Crossing Diary

Day 1 (8/3)

After a long drive to the northern most point of Death Valley National Park deep into Last Chance Mountains Range, I assembled my cart and loaded it with water and gear. At 2pm, I was on my way. The dirt road twisted among Joshua trees and cacti, along a dry riverbed and constantly downhill for about 20km/12mi. Controlling the heavy cart (340lbs/155kg) downhill was a long strenuous core and quad workout. I dropped 900m/3000ft in a few hours.

As the view opened on the valley, I had my first flat. I had no flat in years and within hours in DV, first puncture. Not a good omen! Found a cactus spine in my tire and fixed it quickly. As the sun was setting, I reached the bottom the hill and faced my challenge for the next day: Crater Pass. A brutal climb that would take me over to the main valley. With little of day light left, I huffed and puffed the first mile with a grade of 10%. With the cart in tow and the energy spent on this short distance, I was worried about the next 4.5mi/7km. At least, I'll tackle it in the coolest hours of the day.

I setup my camp, i.e. lay my mat, ate some and tried to sleep watching the full moon rise. The high today was probably in high 90s degF or low 100s degf (35/38 degC). And I covered about 25km/15.5mi.

Day 2 (8/4)

I was up at 4:45 am and started just before first light crept over the pass. Temperature was about 78degF/25degC. It started steep and took a lot of energy and mind games to get to the top of the crater pass, catching my breath every few minutes. The average slope was 6.5% with section over 10%. Passed an abandoned sulfur mine and the dirt road started to dip. Downhill was tough and followed by more uphills. Some of downhills were so steep that I couldn’t quite control the weight of the cart and skidded in front of it. Brutal workout.

Late morning, I made it to Crankshafts Junction. Followed by a long flat dirt track for miles but with temperature rising, the wind stronger and more up and down hills, I had to stop mid-afternoon for a while. I was exhausted. Took an hour nap/rest under my shelter (flapping in the wind) and felt better. First nosebleed. High was almost 107degF/41degC today. I had to battle head wind for the rest of the day, with relentless hills. I finally set camp at 8:30. Well, I slept on the side of the dirt road among rocky hills. Absolutely broken. Covered about 48km today. The moon rose deep orange/red. Fire smoke from LA?

I am close to the road. So, most of tomorrow will asphalt. And the temperature will climb further as I will lose altitude and get into the lower valley. I saw no one today again. Managed to spill a liter or so of water today. Stupid and clumsy. Looks like I used about 23L/6gal in 1.5 days. 4 full containers left. 

Day 3 (8/5)

Slept well last night. Could have slept longer. On my way at 5:20am as the sky lit with first light. Soon, I hit the road. There is no dirt road to avoid the next 100km/60mi stretch of asphalt. Urgh. The rest of the day was constantly up and down in the valley. The road makes moving faster but very monotonous. I saw the first cars since I started. A few people (visitors and park employees) stopped to check on me or for a little chat. All of them nice and incredibly supportive. The cars flying by kept their distance, but I always worry about someone not paying attention. People drive fast. Very few cars though. Sometime 30 min or even more without anyone, especially midday.

Took shelter around 3:15 till 5:00, out of view of the road. Tired. High was 113F/45C today. Windy again. As the sky darkened, I finality crashed at 8:20pm, too beat to eat. Hiding from the road in a wash. Even though I am hydrated my body crave water and I constantly want to drink. The air is so dry that my mouth and throat are parched seconds after drinking. And another nosebleed today. Covered about 52km today. Maybe another 10-12 km to road 190. Can I make it all the way to the west highway tomorrow? Back on dirt? Maybe. But that seems like a long shot.

Day 4 (8/6)

Started a little after 5am. 88F/31C. But did not go far. Flat tire. A thorn I picked up coming out of the wash I slept in. Quick fix and back on the road. A couple of hours in, I reached road 190, the only road crossing the park East/West. Much busier and traffic was even faster. But everyone kept their distance. Quite a few people stopped and checked on me. All super friendly. Even got my picture taken. A California Highway Police cruiser stopped as well and the officer was nice, and I convince him I was sane (enough). Another couple had seen my tracks in the dirt in the north.

