A friend has done jeep exploring deep into death valley and said there are several hippee encampments in there with natural springs he didn’t see in research for the trail.
He did say they didn’t feel threatened by the”natives” , but travel accordingly
We made this run in a Jeep last week. 4WD is really not necessary. Significant elevation changes. Some great desert scenery. Wildflowers would have made it even better. A bit wash boarded in some areas. Stopped and ate lunch in Ryolite, as we made our way to Pahrump for the night. Good trip.