Solo Hiking & Van Camping; My Adventure in pictures.

I worked up the nerve to plan a trip and cross 3 things of my 2019 list.

1. Do a solo hike
2. Camp in a National Park
3. Camp in a minivan #vanlife

 

I chose  Death Valley it was a National Park within a few hours from home and I had never been

First stop Furnace Creek Visitor Center

After reading some information and picking a camp site I went and set up my home for the night, simple but cozy.

Spent the afternoon enjoying the weather, people watching and reading.

Next morning tested out my GasOne campstove and prepped breakfast

Oatmeal and coffee…(stove worked great quick and easy setup and breakdown)

The plan was  to visit Badwater Basin and see the salt flats first thing but rain the night before resulted in some road closure so I ended up at Zabriski Point while waiting for the road to open.

I was not disappointed Zabriski Point provided some awesome views.

and since I wasn’t sure when the road would open figured I would start my day with some hiking.

4.14 miles and my first solo hike completed.

After which I was back on track to head to Badwater or so i thought, the road had opened but only to the Golden Canyon Trail at which point it was closed again so I hiked about a mile around Golden Canyon.

Followed by a snack did some reading, journaling and took a nap while i waited. (one of the benefits of camping in your vehicle)

A few hours later the road was finally open and I was on my way.

One last stop to Artist Palette before heading home.

I had a really good time, a trip full of firsts for me I am already planning my next trip back there are so many trails I still want to do.  My  biggest lessons I learned on this trip were:

1. Download, download, download: I have been on enough hikes and been to a few National Parks so I know not to expect great if any reception but I didn’t think about the amount of time I would spend without service in my vehicle and there is only so much reading I can do at one time. So next time I will download more music, podcasts and possibly a couple movies to have on hand.
2. Don’t freak out and go with the flow: Not everything went as planned I wasn’t able to camp at the campground I had originally wanted to because when I arrived it was full, I considered overnight rains causing close roads and there to be so many delays, but with every minor setback I remained calm and made the best of it.
3. Check the weather right before you go: According to the weather I checked a week out i was expecting sunny with a high of  85 degrees the duration of my trip, when I arrived however the weather had changed to high of 64 with intermittent rain showers for the day and a half I was there, and rain it did.

 

 

Have you been to Death Valley? Whats your favorite hike or sight in the park?