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After we returned from our winter trip to Death Valley and our first adventure up Marble Canyon, I found this helpful website:
Bird & Hike
In
particular, I looked at Mr. Boone’s report on Marble Canyon in Death Valley. Marble Canyon
What caught
my eye was his description of a side canyon:
“I'll leave the details to be discovered by adventuresome hikers, but dragon eggs become quite common in the wash until reaching the dragon's nest, part of which lies in the center of the wash.
Beyond the dragon nest lie the most amazing narrows that I know of in Death Valley -- even better than Titus Canyon and Upper Fall Canyon. There are some short scramble-ups in the narrows, but they shouldn't be too much trouble for hikers who can make it that far."
Dragon eggs and a dragon’s nest
and the most amazing narrows in Death Valley? Could this be true? What were the
secrets here? And no pictures, what a temptation to find out for ourselves.
Our adventure continued as we
traveled back up through the second narrows where we discovered signs of
geology in action.
As we explored up canyon from the narrows we found an ancient
gathering spot.
At the famous Goldbelt rock we turned right up the side canyon.
What would we find?
Would we find dragon eggs?
Would we find the nest they came from?
Would we find more interesting rock?
And the narrows above, are they the most amazing in Death
Valley? Like Mr. Boone, I will not say too much but I will share a few photos.
You should, if you are interested, make the trip yourself. Draw
your own conclusions. I will tell you this –we spoke only in whispers as our
eyes were drawn from one detail to another. This is a magical and sacred place;
a place where spirits dwell.
This was a day well spent.
Several days before as we were exploring Slit Canyon, I was ahead
in the narrows and the Lady said, “You are wearing two socks!”
“I always wear two socks.” I answered.
“No, you are wearing two different hiking socks.” She was
laughing.
“I am not.”
She was at my feet unfolding my socks as she correctly pointed
out, “See, you have two different socks on!” She was enjoying this.
“Well I brought two pair of hiking socks along. I must have
grabbed one of each.”
“I’m going to call you ‘Two Socks’!” She really thought this was
funny.
“I’m getting to be an old man. You are going to have to put up
with more and more of this stuff.”
“I hear you Two Socks!”
“Next thing you know I’ll have food dribbling off my chin and on
to my shirt front.”
“You already do that!”
“How ‘bout long hairs starting to grow out of my ears?”
“I’m already taking care of those for you.”
“How ‘bout forgetting to zip my fly?”
“You’re not there yet, Two Socks, but give it time!” It was nice to
see the Lady enjoying herself.
One of the neatest things that happened just prior to our trip was
receiving in the mail a copy of my cousin’s (The Big Guy) just released
collection of fly fishing stories - Quest for Home Water.
The Lady grabbed it and enjoyed getting in the first read. Finally, on
this night, it was my turn to get my hands on it. It is really well done with a
great cover photo.
We had a real treat this night, our last in Marble Canyon. As
night darkened the sky and the stars burst forth from hiding, the moon rose and
cast its subtle light on the hillsides.
We woke early the next morning and enjoyed the predawn light.
It was time to pack up at this secluded campsite and move on.
The Lady had a place she wanted to explore.
The Lady has gone through our copy of Hiking Death Valley many
times. She has made notes in it from all our trips and has entered the
dates when we have done the hikes. One she has mentioned several times
is Stretched Pebble Canyon. On this trip
I had also brought along Mr. Boone’s guide, Pebble Canyon
As we were ascending and descending the huge Cottonwood/Marble
alluvial fan, she would look across at Tucki Mountain and say, “Isn’t that
Stretched Pebble Canyon right over there?”
We had no definite plans for Saturday. It was a day to wander and
see where we ended up. As we pulled out of Stovepipe Wells I said, “You park
along highway 190 about 3 miles up from here if you want to access Stretched
Pebble Canyon, Want to check it out?”
“Really? Let’s do it. It will be fun!”
We set out the chairs and between passing cars changed into our
hiking clothes. We secured the truck, donned our packs, and headed up the fan.
The Lady had read me the geology details of the canyon the night before as we
lay in bed. She wanted to know what a “stretched pebble” was. This got
interesting. I got this from the description. There are three main layers of
rock up the canyon. The top and bottom layers are limestones and dolomites,
rocks that have their origins in warm seas. The conglomerate middle layer doesn’t
seem to fit because it appears to have its origin from glacial moraine. This is
speculated because of the random, unsorted nature of the size of the materials.
This conglomerate was buried and subjected to heat and pressure that cooked,
melted, and squashed, all the rocks. The striking feature of this “stretched
pebble conglomerate” is the elongated flattened boulders imbedded in the rock
layer. Well if there were “stretched pebbles” up there, the Lady wanted to see
them.
This canyon is rough, narrow and steep. You find this out right
away.
And, there are stretched pebbles.
It is almost a continuous series of dry falls. We went up as far
as this polished masterpiece.
I thought it made a great spot for a break, a snack, maybe a nap.
The Lady thought it a great place to leave her pack and try to
find a way around this obstacle.
The rock on a possible bypass was awful, loose and crumbling, and
any possible route took you out into more exposure.
“I don’t like it out here.” I heard the Lady’s voice from around a
corner.
“So, are you coming back?”
She did.
We worked our way back down through the maze.
Stretched Pebble is a wonderful canyon to climb through and
explore.
Our trip to Death Valley had been wonderful. We weren’t in the
mood to leave. As we dropped down the wash toward highway 190 I said to the
Lady, “That’s Lemoigne Canyon right over there. There are a couple little
things I’ve been curious about up there. I bet right before the road drops into
the canyon at the end is a great camping spot with a panoramic view of Death Valley.
But, some say it is one of the worst roads in the Park.”
“Let’s find out!” She was game.
The camping spot was superb with a world class view. We explored
up canyon and came upon spring wildflowers.
On our way back we decided to climb out of the main canyon, over a
high saddle, and drop down into an adjoining side canyon. The views were worth
it. That tiny little spot along that faint road in the middle of the photo is
our truck.
We were all alone with an expansive panorama before us. Dinner and
chores were leisurely as we watched the shadows creep across the valley.
The wind from earlier in the week had died down, the temperature
was perfect, we could not turn in early this night.
We watched the lights of Stovepipe Wells far in the distance.
Morning was just as glorious…………………..
…………………..as we watched the sunrise over Tucki Mountain.
“Isn’t this Easter morning?” The Lady asked.
“Yup, it is and I think this is as good as it gets for our Easter
sunrise service.”
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