please remember you can click on a photo to see a larger version
The Final Chapter -
The Lady loves the
Alabama Hills for a stopover night on the way home. A magical place set up
against the back drop of the soaring Sierra Nevada crest, if you can find a
secluded camping spot with the area's rising popularity, it is about as perfect
as it gets.
We headed out from
Cottonwood Canyon to Stovepipe Wells. Exiting the canyon, the vast panorama of
Death Valley was obscured in a huge plume of dust. A strong wind from the north
was ripping down the valley. It wasn't too bad driving across the sandy area,
the wind speed increased right on the edge of Stovepipe Wells with all tents flat and well
weighted down with rocks.
That suggestion the
Lady had was to take a couple of hours and try to find a petroglyph site we had
on the list. We parked the truck and headed cross country. After about 45
minutes we came upon an old trail. We love finding stuff like this!
A few of the rocks along
the trail were adorned with ancient art work.
We were in the right
place. The trail worked its way along a wash. The wash led to an impressive
gorge.
One tank in the
series of drop offs still held water, but we saw no animal tracks indicating
this water was accessible for wildlife.
A small hilltop held
the largest collection of petroglyphs. Many were so old to be almost covered
with desert varnish.
The most prominent
panel appeared much newer in age.
The variety of
artwork was very nice. I found this tree or branch interesting.
In the Alabama Hills
we found a small two track we had planned, at some point, to explore. Today
would work just fine. One camp close to the main road and the rest of the area
was ours, pretty nice for a Saturday afternoon. We set up camp.
After popcorn and
snacks, we waited for the deeply slanting afternoon light. We walked,
explored, and the Lady checked on the possibility of neighbors.
The afternoon light
just got better and better. Our quiet walk was relaxing, refreshing, and allowed
for reflection back on the incredible adventures we had enjoyed on this trip.
Can someone tell me, is it wind erosion that cups the bottom of these boulders?
Shadows fell across
the landscape until evening color came that lasted only a moment.
Wind rocked us
overnight; so use to the wind now, we felt like babes being rocked to sleep in
a cradle. We heard one distant Great Horned Owl.
The morning sky was
cloud covered. For only a moment the sun peaked through from the east.
This was a splendid end
to a wonderful trip.
Since our return, we
continue to dream of returning to Death Valley with its wealth of secret
canyons to explore. There are, of course many more old signs out there to bring
us back. And, I just heard a story that I just might get involved researching.
It concerns the mysterious disappearance on an old miner working the graveyard
shift in the Coffin Mine high up in Deadman Canyon located in the Funeral
Mountains, in, of course, Death
Valley..............................................................
please remember you can click on a photo to see a larger version
The soft crutch of
tire on gravel woke us around two thirty in the morning followed by the arch of
headlights running across the canyon walls. The truck quietly drove by, turned
around, and backed into the wash about a hundred yards up from our camp.
"Think that's
them?" the Lady voice quietly asked in the night.
"I suspect it
is," I answered and I had to add my usual response, "We'll find
out."
The Lady is so
tolerant.
I was out with the
camera and tripod before dawn. The so familiar sounds of the Lady's fussing
inside the camper and the sudden aroma of coffee at the first pour through
comforted me. This place felt like home. I put my face to the window.
"It's almost
ready!" the Lady's voice resonated with happiness.
"See anybody
moving at the other camp?" the Lady asked. "Is it them?"
"Yes, looks like
Scott's walking over here." I gave a wave.
"We didn't wake
you, did we?" Scott asked when we met.
"We went right
back to sleep. Drive your truck over and join us."
Scott looked over the
vehicle route in. "Quite the driveway." he said as he returned to
his truck.
Scott and his buddy,
Ian, got settled and started in with building breakfast. We quickly found out
Ian loves photography.
Ian Tuttle photo
Thank you Ian for
permission to use your photos! Ian's website can be found here - ituttle.com
We met Scott near the
summit of Corkscrew Peak on our last trip to Death Valley. He joined us on the
descent and we quickly found this young man was easy to be with. We traded
stories about our Death Valley adventures and it was obvious Scott's love for
this place ran deep. At our parting Scott remarked, "It would be so cool
if we could get together sometime on a trip!"
We exchanged emails.
Scott shared his blog - scottweller.blogspot.com - with us and we discovered he was an adventurer,
accomplished international traveler, climber, and writer. He recently told us
of his next planned trip and asked if we'd be in Death Valley also.
