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The best
place to start this story is smack dab in the middle.
“Stars are
out, the whole sky is stars!” the Lady called from outside. It was four o’clock
in the morning and the enthusiasm in her voice brought me more awake, and so
did the news. How could it be? A squall had come over with rain hard enough on
the roof to wake both of us. How long it had lasted was hard to say as we
drifted back into and out of sleep. It had finally let up enough that the Lady
decided time was right for a quick trip outside.
The rain was
a surprise. It had warmed a degree. The snow had turned to rain.
It had
snowed all afternoon. The snow had not delayed our planned hike, the main focus
of this Thanksgiving break adventure. We were on a search for treasure and
perhaps some perspective on an odd fun little mystery. The snow had continued
into the night, quiet except for an occasional hint of wind. It was the kind of
quiet expected in this vast lonely place; the kind of quiet that brings deep
sleep. That was why the rain woke us, a new sound. And now there were stars? I
pulled myself out of our warm doubled sleeping bags and joined the Lady
outside. Stars were overhead from one mountain range to the other.
We had
camped the night before south and high above the Eureka Dunes, below the mouth
of Dedeckera Canyon. We were in Death Valley National Park.
The yellow
jeep accelerated after it passed the main parking area. There were only two
vehicles parked there, it was a quiet Saturday afternoon at Eureka Dunes. We
had driven around to the east side and pulled into one of the rock bordered
parking areas. We had the chairs and lunch out, enjoying a long break from our
drive from home. The jeep was ripping up the road, throwing up dirt, coming
toward us. We wondered if the driver’s recklessness would end if and when he
saw us ahead. We were the only vehicle past Eureka Dunes.
He hit the
brakes hard the moment he saw us, putting the jeep into a slide. He then slowly
approached. I remained in my chair. He stopped and rolled down the window. He
was alone and dressed in light street clothes, a young man in his thirties. He
had no visible camping or outdoor gear in his vehicle, a near new jeep rubicon
with new oversized tires and a matching new spare hanging off the back.
“Did you
come down from Steel Pass?” he asked.
“No, we did
not,” I answered.
“Is Steel
Pass that way?” he asked as he pointed up the primitive two track.
“Yeah,” I
nodded my head.
As he hit
the soft sand he was again hard into the accelerator, the jeep jerking from
side to side as the spinning tires fought for traction.
“Did he say
he was going over Steel Pass? The Lady asked as she returned from grabbing
something out of the camper.
“Actually he
did not, but all of his actions indicate that’s his plan,” I replied.
“Looked like
he didn’t have anything with him and it sure gets dark early this time of year,
he’s going to be doing lots of driving in the dark. Hope he doesn’t get into
trouble with us maybe being the next vehicle through,” she added.
“Yup, I’m
thinking the same thing.”
We watched
the dust cloud disappear into the mouth of Dedeckera Canyon, the north entrance
for the Steel Pass route.
We picked a
spot below the entrance to Dedeckera Canyon to camp, a spot where the afternoon
sun would linger.
With camp
chores completed, we put on our packs and hiked up into Dedeckera to evaluate
the route and see the notorious four steps for ourselves.
It was a
wonderful late afternoon. We took a close look at the obstacles, discussed the
lines we would need to take with the truck, and decided if this route was
safely doable for us.
We returned
to camp, enjoyed warm coffee on this cold evening, and relaxed.
The morning
light was glorious with a growing cloud cover, forecasting a change in the
weather.
Eureka
Valley was spread out before us as the sun put on a show.
Climbing the
road up through Dedeckera Canyon was a fun technical challenge. The Lady did a
great job spotting and we took our time. After the steps, the Lady was getting
in the spirit and wanted to drive the narrows above.
We enjoyed
our slow trek up to Steel Pass. We were alone, no other vehicles, no other
people. Late morning we arrived at Steel Pass, the high point. We found an out
of the way place to camp. We were going to spend some time here. We were going
to look for treasure.
Was it a
cartographer’s joke? That’s what many think. On the old topo maps a spring
symbol was placed near the top of Steel Pass, an odd place for a spring, and
odder still was the name, “marble bath.” People looked for it. People got tired
of looking for it. Somebody took matters into their own hands and fulfilled the
map’s dream, providing a bath full of marbles.
We had found
one marble bath. Was there another, was there a real marble bath? Having
explored many canyons in Death Valley we knew it was common to find polished
bedrock basins in winding narrows. Places that look like marble and bath tubs.
Was it possible the little spring symbol had just lost its way; misplaced by
that cartographer we thought was joking? There are several canyons that line
the edge of the Last Chance Range. We would take a look.
Would we
find a narrow slot canyon?
Would we
find slickrock and dry waterfalls?
Would we
find waterholes that would draw the bighorn sheep to drink and the ancient
people who depended on them for food?
