Almost exactly a month ago, we headed south to Death Valley. Our goal - to explore a handful of places we've left behind over our years of exploration:
There are several places that I've wanted to check out in Death Valley for quite some time, but that haven't fit into the route or schedule for previous trips. Hoping to knock off a bunch of those places that I've "left behind," I set about planning a route that would take us along West Side Road and the eastern escarpment of the Panamint Mountains. From there, we'd repeatedly climb into the canyons, exploring the mines, narrow passages, and vistas that each had to share. It would - I thought - be a lot like our trip along the Nadeau Trail, or our recent foray into the Inyos.
In fact, it was nothing of the sort.Dan, Left Behind (Jan 2023)
Only managing to visit two of the five canyons, and not even completing all the hikes we'd hope to in those two locations - there's really nothing to do but "try again." I'm always saying how leaving one thing or another is just a reason to return, and so, I'm finally taking my own advice.
We're heading back - to finish what we started. Or - at least - to learn again that there's always something more left behind!


