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Death Valley – December 2010
First off, a
little apology to the Death Valley Wander the West rally folks. We watched your
plans with interest but due to the holiday and snow/storm considerations here
it was difficult to make a firm departure time and didn’t want to commit and
then not show and have folks wonder what happened. So our plan was to watch for
a group of WTWers and stop and say howdy.
Why Death
Valley again? We had some unfinished exploration that was calling us and the
opportunities for adventure are around every corner.
Santa
delivered a white Christmas here starting on the holiday evening so the 37”
blower got a work out in the morning and the Lady got around to cleaning the
holiday stuff up. “Killing Christmas,” she calls it. This allowed for a
leisurely pack up and plan for an early launch on the 27th. A 4:30 am start put
us through chain controls ahead of the crowds, had the roads to ourselves, and
we love the early morning. Breakfast in Walker and sunrise along the East Side
of the Sierra. Life is good.
We had to
make time so a hot spring soak at Bridgeport was out. We needed to leave plenty of daylight to
navigate a maze of dirt roads to our first campsite and we had a long drive to
get there.
This first
evening was the highlight of the trip. After setting up camp, we took a walk to
orient ourselves for the next day’s cross country hike. Back at the camper at
dusk we were visited by a colony of six burrowing owls, at least our tentative
id. We had never seen owls so social in a large group and so curious about
people. They circled and hovered overhead within 10 feet of us and swooped down
around us at chest level, all in complete silence. It was amazing. There was no
aggressive or defensive behavior, it seemed they were just curious. Their
circles widened and they slowly moved away. A series of aggressive hoots from
me brought them back to check us out again. One of those treasured rare
encounters we will carry in our memories.
The next day
we spent exploring a broad wide open very remote area with interesting geology.
And
something to see around every corner.
Including a
possible old tent saloon dump site
Being alpine
folks, this reminded us of a glacial erratic
And when we
saw chunks of basalt embedded in what looked like a mudstone conglomerate (we
are only rough amateurs in geology, but love this stuff) possibly we are on the
right track with the erosion of this material leaving the basalt chunks behind
much like a melting glacier.
Too soon the
day’s exploration was over and we headed back down country to the truck.
We had
enough day light left – it sure gets dark early around the solstice – that we
cleaned up with showers, packed up and headed to Texas Springs for the night.
And boy was the campground full and busy and so unlike the solitude we had just
left. Ah but that’s the beauty of Death Valley because the next morning we
hiked from the campground around the corner to the north and didn’t see another
soul on our adventure.
Our
objective for the day was exploring a canyon that goes by the local name of
Funeral Slot Canyon. It is always a wonderful surprise how much elevation you
quickly gain walking up a wash when you turn and look back.
And it is
always special to see water in Death Valley.
The canyon
was beautiful, the solitude delicious, and we were like kids, excited about
what might be around the next corner.
The Lady’s
preferred direction of travel is up so after we turned around at a high dry
fall we scrambled up a steep side gully to gain the ridge top where expansive
views awaited. From here we saw we could connect sheep or burro trails down the
ridges for a wonderful stroll back down to the Valley.
Back at
Texas Springs we watched kites fly as we packed up.
“Where are
we going next?” the Lady asked.
“We have
talked about Gold Valley and Willow Springs, Scotty’s Canyon, Grotto Canyon,
and….”
“Well, I was
thinking,” the Lady countered.
And so it
starts. This is always the fun part of the trip. The Lady works very hard at
her job with her mind always busy. She takes part, but generally relies on me
for planning. Two or three days into a trip I usually see a transformation as
she relaxes, gets into the groove, and wants to take a lead in trip plans.
“Could we
drive back down Greenwater Valley, find a spot to camp, and climb Funeral Peak
tomorrow? I think I remember seeing a spot to camp when we were up there last
month.”
Camp
Wednesday afternoon along Furnace Creek Wash Road at around 4000 feet.
“It sure
looks like something is brewing to the north. Think it will stay to the north?”
The wind
picked up considerably as we made dinner. We usually take a night walk after
dinner, let our eyes adjust, and just walk by starlight. The wind blew us back
inside in short order. A little later the rhythm of raindrops on the roof
started.
“It’s
raining. There were no clouds overhead when I went out last.” I said.
“Not when I
was out either, but there was a big flash to the north. I forgot to tell you.”
“That was
quick, it’s already stopped raining. No more drops hitting the roof.”
The Lady
answered, “That’s because it’s snowing.”
“How do you
know that?” I asked.
“Because
snow is hitting the window over the sink. Look.”
She was
right. It was.