The road was hard. Slow. Boring. Up and down all the time. Hot. One of my tire tubes simply failed. The seam gave up in one spot. I had to use my spare tube. So, if anything else happens now, that’s the end. I was not planning to have these many flats so quickly. I couldn’t find a place to rest and had to push all the way to Furnace Creek. Got there around 3:30. Really beat. Felt heat exhaustion coming on the last hour and had to focus hard on my breathing and heart rate to keep going safely. Luckily, the high today was only 108F/41C in Furnace Creek. It felt like more, earlier on the road.

During my nap, I was offered a cold beer. Torture to turn down. After my nap, I pushed on, but I wasn’t 100%. It was hard. The Santa Anna wind had really picked up and was in my face. It felt like a dusty hair dryer. Hills felt endless. A nice guy i saw a couple of time a day or two ago came by to check on me. Fun to say hi again. Finally got to the West Side dirt Road and stopped at 8:20 or so. Spent. About 53km today. My clothes are stiff with salt. My sweat evaporate so quickly I have no idea how much I sweat. But a lot. I pee only a small fraction of what I drink. Maybe 25%? Drinking 15l a day? That means I literally sweat buckets. I made it back on dirt and tomorrow should be nicer. At least till midday. One more nosebleed today. Getting old.

Was startled awake by a truck passing by. Less than 10’ from where I was sleeping. Star gazers. And woken up again when they return. Not their fault, but unpleasant. Got used to being alone at night.

Day 5 (8/7)

A bit sluggish when I started around 5:15am this morning. Long day on this dirt road. Mostly flat. Some good sections. Others with gravel and rocks. Some shallow sand. The temperature was not very hot (maybe 110-113) but got to me today. This is the hottest part of Death Valley, most of which is under the sea level. My body deals with the heat fairly well overall but it’s taking a toll. I pushed to a pair of old water tanks I know from previous adventures. That brought back memories. I hid in the shade and drifted in and out of sleep for a couple of hours.

At 5, I was going again. Things went well today, but I am wearing down. Not as much energy. Struggling to get calories in. Finally stop around 8:15. Not too far from the end of the West Side Road. Back on asphalt tomorrow, briefly. Almost there. One more burning hot hell of an afternoon to go through. Done about 51km today. Because I have too much water (finishing earlier than planned), I took a "shower"! Butt naked in the desert. The water was very warm, but it felt so good. I also rinse my clothes to get rid of some of the salt. They are so stiff and heavy now. The sky is stunning tonight. Thousands of stars and the Milky Way standing out. Stunning. No light pollution, 10% humidity, no wind, no smoke. It's 10pm and 93F/34C. But it feels nice.

Day 6 (8/8) 

Up and go at 5:15 or so. Finished the West Side dirt Road quickly and rejoined the main road. I then reached the junction where Adrienne picked me up last time, after a failed first attempt (starting in the South). It's about 8am. Final stretch. About 50km to go. The road was recently graded, helping in some areas but spreading deep sand over long stretches in others. More work. Slower pace. I decide to skip my afternoon break and push through.

Temperature is high but feels manageable. 110F/43C? Maybe more? I lay down on the road, head under my cart for a few minutes and go again. I dumped more water to make my cart lighter but keep a solid safety net. I should be able to finish today. But it will be long and draining. I finally get to the road that tried to kill me last time. I find it smooth and graded. It was rutted and very sandy only a couple of weeks ago. I am beat and slow but hard set to finish. 20km to go. It's a struggle and feels endless. I can’t get solid food down anymore and only use gels, cubes and electrolytes to keep me going. I must be running a big calorie deficit on this trip.

Around 9:00pm I finally get to the Harry Wade Monument. I saw absolutely no one the past two days. Not even a car in the distance somewhere. Covered 62km or so and walked 16 hours today with only a handful of short breaks. My feet ache and my legs are done. 5 days 7 hours (about) and about 290km. It's done. Out of my system. Happy to see Adrienne pull in before I even had time to open my harness.