Yes, we did.
We found the treasure we were seeking. Did we visit the real “marble bath”? We
will leave that one as a remaining mystery. These seldom visited mountains and
canyons are delightful to explore on foot, to climb up into, to discover what
is around the next bend. We spent the afternoon exploring as it snowed. Wind
and snow bit at our faces as we headed into the wind, returning to camp and hot
coffee and, as the Lady has taken to calling it, our home away from home.
We are now
at that middle spot in the story, where this all started.
After the
star filled skies at four in the morning, low cloud cover obscured everything
as we climbed out of the sack at dawn, at least from the camper it looked that
way.
“Get out
here! This is wonderful, get out here!” The Lady was outside again. She was
excited. An opening in the clouds showed that Saline Valley and the Inyo
Mountains to the west were in sunlight.
This was a
morning we will remember.
As the day
warmed, the sun worked at burning off the lingering clouds.
We had a
mishap with a water container breaking during our climb of the steps in
Dedeckera Canyon. We took our time this morning and took advantage of the sun
to dry out towels and other items.
Except for
the search for the marble bath, our plans were fairly loose. I was considering
returning to the Eureka Dunes and then heading north to wander around the north
end of Eureka Valley. At Steel Pass the Lady asked what were possible spots to
visit to the west, down into Saline Valley. After going over the maps and
checking out possible hikes in Digonnet’s new Saline and Eureka Valley book,
she said, “Let’s go west all the way through. Do we have enough gas?”
“Yes.” I
answered and we dropped into Saline Valley.
We stopped
often and our eyes kept wandering back up to Steel Pass. I’m sure we will too
someday.
The first
couple of miles down from the pass are a bit technical, narrow, winding, with
rocks. After that it is a long easy cruise with tremendous views as you descend.
The temperature rose and our windows opened, wonderful. We kept our eyes out
for that yellow jeep, even out across country where you shouldn’t drive. We
never saw him again; it looked like another one dodged a bullet.
As we
descended we also started to see reflections off of vehicles far down below us.
We had been all alone. The world was about to change. We were arriving at
Saline hot springs. We stopped at Upper Warm Springs.
As we
approached the more developed Palm Springs, we were now passing through
clusters of parked vehicles at their campsites. We stopped for Captain Jack and
his wench, both in full pirate costume, to cross the road.
We were at
the hot springs. We had to stop and take this in. We parked at the two pools.
We first
stopped at the Wizard Pool (we were learning the names and getting oriented)
and chatted with a woman from Idaho. She had two huskies, one that was huge and
just loved to quietly howl. She freely shared her story. She has been coming to
the springs for 7 years. She told us we should stay for the Thanksgiving Day
feast, that we would be welcome, that it was pretty incredible. As we talked,
the man with no pants first appeared. He stayed just outside our space, did not
say anything to greet or acknowledge us, and meandered about within view. He
came in closer and slowly sat down at the bench facing away from us. The Lady
noticed the fellow who had been soaking at the other pool (Volcano Pool, I
believe, and pictured above) was finished.
We said
goodbye to the woman and joined the gentleman, easily falling into
conversation. He was from Arizona and was enjoying his stay at the springs. We
asked if he would mind us getting a soak in and with his approval we climbed
into the soothing water. This is a slice of heaven.
“Is that
your four wheel camper?” he asked nodding toward our truck.
“Yes it is;
that’s ours.” I answered.
“That’s my
four wheel camper over there.” He nodded toward his nearby camp.
He told us
about his camper and asked if we had heard of the Wander the West website.
“Okay, who
are you on the website?” the Lady asked.
“I’m
LAWNMOWERMAN.”
We
introduced ourselves. He told us KC from Wyoming was camped nearby and that
SunMan may be in for Thanksgiving. We had seen the other FWC rig below us as we
pulled in.
We walked
over to kcowyo’s camp and introduced ourselves, said hello, and chatted. He
told us SunMan may be coming in for Thanksgiving.
We stopped
to check out the lower springs.
There was an
anxious couple waiting along the road, watching for vehicles coming in to
inquire if anyone had seen their friend. He was coming in the north pass,
driving a rental car and it had snowed. We politely listened and then the woman
asked, “Have you ever been here before?”
“No, this is
our first visit.” I answered.
“Oh!” she
took me by the arm. “You have to come in and see this place and get a tour.”
She led us under the canopy of trees.
Tom in his
kilts sitting in a chair on the lawn looked up from his book and asked, “Would
you like a tour?”
“A nice
offer like that we will not turn down.” We introduced ourselves and chatted.
The man with
no pants wandered in and sat on a bench.
Tom said, “I
saw you two come in and take a soak at the upper pools.”
I guess they
keep track of newcomers here.
