Navigation and Unpaved Roads in Death Valley National Park

Navigation and Unpaved Roads in Death Valley National Park
A friend of mine emailed me yesterday and sent pictures of folks on a workshop in Death Valley, asking me if I could identify the canyon they had gotten lost in, while trying to reach The Racetrack. Roughly 2/3 of the roads in the park are unpaved, and their condition can vary from week to week. A number of articles have described what can happen when you venture onto those roads without adequate knowledge or preparation:

Death by GPS in Desert
http://www.ohranger.com/death-valley/news/2011/death-gps-desert

"We expect it every summer," said Callagan. "It's actually more unusual to end up without any deaths. It seems like we have one or two every summer."

The GPS: A Fatally Misleading Travel Companion
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/26/137646147/the-gps-a-fatally-misleading-travel-companion

Experts Warn of 'Death by GPS' as More People Visit Remote Wildernesses
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/04/death-gps-rise/

Don't trust a GPS unit to direct you down a passable road! Here's the National Park Service's take on the subject:


Using GPS Navigation
GPS Navigation to sites to remote locations like Death Valley are notoriously unreliable. Numerous travelers have been directed to the wrong location or even dead-end or closed roads. Travelers should always carry up-to-date road maps to check the accuracy of GPS directions.
DO NOT DEPEND ONLY ON YOUR VEHICLE GPS NAVIGATION SYSTEM.

To explore the park's unpaved roads, the first thing you'll need is a detailed map, but bear in mind that the map is worthless without checking with rangers on current conditions for every road you'll travel. The second thing you'll want is tools and other supplies to get yourself out of the most likely breakdown situations: flat tires, radiator hose leaks, getting your vehicle mired in deep sand, and so on. The National Park Service recommends carrying two full-size spare tires, and they're not over-reacting. I've gotten 2 flat tires at once in Death Valley, and the last ranger I met in the park had encountered four vehicles with flats so far that day, on that one road. That leads to the third precaution: carry survival supplies, enough to enable you to wait with your vehicle for days (the best bet), or to walk out of wherever you've driven, in the weather likely to occur at the time of year you're there (but not in conditions which could risk your life via heat stroke or hypothermia). Fourth, bring a first aid kit, and someone who knows how to use it. Taking CPR and general first aid courses are a good start, but you may be hours from medical care, so someone who has taken an Outdoor Emergency Care course or a full EMT course is the best bet. In the case of a rattlesnake bite for example, those old-fashioned rattlesnake bite kits are worthless or harmful, identifying the species of rattlesnake can be important to selecting the appropriate anti-venom, and knowing where you can arrange for rapid access to medical care may be critical to the outcome.

Although not a requirement, the most useful thing you can bring with you is someone who knows the park well, from years of exploring it. Although cell phones are useless in 99% of the park's terrain, there are small areas of service that may span only 100-200 yards of many of the park's roads, and knowing where these are, and which cellular providers are likely to be picked up in each, can literally save someone's life.

Most park visitors stick to the viewpoints close to the park's paved roads, and most visits to the park are relatively safe and uneventful. Some of the parks most interesting locations however are in more remote areas. With a little advance planning and preparation, these areas can be explored and enjoyed without undue risk.