. </p>

<p>Thunderstorms are my favorite thing to photograph, so maybe summer is the time for me to go. I am probably going to spend 3-4 days in death valley and 3 days in zion and hitting a few other places on the way like valley of fire. I want to revisit antelope canyon in Page (and maybe other slots if I can find them.) </p>

<p>+1 for the Panamints, especially <a href="../photo/8589217">Rainbow Canyon</a> which is one of my personal favorite stops there.</p>

<p>If you're interested in ghost town ambiance then go check out Darwin to the west of the Panamints, with an optional 3- or 4-day loop around through Lone Pine up north the 395 then from Big Pine head east along 168 and 266 and in Lida Junction take the 95 south to Beatty. Distinct advantages of such a loop would be (1) a chance to cool off slightly more effectively for a day or so in pine forest on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada & Mt Whitney, and (2) the opportunity to visit the <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gDfxMDT8MwRydLA1cj72DTgBAjAwjQL8h2VAQAU_HvEQ!!/?ss=110504&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=FSE_003693&navid=100000000000000&pnavid=null&position=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&ttype=attmain&pname=Inyo%20National%20Forest-%20Special%20Places">Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest</a> just off the 168.</p>

<p>Or if you head out southwards from Panamint Valley then some other off the beaten path stops would include another ghost town (Ballarat) and the decidedly odd <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=ridgecrest,+ca&ll=35.616175,-117.371836&spn=0.028573,0.063515&oe=utf-8&gl=us&t=h&z=15">Trona Pinnacles</a>. And last but not least, east of DV and Death Valley Junction just across the state border is <a href="http://www.fws.gov/desertcomplex/ashmeadows/">Ash Meadows</a> National Wildlife Refuge, which is well worth a dawn or dusk visit if you take the more scenic 160 to travel from Vegas to DV or vice versa.</p>

<p>I would avoid doing anything outside during the day... remember, "only Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the heat of the noon-day sun!"</p>

<p>I just got back from Nevada. My advice: bring a polarizer and drink a shitload of water. We only drank a heck of a lot of water, which wasn't enough.</p>

<p>I just got back from my trip to the southwest. I just wanted to check in with everyone that gave me tips and say thanks. Unfortunately we only were able to spend one night at Death Valley. Although it was said, let me repeat that the park is enormous and it takes a long time to get from one spot to another. We went to the racetrack although the Ranger recommended against taking the rental Jeep out there (well that's what I got it for so I was going.) I dropped the air pressure to 35psi which I figured would be fine for riding on the highway later until I got to a gas station. This really seemed to help, I could do 45 mph over most of the dirt road not getting shaken by the washboard. Even though I was out there around 6pm the light wasn't as good as I would have liked. The bigger problem was that there was a cloud sitting right in front of the sun refusing to move resulting in waiting a long time for small spots of usable sunlight to get the contrast I wanted. After the GPS said it would take 6 hours to get from the racetrack to the Furnace Creek Inn we decided we better leave. (It takes more like 2 hours if you go 45 on the dirt road.) The ranger told me of another place to see the same tracks that was 12 miles from scotty's castle, hike out 300 yards from the sign that says soft shoulder (unfortunately I didn't have time.) Zabriske point wasn't that exciting to me. The dunes by stovepipe were nice but we got there late (after sunset) and as we saw 2 sidewinders we decided to call it a night. I found that wrapping a few ice cubes in a bandana and tying around your neck really helps to keep you cool. </p>

<p>We spent most of the trip in Zion where I waited several mornings to get a permit to hike the Subway. (The first night people waiting for the first 20 permits had actually been there since 10PM the night before!) The Subway hike took us 11 hours. Well worth it. Although I specifically brought a polarizer for the subway I forgot to use it (to my chagrin.) I lost my tripod in a frigid pool after a repel and had to swim back to find it, shivered for 15 minutes afterwards. We took a canyoneering course from Zion Adventure Company, had a good time and saw a little known slot canyon. We also did the Narrows hike, angel landing, hidden canyon, observation point. Tons of great hikes in Zion. Cable mountain lodge was a 2 minute walk to the park and really nice. Stopped by Fatali's gallery. I really admire his work. Also talked with David Petit and Stefan who have galleries in Springdale. All friendly guys with great work available.<br>

We went to Page, AZ. Upper antelope was sickeningly crowded with tourists. I wouldn't recommend going anymore. We did lower too which was very rushed without the "photographer's permit." I don't mind giving the Navajo the tribal fees and the overpriced tour fees since our govt screwed them over so bad but these beautiful slot canyons which you have seen as peaceful and wonderful feel more like a crowded Disney park now. For some reason a few of the Navajos kept shouting (yelping) in lower antelope which was extremely annoying. Our tour guide for upper, owl and rattlesnake canyons (Vernon) was awesome, he seriously knew his photography (had a D700) told us Native legend and beliefs and was really friendly. </p>

<p>Red Rocks canyon outside of Vegas was nice. If you're in Vegas go see it but don't make an extra trip out there otherwise. </p>

<p>I've put a couple shots up on flickr here:<br>

www.flickr.com/photos/manasquantom</p>