Starting the day with a soak in a hot spring is a great thing. It’s not every day on our adventures in our Toyota FJ Cruiser that we get to start our day soaking, well I guess this is the first time and it was a relaxed way to get rolling. With a short day planned we did not need an early start so the relaxed pace worked very well.

Our destination today was the Eureka Sand Dunes at the north end of Death Valley. The planed drive would take us over Steel Pass and down Dedeckera Canyon. This route again was supposed to present some challenge to drivers.

The climb to the top of Steel Pass was a slow easy grade with much of it spent in a dry wash.  We made a few stops on the way to the top including one to add another 5 gallons to the tank.  Being our third day out from the last gas station the FJ’s needle was finally dipping towards empty.  For trips like this we carry an additional 15 gallons of fuel so we do not have to worry about getting away from civilization.

After cresting Steel Pass we started the decent down Dedeckera Canyon. Most of the drive down the canyon is an easy dirt road that winds down through the canyon walls.  Towards the bottom the canyon starts to narrow and we finally arrived at the narrows section. This section includes the main obstacles of the drive. For us it was any easy drive down the 4 ledges that make up the narrows.

After going down the section we had the pleasure of watching 2 Volvo C303 and a number of rovers climb through the technical section. The Volvos are very cool looking expedition 4x4s.

Leaving Dedeckera Canyon we had our first view of the Eureka Sand dunes. These dunes are the highest in California and offer a spectacular view. Finding a private camping area was not difficult. There are a number of short tracks of the main road that have camp sites at the end. We chose one that would provide us easy access to the east end of the Dunes.

After getting camp set LJ and I headed out to the dunes to see how close to the top we could climb.  The dunes offered some wonderful scenery and photo opportunities and a fun place to play.

 Additional Death Valley Photos

Death Valley Day 6 Google KML File

 

Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7