As others
have mentioned, the wind blew this night, blew hard. The truck was rocked all
night. The Lady asked several times if the truck would blow over. I learned
something very practical this night. You know at night when you’re warm and
cozy in bed and you have to pee, how you tend to put off crawling out of bed,
especially in these wicked conditions? A word to the wise - if you wait until
the last minute and you’re starting the “I really got to pee dance”, you just
might find the door froze shut.
The morning
dawned clear. The wind had died down to about 25 mph with some higher gusts. I
estimated the temperature at around 15 degrees. Here’s first light on the Black
Mountains. Funeral Peak, the Black Mountain highpoint, is the rounded peak to
the right with the little summit block that looks like a coffin set on top.
We decided
to go for the top, discussed the best clothing combination for the day, how we
would need to stop often for a quick drink and snack, how the wind would
probably be worse up higher, and the need to communicate clearly and often on
how we were doing. We have much experience in travel in harsh conditions, more
than enough to know you take conditions like this seriously. Honest answer,
this day was brutal and this day was great fun.
Ready to go
with Funeral Peak’s summit beckoning 4.5 miles away.
On the long
walk across the valley.
In this
remote country you never know what’s around the next corner. This is one of the
nicest sheep panels I have seen. The skinny guy with long fingers holding his
head in his left hand is extra special.
The Lady at
the top of the short scramble to the top of the coffin.
The summit
of Funeral Peak with the Panamints in the distance.
The winds
were just bearable at the summit until you approached the Death Valley edge.
Here they were close to 60-65 mph. I shot a few very quick photos from the
summit as the Lady signed the summit register. We hunkered low and grabbed a
quick snack and drink and it was time to go.
View down
into Death Valley.
View to the
east.
Back at the
bottom of the east ridge, we found a spot in the sun and laying down in the
wash we were able to get out of the wind. A nice break before the 3.5 miles
back across the valley. We reached the truck around two, climbed in and turned
on the furnace. Life’s little pleasures are the best. We warmed up, packed up,
dropped the top and headed for lower elevation. Heading down the dirt road I
glanced at the outdoor temp display.
“Look, it’s
warming up!” The temperature read 34 degrees. It was 58 when we reached Furnace
Creek.
Friday was
to be a day of wandering. Thursday afternoon the Lady suggested turning up Hole
in the Wall Road to check on camping possibilities. The road ascends a wash and
we watched the odometer to determine where the magic two mile limit ended. At
two miles there was a used spot up against the wash wall. Nice spot but right
along the road as many spots in DVNP are. Good enough for us as we were anxious
for a hot shower to thoroughly warm up and a leisurely dinner that we could
enjoy outside in the chairs. With little wind and relatively alone, this was a
nice evening as we watched the sun drop behind the Panamints to the west.
And turned
to watch last light on the mountains behind.
Up before
dawn, it was nice to stroll in the quiet with our mugs of coffee and watch the
day brighten.
And then
first light hit Telescope Peak.
After a
relaxing breakfast outside in the sun we decided we needed to learn more about
this Hole in the Wall Road, so after packing up we headed up the wash.
Four miles
in from the pavement is Hole in the Wall.
Just past
Hole in the Wall are several wider spots that would make good camping spots.
Keep this road in mind if you need a spot to tuck away in for the night in
central DVNP. The road continues up the wash, much rougher now, another two
miles to its end at the Red Amphitheatre.
Lots of
opportunity for exploring up in this area. We will be back. In fact on the
drive back down, the Lady had Digonnet’s book open on her lap orienting a map
to the real world and then pointing. “We can go up that canyon and that canyon.
We’re coming back here!”
We wanted to
spend New Year’s Eve in the Alabama Hills; it’s such a special place, home is
an easy drive from there, and our friend Ted had mentioned he might be there.
We stopped at Stovepipe Wells General Stove as the Lady got a yearning for fig
newtons - they had them – and I wandered over to the campground.
We topped
off with gas in Lone Pine and headed up to find a spot to camp. It was bitterly
cold with few folks camping. We enjoyed wandering and climbing about in the
late afternoon light.
And like
Death Valley, you never know what you will find around the next corner.
The Lady
asked if that was our friend Ted. I told her no; Ted has a fancy new white
truck. Here is our spot with last light on the Inyo Mountains.
Light winds
on New Year’s Eve, but it was cold. The furnace got a work out that night. We
tried a night walk, the stars and milky Way above were fantastic. We made it
200 yards from the truck, looked at each other and said, “How ‘bout another
game of scrabble?” In the morning it was colder but if the first sunrise of
2011 is any indication, this should be a great year.
Looked like
it could be storming back toward home.
As the warm
morning light finally hit the Hills, who could have wanted to be anywhere else?
Best wishes
to all, wonderful adventures, and have
a great New Year.