March 28, 2013.

The Eureka Dunes are the second largest sand dunes in North America. We arrived under a full moon around midnight. Getting out of the car was a shock; the air temperature was about 50 degrees. Time for the puffy coat.

Full moon

We set up camp at the first campground we saw. Three other sites were occupied. This was the most remote campground we’d found at the park. After quietly setting up our camp, we packed our bags and started walking towards the dunes.

Hiking under a full moon was an eerie yet beautiful experience. Here we were, in a place we’d never been, exploring it for the first time with no map and a vague impression of hills and shadows. We knew the highest dune was 700 feet tall, and that’s where we were headed. As we walked along the base of the dunes, we tried our best to sidestep the small desert plants growing there. Keeping our eyes on the highest visible point, we turned around occasionally to track our progress and relative direction from camp.

Walking up the gentle ridges and slopes made of sand was arduous work. The sand slid beneath our feet, making every step feel like three. It was difficult to judge steepness and distance with the dim light. I quickly warmed up and shed layers as we proceeded up the hills. Although my core was warm, the sand was ice cold so I had to keep moving to heat up my feet.

Atop the grandest sand dune, we stopped to look all around us. There was a ridge leading out towards the opposite side of the dunes that looked like it might be a little taller, so we ventured out there. Several bumps later we arrived at the end of the ridge, which dropped down to the dry lake basin several hundred feet below. Here we determined our turnaround point, where we sat for a long time. The adjectives needed to describe how I felt in those long moments have yet to be invented. It was at once surreal, mysterious, serene and blissful. We snacked on gummy dinosaurs as we tried to express to each other just how awesome it was to be there, in the moonlight, together. I’d say this was one of the most unusual and memorable hikes I’d ever had.

Eventually we figured we had to get back to camp, so we walked back, trying to avoid any unnecessary hill climbs as we did so. We investigated several clumps of plants and noticed the funny illusions the moon shadows made as we walked. Back in camp, I fell quickly into a deep and satisfying sleep.

Seeing the Dunes for the First Time

The next morning we woke up to bright sun reflecting off the mounds of sand outside camp. We reluctantly got up after only a couple hours of shut-eye, and I promptly made a huge breakfast. We dallied a bit around camp before going for a short daytime hike in the dunes.

The highest point? Been there, done that. Instead we took time inspecting the vegetation, looking carefully for endemic plants and unique flowers. We noticed lots of animal tracks from birds, mammals and reptiles. Instead of heading for the large dune like everyone else, we explored some of the smaller sand piles–arguably more tiring during the morning heat. It was a pleasant way to kill time in the morning. I was astounded by the views in all directions. I could see the single dirt road leading into Eureka Valley, as well as the rippling striations in the surrounding mountains. Footprints led in several different tracks up the sand dunes, with many people walking along the tracks we made last night.

Take a look at the wide open spaces at the Eureka Dunes:

Hiking around Eureka Dunes was the exclamation point that punctuated our trip to Death Valley. We headed out before noon and mentally prepared for the long stretch of driving ahead. We made a quick stop at Scotty’s Castle, which turned out to be a great place to sit and eat a picnic lunch.

Beyond that, we drove almost nonstop through stunning Central Nevada, where we stopped at Mill Creek Recreation Area to camp. This free, tent-only camp was one of the loveliest I’d ever seen. A thin stream babbled along behind our campsite. There were clean pit toilets available, nice fire rings and picnic tables. Plus there were mountain views in every direction. We were the only ones there that night.

I was utterly inspired by Death Valley. This beautiful and desolate place should be on everyone’s bucket list. If you do go, make an effort to get at least a little off the beaten path. Just be sure to bring a gas can with a few spare gallons.

See photos from the Death Valley trip on Google Photos.

Continue the story…

• Rhyolite, NV and Ash Meadows
• Telescope Peak Summit
• Badwater, Sidewinder Canyon, and More
• Titus Canyon and Darwin Falls
• Eureka Dunes

March 27, 2013.

I know, if you look at a map it’s pretty random which things we connected in a day. But we headed to Death Valley with just a rough plan and plenty of wiggle-room to make last minute decisions. This way we were able to get a feel for the place without feeling stuck to a rigid to-do-list. Today felt like the most random of them all.

Titus Canyon

We began on a hunt for Fall Canyon, which failed miserably due to a poor guidebook description and associated map. So, we settled instead on Titus Canyon since it began from the same parking lot. A one-way dirt road runs through Titus Canyon, which is open to car traffic–although we didn’t know it at the time.

We began walking past the gate, which led into a wide canyon with steep walls on either side. The guidebook we had described this as a “slot canyon,” but I’d say that was a very loose application of the definition. While the walls were sheer and dramatic, the canyon floor was broad and gaping. A well-graded, nicely manicured gravel road led us along the way.

