54 A few weeks earlier - as we'd thoroughly enjoyed our hike through the upper 7 miles of Bighorn Gorge - we'd known that a return trip through O'Brien Canyon was an option. In fact, based on a description I'd found in what we lovingly refer to as the Death Valley Bible, I'd planned for us to return via this alternate route. The thrilling part of this little-known place is its superb narrows about 2 miles down from the [Silver Crown] mine. For several hundred yards the canyon squeezes through a series of tight passages, shaded underworlds of slick bedrock,…
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2 For anyone familiar with recent Death Valley weather history, the impact of hurricane Hillary in 2023 will be a memorable event. After 2.2 inches of rain fell in a single day - more than the average annual total of 2.15 inches - nearly every road in the park was closed. Only a few opened within days, and a few more within weeks. Months later, many major thoroughfares were still closed. Today, more 15 months later, nearly all of the roads have been reopened, with the exception of the one we wanted to use to reach our next destination. Exiting…
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4 It was on the final night of our very first trip to Death Valley that we rushed through Cottonwood and Marble canyons, and we haven't been back since. It was largely the popularity of these places that kept me from returning, our preference to spend time in more remote places of the park outweighing the draw of narrows and rock art that Marble Canyon is known for. Still, it was tough to ignore the description of Marble Canyon that constantly caught our attention in Digonnet's Hiking Death Valley, and when we found ourselves with an extra afternoon at the…
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Generally, when I visit Death Valley, my goal is to explore the more remote regions of the park. Long lost dirt roads, canyons that entail as much climbing as hiking, and days without seeing another soul (with the exception of @mrs.turbodb) - these are the places we spend our time. As such, exploration of Death Valley proper - largely along CA-190 - has been light. Sure, most of the major tourist attractions have been seen, but surely in a place this inhospitable, even CA-190 holds special places that are only infrequently visited. Remote despite their proximity to pavement. With a…
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As is my custom, I set my alarm for half-an-hour or so before sunrise. As with the time immediately after sunset, this shadowless hour of the day is often aglow with pastel tones and a fleeting stillness that I enjoy every time. For 50 years or more, Joshua has had a really nice view. Enjoying the Belt of Venus over the Mountains. The pink band is actually the area between Earth's shadow and the blue sky. Layers and layers, the as the Range, Mountains, Mountains, and finally the Mountains reach toward the sky. Here, away from the hustle and bustle…
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I can't tell you how excited I was to hike . A trek I'd been planning for months, its remote location relative to much of the rest of the park was the only reason I hadn't done it sooner. Boasting phenomenally polished narrows, an enormous chockstone, and a short side trip to Death Valley's largest arch, it was sure to be a highlight of my trip. That is, if the treacherous route didn't end in disaster. I got a relatively late start - having gotten up at sunrise, I still didn't reach the trailhead until just before 11:00am - distances…
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We didn't know it when we woke up, but today would be our last day of the trip. But, I'm obviously getting significantly ahead of myself, so let's take a step - or three - back. Our amazing spot on the edge of the Grand Canyon, overlooking the Colorado River was just as spectacular when we woke up in the morning as it'd been the evening before. After a few gusts just before we climbed into the tent, I'd taken the hint and secured two full 5-gallon jerry cans of fuel to the ladder, eliminating any worry that a CVT-sandwich…
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High up on a ridge in the Funeral Mountains, we'd gone to bed with a gentle breeze blowing through the tent. It'd been chilly, given the time of year and our 4800' elevation, but not too bad - until midnight anyway, when the wind picked up. With gusts up to 15mph, the 32ºF air meant that wool caps, burrowing, and earplugs were in order as the tent buffeted around us for the remainder of the night. The silver lining in it all, were the clouds that were blown in, and as I climbed out of the tent just after 6:00am,…
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As the third rain shower of the night hit camp, we all decided it was time for bed, and the fire got put away as we retired to our respective perches to the pitter patter of raindrops - which, along with the nearby gurgling of the creek, lulled us to sleep. It rained on and off through the first half of the night, but by morning the rain had passed and the skies were mostly clear - a great way to start the day. In a depression and with clouds still on the eastern horizon, there was no point in…
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Before heading to bed, Monte (@Blackdawg) tried his best to prep us for what lay ahead. "It's a long hike." he said. "We can make it 10 miles or even 14, depending on the route we take. But don't worry, it's mostly flat." Well, it wasn't mostly flat - except maybe on his computer screen. But of course, I'm getting ahead of myself. Nestled in our little alcove on BLM land just west of Canyonlands National Park, it was obvious when we went to bed that there wasn't going to be any spectacular sunrise - the landscape just didn't lend…
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The night was one of the most pleasant we've spent in the tent - no wind to speak of, which meant that all the windows were down and the nearly full moon illuminated the rocky landscape around us until it set along the western horizon around 3:00am. Knowing that this could be a great place to catch sunrise, I'd set my alarm for 6:30am to make sure that I didn't miss it - so when I woke up just a few minutes before it went off, I decided I might as well get myself going. After all, I could see…
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We slept well through the night, our location mostly sheltered from the strong winds. What little wind made it to the tent was easily quieted by ear plugs, making for a peaceful night sleep. Most of the night passed uneventfully - a fact we were happy for given the weather report we'd seen the day before. We were right on the edge of a weather system - areas to the west expecting rain all day, areas to the east predicted to be dry. But then, around 5:00am, a pitter-patter on the rain fly - we hadn't escaped the rain fully.…
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We slept well through the night - my only complaint really being that at 55º-60ºF, it was too warm and I woke up a bit sweaty somewhere around 2:00am. It was a simple enough fix to remove one of the comforters from my side, and I quickly fell back asleep until my sunrise alarm went off way too early. I wasn't sure exactly when sunrise was going to be, so I'd set the alarm for 5:15am. Turns out that 5:45am would have been a better time to catch the morning color. Perhaps a bit out of character, @mrs.turbodb was keen…
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Our sleep was short-lived, the wind continuing to pick up as the night wore on. In fact, this chapter technically starts on February 15th, since it was 11:45pm when we awoke to the most violent shaking of the tent I've ever experienced - significantly more violent than the night I spent with Monte @Blackdawg and Mike @Digiratus at the base of the Henry Mountains in Utah. I'd already gotten up once to secure the ladder, tying it to a full 5-gallon jerry can of water and the slider of the truck to ensure that the fold-out half of the tent wouldn't make…
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The night passed much more peacefully than the one before and we slept extremely well on our new Exped Megamat Duo 10 - a great fit in the @cascadia tents Mt. Shasta, and significantly more comfortable than the foam mattress. Hoping for a dramatic sunrise, I was up early to explore camp. In the end, given our location in the pass - there wasn't much color in the sky, the weather seemed to be holding and the temps were warmer than the day before, and I was happy to explore the hilly area around camp to see what secrets it held.…
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The rain continued lightly through the night - I'm not sure if it ever really stopped, but it never poured and the weather around us stayed calm - resulting in a restful night's sleep all around. It also meant that there was no need to get up early for sunrise, and so it wasn't until 8:45am that we all - simultaneously for the most part - climbed down out of our tents to greet the drizzly-gray morning. Despite the weather - which we hoped would clear - this was going to be a special day. In fact, where Mike @Digiratus…
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