going to death valley soon

Well, at least you'll have the place all to yourself.

OK, I don't know if this has been asked already but I'm going to throw it out there- Why? What is the attraction behind such an extreme plan? Maybe a lot of these posts wouldn't be so negative if we had more insight into your motivation. Then again, maybe not.

You will die, ever read "Into the Wild"?

Considering the lack of provided details, most of us here are assuming you have done little planning and are being very foolish and highly irresponsible in potentially putting a SAR team into a dangerous rescue (or recovery) mission if/when things go wrong.

The idea of if you don't feel good on day 1 you'll scrap the rest of it – this same "plan" has happened in many tragedies in which the person/team got to this same decision point and decided to push on since they didn't want to give up regardless of the odds since they took all this time to get there, get the permits, etc.

You asked for an opinion, and we've given you one based upon the info you've given.

.

Delun,
If your plan is, I will hike for one day and see how it goes from there, then you DO NOT have a plan. I typically ignore posts like this that show no prior thought before asking for help. If you want to be taken seriously then we need to see a REAL plan with some forethought. We need a sense of your experience level, and a list of the gear you plan to use, and the food and water you plan on taking, and a detailed itinerary. We can then talk about the merits of your plan. Your "plan" wouldn't even allow you to let someone know when to expect you! You may be up to this trip but with the information you have given I have to assume that you are not. Have you ever felt 120° F heat or even hiked all day in temps over 100° F? Ashley's advice it very good. LA is not that far from Death Valley. Work up to this in stages, otherwise you are looking like a potential Darwin Award recipient. I know my post is a touch harsh but I think it needs to be. I don't want you to feel unwelcome on this site because I do welcome you here, and feel you will learn much here.

Keep in mind that there is a difference between staying hydrated, and keeping your core body temperature manageable (cool).

While water is essential to keep your body hydrated and functioning properly, that 6 gallons ain't gonna help as much as you'd like in keeping your core body temperature at a 'safe' level in such a hot environment if you are exerting yourself.

Consider this: if the air temperature is 120 degrees, how long do you think it is going to take before that water is 120 degrees? And that's assuming you don't do something silly like leave it in the sun in a dark colored pack/container, absorbing heat all day long. If that happens, then when you really need that water, you'll be hot, tired, sweaty, and thirsty – and that 6+ gallons of water you humped around all day is now TOO HOT TO DRINK.

Now, if that water were kept ice-cold (anyone have an ultralight 6 gallon backpacking thermos?), then sure, that water would do wonders at lowering your core body temperature. But if your core body temperature is getting high, drinking hot water is NOT going to bring it back down.

It sounds as if your 'plan' is to hike farther and faster so as to not need to carry as much water. But this will result in you overexerting yourself, raising your core body temperature, and putting you in much more danger from heatstroke. You need to stay hydrated, AND keep your core body temperature manageable.

Delun,
If you won't listen to sage advice, please take along a camcorder to document your short and possibly unsuccessful journey. This will give others who are reckless the chance to learn from the mistakes of others who passed before them.

I've actually done this loop in 3 days in May. It was hot as hell then.

The first part of the loop is pretty easy – and there was water at several spots up the canyon. However, once you get out of Cottonwood canyon, its all trail-less and quite difficult to navigate. At the time I didn't have a handheld GPS and I had a day of very difficult navigation (read: I got lost) to find my way out. It was pretty much the toughest experience I've had in the wilderness. A GPS and a really good topo along with very good route-finding skills are necessary for this hike.

From the looks of things, you better stay home…

"From the looks of things, you better stay home…"

Or just do a friendlier hike. For crissakes the Sierras are only a stones throw away. Scaling Mt Whitney (to use an extreme example) would probably be safer to attempt in August than spending 3-5 days in Death Valley.

This reminds me of the two climbers who died on Mt Hood in December 2006. Too much uneccessary risk.

I hope Delun appreciates people's genuine concern for his safety — and not attempt a trip for which he has little to no experience — judging from his questions and his so-called "plan".

A much more viable alternative is to go with another person who has appropriate desert hiking experience — or sign up for a guided group hike.

Delun:

Go ahead and do this Death Valley hike. But I suggest one small change to your plans.

Go in January.

Biting tongue… hard!

Hey, just speak your mind. We did.

Water alone doesn't cut it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

So let's not forget electrolytes, sunscreen, and proper clothing. But the best recommendation I have is don't do it in that time of year. I've lived and hiked in the desert for 30 years and watched people go from lucid and in control to seriously impaired in a half hour or less, even with doing all the right things. One has to be very in touch with how their body responds to things like heat, cold, altitude, dehydration, etc. and even then experienced people get fooled, distracted, overwhelmed, etc.

There's a reason why they call it Death Valley. Old timers far hardier than most of us moderns learned the hard way.