The canyon was pretty, with imposing walls made of interesting rock types. Parts of the wall looked like it had been sprayed liberally with clay. There were wildflowers, birds, and the occasional vehicle blazing down the road. That was the worst part of all. Cars, trucks, and SUV’s came ripping around corners, forcing us to get off the road/trail to let them pass. How obnoxious. What surprised me the most was how fast most people were traveling. Considering the number of hikers on the road–including several older people with walking sticks, children, etc., the drivers were not proceeding with much caution.

Once the canyon opened up a bit and we got sick of cars, we turned around and headed back. This is a canyon to be skipped if you are traveling on foot. There are much better options for hiking. The park should close this down to hikers if they are going to permit vehicles to travel the road.

Darwin Falls: An Oasis in the Desert

Darwin Creek is one of only a few permanent water sources in Death Valley National Park. We drove to the other side of the park to check out this highly recommended destination. The hike is only 2 miles round trip, which gave us ample time to poke around and take a look at the diverse array of plants and animals.

And poke around we did! As soon as we left the parking lot, we noticed something was different. There were lush green shrubs and flowers aplenty. A trickle of algae-packed water ran down the canyon. Birds sang joyously, as if to say, “look what we found!” We walked ahead slowly as I stopped to photograph every unique wildflower that was there. Frogs sat lazily in a small pool formed by the ever enlarging stream. As we continued up the canyon we occasionally got our feet wet as we hopped across the narrowest parts of the water. What a drastic change from the past few days!

There were a bunch of people milling about near the base of the falls, including one large group who were downclimbing some slabby, exposed rock just above the pool. I knew there was a way to get to an upper viewpoint, but surely that was not the way. For the first time, the book had a reasonably good description of where to look so we backtracked a bit and began scrambling up some rock and gravel, getting away from the crowds. This was the first time I had to swap trail shoes for Crocs, since I didn’t quite trust them on the steep rock.

The upper viewpoint was killer. We ended up on a rocky platform with an excellent view of the main falls, a thin stream of water dropping eighty feet down to the water-carved rock below. No one was here. We savored this moment for as long as we could, taking pictures, noticing all the cactus growing straight out of the rock on the opposite side of the canyon, and watching the sun drop lower in the sky. Upon leaving, we noticed some huge raptor nests in the cliffs just over our heads. This was a very special place.

The walk out was probably no faster than the walk in. This time, I was distracted by cactus. See, in wet, Western Oregon, cactus is like a thing that only exists in cartoons. I never get to see real, live cactus–the potted plants from the grocery store don’t count. Here, cactus grew wildly. The more I looked, the more I found. It was like a spiny Easter egg hunt, and it was really fun.

Panamint Springs

We decided to treat ourself to dinner tonight since we had a long drive ahead to Eureka Dunes. So we took another one of Joel’s recommendations and went to the restaurant at Panamint Springs Resort. The place was packed, and there were only two people working the entire bar and restaurant. Once we ordered beverages and food, however, the service was very friendly, prompt and accommodating. They had an incredible beer selection and I was happy to drink down a local, private label Hefeweisen that was distinctive and delicious. The BBQ burger that followed was also very satisfying. We left with full bellies and some tips on getting out to the dunes.

Long story short, we didn’t arrive at Eureka Dunes until nearly midnight so I’ll leave that part of the story for the next blog post.

See photos from the Death Valley trip on Google Photos.

Continue the story…

• Rhyolite, NV and Ash Meadows
• Telescope Peak Summit
• Badwater, Sidewinder Canyon, and More
• Titus Canyon and Darwin Falls

March 26, 2013.

 Don’t Drink the Water, It’s Bad

Today we’d planned to visit the lowest place in North America–Badwater. Here, temperatures can soar well over 100 degrees in the middle of the day, so we chose to arrive bright and early.

It was cool enough to wear long sleeves, and there was only one other car in the parking lot when we arrived. The small, saline pool at Badwater housed tiny, endangered snails and other aquatic life. Beyond the pool, salt flats stretched out across the valley floor to the base of the tallest peaks in the park, including Telescope Peak. We looked with admiration towards the summit of the mountain we’d stood atop just yesterday. How different life was down here.

Here’s a panoramic look at the area:

We walked out past the smooth bit of the salt flat that had been packed down by hundreds of thousands of visitors, and continued onto less frequently traveled territory. The salt here was heaved up in places, sculpted into unusual shapes, and punctuated by large holes. Some of the salt formed fragile, threadlike structures that looked like hairs. Looking back towards the parking lot we noticed more people had started to arrive, so we headed back to drive to our next destination.