Ian is just as cool
of a young man; easy to be around, energetic and happy. We were a bit mystified
why two accomplished and fit young men would want spend time with a couple of
old farts, but everything about them put us at ease. We knew today would be a
good day.
We made it to Thursday's
pass and entered new terrain.
The desert was alive
with flowers, bugs, and rocks. It one spot large beetles were gnawing on
Notch-leaf Phacelia and hooked together engaging in sexual activity. I
haven't yet identified the species and am looking for help. We called them Very
Happy Beetles.
This was a great day
that still causes me to chuckle. The majority of our travels have been up
canyons or to mountain summits. This was an open country cross country route
over and through many different landforms. We are old enough to know a simple
planned line on the map is only a small part of the story and a topo map's
contour interval of 40 feet can leave out a lot of detail. Today, Death Valley
was going to give us a good workout.
But besides
obstacles, Death Valley also revealed new details and treasures around every
corner. At our first dry fall to down
climb, the fossils were amazing.
When our way down a
canyon was blocked with a series of large pourovers, after scrambling up rocky
walls to exit, we found a jumbled terrain to work through with hope the pass we
chose to reach held promise of an easier route ahead.
The pass led to more
interesting terrain. We were all like kids and I think it was Ian who called this feature
"the rainbow staircase".
The Lady enjoyed the company
of her new buddies.
In the photo above we
are walking on the top of a large fanglomerate formation. I'll come back to
this in the narrative. Since returning home, I've dreamt about this area, and
wished I'd taken many more detailed photos.
We finally reached
the canyon we were seeking. We were awestruck.
Ian's photo with us
walking along the edge puts the massive size of the walls cut into the fanglomerate
formation into perspective.
Ian Tuttle photo
We climbed to a high
spot where we could gaze down into the void.
Ian Tuttle photo
Ian Tuttle photo
"This looks like
coral!" Scott drew our attention to the dark brown streaks running across
the limestone at our feet. Fossils we believe are associated with ancient coral
reefs were all around us.
We climbed back down
from our highpoint, still in awe of the massive cut of the outwash from this
canyon.
Our initial plan was
to explore the inner gorge of this canyon, but it was already past our turnaround
time. Death Valley had made us work for this view. Although the line drawn on
the map indicated only 5.5 miles to the canyon opening, it was obviously much
further in actual walking distance. I'm reminded of the time my little buddy Barking
Spider explained the difference between "map miles" and "trail
miles" and what an agency can/should put on signage. "Map miles"
is measuring the length of the line you drew on a map. "Trail miles"
is actually "rolling the wheel" (distance measure devise) along a
trail and getting the actual distance. Trail miles are always a larger number.
I don't think any of
us were disappointed. We had seen and experienced incredible terrain. We now all had the gift of dreaming of return trips. And, we had the journey back to camp ahead
of us to enjoy.
We climbed out over a
pass and returned to the vast plain of the fanglomerate. Now that we knew more
about the country, we made adjustments to our route on the way back.
Here's my interest
with this fanglomerate formation. This stuff is cemented alluvial material. This
formation does not match up with the current drainages. The drainages now
feeding the area are not large enough to account for the large volume of material. It
makes me wonder if the large canyons, at an earlier time, emptied out of the
mountains to the southeast and are the source. Was there a more recent uplift
to this part of the Cottonwood Mountains that was responsible for the newer significant
(rapid?) down cutting into the limestone of the gorge and also into the old
alluvial deposits? In the photo above, to the left, just visible is the cut
edges of a box canyon. To me, it sure appears that new cutting is occurring as drainage
features are being eroded back into this fanglomerate formation. 20 to 40 foot
pourovers are the entry points for these drainages into the growing box canyon.
It is fascinating and I want to go back!
We had much work
ahead for us as we moved back through this inspiring maze.
We all still carried
big smiles.
Ian took advantage of
photographic opportunities, the pro that he is.
Ian Tuttle photo
Ian Tuttle photo
Ian and Scott stayed
with us for the evening. And a wonderful evening it was, even keeping the old
folks up past their bedtime. Stories were told, we laughed together, friendships
grew, we had a great time - a very pleasant Death Valley evening. Thank you
gents!
Up before dawn,
watching the light, putting my face to the camper window in anticipation of
that first cup of Peets coffee, and a
long walk together - Saturday morning was perfect.
It was time for us to
head out of the National Park and think about home. But, we always have that
list of things to do and see, and the Lady had a suggestion......................................
........................and the Lady's worn out shorts with the ripped out bottom have been officiallyretired.
Our adventure
continues in the final chapter, Part Five. Please Click Here.
