As we explored Montana in July, it was Monte @Blackdawg who suggested that a December trip to Death Valley would be the perfect time to get everyone together for a visit to the desert. Having planned our first trip in 2021, I set about building an itinerary that would pick up where we left off, taking us through entirely new terrain over the course of six days in the desert.
Then, a week before blast-off, the plumbing in Monte's new house exploded. Understandably, that put a crimp in his ability to join, and soon after, Mike @Digiratus, Zane @Speedytech7, and I decided to postpone the trip - so we could all go together - rather than pushing on without him.
Still, @mrs.turbodb and I had already forked over the staggering sum of $58/each for roundtrip tickets from Seattle to Las Vegas on Spirit Airlines. With a $99/each cancellation fee, there was nothing to do but figure out a new plan!
Digging through a series of resources - most notably, Digonnet's Hiking Death Valley and my stash of Steve Hall's trip reports - we settled on an itinerary that would shuttle us in and around the Cottonwood Mountains to a series of peaks, canyons, and overlooks that we'd not had a chance to visit when we'd trapsed through their folds only two weeks earlier.
Little did we know at the time, but it'd soon become apparent - as we encountered one summit and visitor log after another - that we were following in the footsteps two Death Valley Giants. Steve Hall and Jeremy Stoltzfus, it seems, have been everywhere.
We Finally Return to Marble Canyon | Following Giants #1 - 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…
The Hike up Tucki is Sucky! | Following Giants #2 - 9 Having enjoyed our peaceful evening in Marble Canyon, our next destination was another that I'd had on my To-Do list for quite some time. Back in 2021, we'd headed up Telephone Canyon to find a remote arch and a couple old mines. We'd driven all the way to the end of the road - or at least, as far as was legal - to a wilderness sign that designated the area beyond as "Foot and Horse Traffic Only," before turning back to spend the night at, and explore, the Tucki Mine. It wasn't the wilderness sign - so much…
Nemo Slot Canyon | Following Giants #3 - 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…
Towne Peak is Not the Goal | Following Giants #4 - On a dark, cold night in January 1952, a distress call went out over Death Valley. “Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. This is Air Force 001 bailing out north of Barstow, California,” the official crash report would later read. Soon after, the crew of six jumped out of the CIA's 16-ton, dual-engine, SA-16 Albatross plane into total darkness. The plane - under power of only a single engine and its backdoor hanging open - continued on course for several minutes before scraping a couple of summits. Then, against all odds, landed on its own - with surprisingly little damage - on an…
Our First Down Day | Following Giants #5 - There's a first time for everything. In all of our adventures, it seems like we're always on the go. I've never really given it much thought - probably because I know there's so much more to see than we ever can - always trying to utilize as many daylight minutes as possible, wherever we happen to be. This trip wasn't going to be any different. I'd planned six hikes over seven days, sure that - even with an extra day - we had more than we could possibly accomplish. Then, our butts were thoroughly cooked on our hike up Tucki…
Following a Knife's Edge to Ubehebe Peak | Following Giants #6 - From the edge of the Racetrack, an old mining trail climbs to the stark heights of Ubehebe Peak, across rocky slopes sparkling with heavily varnished plutonic rocks. The summit views are awesome, encompassing the Racetrack's eerie mud. flats on one side, Saline Valley's deep sink on the other, and many ranges all around. You might find it more difficult to leave than to get there. Hiking Death Valley Depending on who's telling it, Lippincott Pass is either a treacherous, near-death experience or a straightforward shortcut between Saline and Racetrack Valley's, hardly worth a second thought. For us, it has always…
White Top Mountain and the Silver Crown Mine | Following Giants #7 - The last time we drove White Top Mountain Road - in fact, the only time we've driven White Top Mountain Road - we did so under the cover of darkness. This was no problem - it is, for the most part well-graded - but it did mean that we were unable to experience the surroundings of this unfamiliar part of the park. Having just completed our hike to Ubehebe Peak, we had just about an hour of daylight as we took full advantage of the skinny pedal, a long trail of dust glowing in the evening sun, as we sped…
Wiggly Slots of O'Brien Canyon | Following Giants #8 - 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, faceted…