Sidewinder Canyon

Just up the road, there are several canyons to explore. Taking Joel’s advice, we headed for Sidewinder Canyon. The hike was described in the Desert Hiking book I’d brought along, but we proceeded to head at once for the wrong canyon. None of these things are signed, of course. Aaron astutely noted a giant “X” made out of rocks and an arrow pointing right (also made out of rocks) at the mouth of the canyon we were about to enter. Heeding these subtle warnings, we headed right into the mouth of the next canyon.

It all began as a wide, gravelly expanse, with steep but short cliffs marking either edge of the canyon. I had sustained an impressively large and painful blister from the Telescope Peak hike and found it very challenging to walk with pressure against my heel, coming from my trail shoes. I decided to try out wearing my ugly purple Crocs instead, since the heel strap could be folded up and away from my pulsing blister.

I can now barely express my joy at having Crocs with me, as they saved the rest of my trip to Death Valley. Even with a large, painful blister on my foot, I was able to walk comfortably over sharp rock, gravel, dirt, sand, and everything else this park had to throw at me. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming…

We walked through the wide canyon, wondering what all the fuss was about. It was pretty, but there was nothing all too special about it. Soon, we noticed a small passageway on our right that seemed to venture out of the main canyon. The hike we planned was only about 4 miles, so we had time to explore, right?

We entered the side canyon and instantly our experience changed. The walls were tall and narrow. They appeared to be held loosely together by mud. Rocks of all shapes, colors, sizes and textures were glued together in an amalgam of debris. While Aaron was busy taking pictures and looking for living things, I stumbled across my prize–a dead chuckwalla. I was really excited to see chuckwallas in the wild at the start of this trip, but I was hoping for a more animated version than this.

With that behind us, we continued in a labyrinthine passageway that twisted and turned so much I completely lost my sense of direction. The walls varied from narrow to more narrow, and chockstones sat wedged in the smallest parts rising up above our heads. Take a walk with us by watching this video:

We scrambled up and over boulders as far as we could go until the canyon died out, then turned around.

Back in the main canyon, we were newly invigorated. Maybe this was a Transformers hike–more than meets the eye. We walked through the main canyon until it broadened substantially, stopping to investigate each slot that came in on the right. At the turnaround point, we scrambled up a steep game trail that led us to a gorgeous view atop the canyon walls. Temperatures up there flirted with 100 degrees, so we soaked in the views and then dashed back down into the shade.

We pretty much had this hike to ourselves, minus the one couple we saw heading out just as we were heading in. Considering this trailhead was right off the main road in a National Park, we felt pretty pleased with ourselves that we were able to find solitude in this cool little place.

Natural Bridge

Ugh, Natural Bridge. This stood in stark contrast to our last hike. We parked at the end of the short gravel road leading to the trail and began walking up towards the aforementioned bridge. On our way, we passed hordes of tourists heading to and fro. Many were dressed as if they were heading to the club later, and several were making weird kissy faces posing for Facebook pictures or something. Why do people do that?

Anyways, at the bridge, a bunch of lazy tourists were milling around taking pictures that marked their grand 1/4 mile adventure from the car. Most people obviously turn around here. That was our cue to keep going.

The canyon continues only another quarter mile longer, but the second half is much more impressive and beautiful than the first. At the end, we scrambled up a short little dryfall that had one steep, smooth section in the middle. Then the canyon dead-ends at a much taller dryfall that can’t be climbed by casual dayhikers. The rock here was streaked with green. We turned to look behind us and saw no one. This was awesome.

On the way down, Aaron descended the dryfall first with his long legs reaching all the nice little footholds. I ended up taking the more adventurous route down by pressing my Crocs firmly into the smooth rock and sliding down quickly on my feet and hands. Apparently I gave some passing tourists a bit of a scare. Ha!

Devil’s Golf Course

On to another salt flat: Devil’s Golf Course. A short drive brought us here. The terrain is rugged immediately after stepping out of the car. This ground sees far less foot traffic than Badwater. In fact, of the several cars that pulled up while we were there, only a handful of people even opened their doors to get out of the car. It’s no wonder there’s an obesity epidemic in America.

We carefully negotiated the sharp spines and bumps, checking out the new and unique structures made by salt and other minerals. The contrast between the tall, dark mountains and the low, white valley was made even more beautiful by the afternoon light.

We topped off our day with a scenic jaunt down Artist’s Drive, where we stopped at several pullouts to take photos in the setting sun. The rock walls streaked with lots of colors looked amazing in the soft, warm glow of the evening. From there we drove north towards tomorrow’s destination and again found a gravelly spot far enough from the road to make our camp. We enjoyed another night of quiet solitude under the stars.

See photos from the Death Valley trip on Google Photos.

Continue the story…

• Rhyolite, NV and Ash Meadows
• Telescope Peak Summit
• Badwater, Sidewinder Canyon, and More
• Titus Canyon and Darwin Falls

March 25, 2013.