Tom gave us
a tour and shared his love for this place. Everyone we met at the springs was
friendly, welcoming, and seemed like nice folks. We would not hesitate coming
back to this special place.
As we drove
out I got to thinking about the man with no pants and a possible role he plays
in the community at the springs. The way I saw it, his job was to spot
newcomers and just stay within sight as a way to reinforce that this is
traditionally a clothing optional area. Maybe I’m putting too much thought into
this and guy just likes a shirt and no pants. Good for him.
We made a
stop at the famous bat sign.
We had
decided on plans for the next day and we headed south on Saline Valley Road.
Shadows were moving across the valley as we stopped to take in the vistas
around the salt lake.
Saline
Valley Road is just plain awful. This will be a recurring theme. Some of it, I
believe, is because you can see so far that it appears you are not making
headway; not getting any closer to the landmarks. You are a fool if you try to
drive fast and the distance pushes you to want to do that. Our goal was to camp
part way up the Lippincott Road. As shadows lengthened across Saline Valley we
knew it would not be possible to get up there before dark.
“We ought to
think about finding a spot to camp before it is dark and then drive up
Lippincott in the morning.”
“I’m
thinking the same thing,” the Lady replied.
“There were
a couple of large level spots along Saline Valley Road that we past, but I
expect there will be continuing traffic into the springs. That might not be an
enjoyable night camping there.” I added.
“Let get
down to the Lippincott Road and I bet there is a camping spot a short ways in
that we can pull into,” the Lady suggested.
We reached
the large cairn marking the intersection with Lippincott, turned east, and a
useable campsite was just where the Lady said one would be. We made ourselves
at home with a wonderful view to the north the length of Saline Valley. The
evening sky put on a show for us.
After dinner,
sitting in our chairs outside – much warmer at this elevation – we star gazed
and watched car lights descend into the valley from North Pass. The springs
were going to be busy for the holiday.
We turned in
and spent a quiet night here, waking to another beautiful desert dawn.
First light
dancing across Saline Valley.
From
Digonnet’s book, I had read the Lady his description of the Ubehebe Trail, an
early access route for miners coming from Owens Lake and traveling into the
Race Track and Ubehebe Mining area. It predates the Lippincott Mine Road. The
old faint foot trail crosses the Lippincott Road near the Bonanza Prospect.
Here it heads north and climbs to the ridge crest that it then follows to the
east and drops into Race Track Valley. It is seldom visited and offers
outstanding vistas such as this below. Our truck is visible far below on the
Lippincott Road, right center.
The old trail
crosses steep terrain.
One of the
side trips possible is dropping into the canyon north of the ridge. Here a 35
foot dry fall blocks your progress.
There is a
bypass that climbs steep talus on the north side. This takes you to the Inyo
Mine copper prospects and ruins.
Almost to
the crest.
The final
section of the trail down into the valley no longer exists, but the route is
obvious and soon Race Track Playa is visible to the north.
Once up in
Race Track Valley you have the option of returning the way you came up or
walking the Lippincott Road back down to your vehicle. The Lady loves circles
so we headed down the Lippincott.
It was a
very pleasant walk.
With
outstanding views of the road snaking down and down.
The center
section of the road is the roughest. This washout with the cliff looked to be
the narrowest spot.
We returned
to the truck about 1:00 pm and relaxed as we got out of our boots and snacked.
Only one vehicle had ventured up Lippincott today. As we were walking down a
family in their new four door jeep wrangler was driving up.
Overall
Lippincott Road was in pretty good shape. I would drive it.
The Ubehebe
Trail was a great hike.
Our
adventure was drawing to a close. We returned to the Saline Valley Road and
headed for South Pass. The Lady calls this long section of the Saline Valley
Road a road right out of the Twilight Zone. It goes on and on. As soon as you
relax another nasty section of washboard, or more rocks, or washouts across the
road shows up. We were going to drive and drive forever, it was never going to
end. There was continuous snow on the long shaded section near the top of South
Pass. It was packed from vehicle traffic and no problem but after a cold clear
night and it freezes hard, this could make for an interesting ride along this
mountainside.
We reached
the intersection with highway 190 at 4:30 pm. The sun had just dropped out of
sight in the west. We stretched our legs, pulled out the compressor and aired
up the tires. Four vehicles stopped to see if we were okay. Kind, neighborly
folks drive these roads. We thanked them all.
“You’ve been
driving a long time,” the Lady said. I couldn’t argue with that. She continued,
“I’ll drive into Lone Pine and let’s gas up and then decide where we want to
spend the night…………………………..or I was thinking.”
I knew she
had been thinking, plotting, and she had a plan.
“We could
both use a long soak in a hot springs after the Twilight Zone Road. Let’s head
to Bridgeport. It will be beautiful under the stars!”
It was.