We woke up with the sun on this cool, Monday morning, with mixed thoughts about what to pack for our summit hike. According to the NPS website, winter ascents of Telescope Peak may require ice axes and crampons. Looking at pictures of the mountain from the week prior, it hardly seemed there was much snow left. Our camp neighbor reported, however, that he noticed “a lot” of snow on the north side of the mountain on his Rogers Peak hike the previous day. He also mentioned cold and windy conditions on Rogers, which was a full 2000' lower than our hike today. Therefore, I packed lots of warm layers, including my big down jacket, to prepare for the wind on the exposed ridge. Doubting very much this would be a winter climb, I decided to leave crampons and axe behind.

Climbing Telescope Peak

Aaron and I started our hike from the far end of the campground and signed in at the summit register. There was one other hiker ahead of us in the log book. Almost immediately I could feel the effects of being at elevation. We walked slowly and methodically, and I warmed up quickly. Based on the predicted cold temperatures I had long underwear on beneath my pants, which I regretted badly. I quickly shed upper layers as we ascended but stubbornly refused to hassle with the bottoms yet. The air was cool but still; perfect hiking weather.

We immediately found expansive views of the entire valley as well as a preview of the rolling ridge walk ahead. It looked like it was going to be a great day. It was totally quiet out here, far from any large towns and well out of sight of roads and buildings in the valley.

The trail up Telescope was well graded. Although it was a full 7 miles to the summit, the miles drifted away with each step. Once I finally broke down and removed the long underwear, I was much more comfortable and moved along more easily. As we ascended, we began seeing scattered patches of snow. I guess “a lot” of snow to someone in Southern California is much different than to someone who regularly plays in the Oregon Cascades. I was really glad we left the snow gear behind.

In about 3.5 hours, we stepped on to the summit. We shared our victory with a solo hiker from Nevada, who had tons of great advice to share about what sights to see in Death Valley. We ended up taking many of his suggestions later in the trip and not one of them let us down. If you’re reading this, thanks Joel!

He took off and we stuck around for a bit, eating some lunch, reading the summit register entries and savoring the quiet solitude on this high peak. The weather was comfortably warm and practically windless. There was no sound, no distraction, just peaceful calm. Here’s a panoramic video shot from the summit:

After our extended break we packed back up and headed down the mountain. The rolling ridge was also pleasant in reverse. We passed a handful of people on their way up at various points along the trail. I don’t think we saw more than 10 people all day.

We were back in camp at 2:30. Now what? There was still half a day left! We changed into camp clothes and napped the afternoon away before deciding to head out.

Mesquite Dunes Night Hike

How about another hike? I thought. The moon would be close to full, and the sky was reasonably clear. We’d spotted some sand dunes right near the main road on our way to Mahogany Flat last night. So we drove back to the dunes, where there was a conveniently located large parking area with access to the sand. People were milling about in the lot. A few were actually out for a walk, and one group had set up camp not 10 yards from the parking lot. Nice work, guys.

I packed a small backpack with snacks, water and a long-sleeved shirt and we both set out under headlamp towards the dunes. I remembered spotting one dune in the distance as being the tallest of them all, and had set on hiking to that point. Aaron, not yet able to read my thoughts, had figured we were heading out for a short, aimless stroll. Once we were well out amidst the dunes I let him in on my plan. He reluctantly agreed, but was sure happy once we made it to our destination.

We walked under moonlit skies along ridges and dips in the sand, always keeping an eye on that ever distant high point. There were interesting salt formations and random plants along the way that offered up a distraction from the grueling act of walking through shifting sands. Once we got away from the road, the air was quiet. It was much warmer here than it was at our high camp, so it took some time to adjust to this new temperature.

The last stretch included cresting over two false summits before reaching the apex of the highest dune. It dropped off in nearly a vertical sand cliff on the other side; it was really cool!

I was dying to take my shoes off and run down the giant sand dune. My excitement was met by more reluctance from Aaron, who questioned the safety of my plan. Fortunately, he couldn’t stop me, and ultimately gave in. We both ran gleefully down the side of the sand dune, shoes strapped to our backs. It was oh so much fun.

After returning to the car, we decided to camp on a gravel road for the night. Most of the campgrounds in the park look like unpaved Walmart parking lots. People camp right on top of each other and often there are far more RVs than tents, so it really feels like a parking lot. I’d never want to camp again if that was my introduction to camping. Lucky for us, dispersed camping is allowed in the park as long as you are 2 miles from pavement or a developed area. So we ticked off the necessary 2 miles of gravel road driving, pulled off into a flat, rocky pullout and set up camp. It was quiet and peaceful, just like our summit of Telescope earlier in the day.

See photos from the Death Valley trip on Google Photos.

Continue the story…

• Rhyolite, NV and Ash Meadows
• Telescope Peak Summit
• Badwater, Sidewinder Canyon and More
• Titus Canyon and Darwin Falls