Water in Death Valley

We had grandiose dreams of going to the Racetrack for our 3rd anniversary  where the rocks move on their own (or by the strong winds during rain events). We tried some dirt roads for a while and found out that it was going to be an entire day of driving if we continued with this plan. Having already been to the Racetrack, I did not feel the need to go back. So instead, we drove back down the road and made our way to the Darwin Falls trailhead. This was down a shorter dirt road and much nearer to Panamint Springs. We arrived just in time for lunch. After lunch, we left the trailhead and started hiking up the dry wash. This was like any other hike in Death Valley except this wash was more open and we saw a lot of old pipe around. After less than a mile, the wash began to change and we saw water for the first time. This is the only hike I can think of in Death Valley where we had water on the hike. I carried Zyla as usual and she was just getting real used to being in the baby backpack. I was getting used to carrying 20 pounds of human when hiking also. The trail eventually became more lush and even a little muddy in places. We made sure to not get our shoes wet because we were never sure they could dry out. (kidding of course) Eventually after rather easy walking, we made it to a small stream flowing down the cliff side. This was Darwin Falls. In Olympic National Park, this would not even get a passing glance. But we were not in the rainforest, we were in Death Valley where there is not much water at all. We hung out here for quite some time taking a ridiculous amount of pictures and letting Zyla run around. She was happy for any time she could get out of the backpack as typically her parents were too eager to see more than let her have unlimited time out of the backpack. I checked out if you could get above the falls. I determined that you could, it would just take a little more effort than this group wanted to make on this day. I climbed around on the cliffs and let Zyla have her time running around. Eventually we met our quota of 50 pictures of Zyla, so then we headed back down the way that we came. We went back down to Panamint Springs for an anniversary dinner shared with Dad and Laura. It was the worst service and the most overpriced meal I have ever eaten. To top it all off, the food was worse than any roadside diner. Supply and demand at its best. I guess you do what you can do when you are in a place as inhospitable to humans as Death Valley can be. Happy 3rd anniversary Jacqueline!

Wildrose Peak

We awoke in Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley. We were only planning to stay one day in Stovepipe Wells and on this evening we would stay the night in Panamint Springs. In between, we were heading up to the mountains where it was cooler. Dad was going to go climb Telescope Peak, the highest in Death Valley, while Jacqueline, Zyla, and I were going to head up a lesser summit, Wildrose Peak. It was a long drive to get to the trailhead including a long section of dirt road. 

We had a run in with a jerky guy who would not pull his vehicle to the side as we were going up. We had to back way down the hill to get out of his way even though there was a turnoff not very far from where we were. We dropped Dad off at the trailhead for Telescope Peak and then drove back down to our trailhead at the Charcoal Kilns. I checked out the kilns while Jacqueline gave Z her lunch. The trail started out rather flat with just a slight incline to begin with. We were both moving really well and enjoying the fact that it was in the 80s rather than 100s. The trail climbed for a bit and then gave us some good views down into Death Valley. We watched the sky wondering what was going to happen with the weather. Some afternoon thunderstorms were building but the temperature was still rather comfortable. The vegetation, though full of trees now, was still rather sparse as Death Valley is not a place to go check out the plants. There were some bristlecone pines once we got to high elevation. We were moving great and super confident about making the top until we came around a corner just below the push to the summit. There we were blindsided by rain and heavy wind. So far, little Z had done great sleeping a lot of the hike and was a great companion on the hike. We were happy to have her with us, but now that we hit this weather, we couldn't subject a 16 month old to these bad of conditions. We looked over to Telescope Peak to see the same sort of weather over there and moving our way. We turned around though the summit was just a few hundred yards away. Once we got to lower elevation, the weather died down and it was just a bit windy. There was no lightning making it just a high altitude rain event. We cruised down in pretty good time and then got back to the Xterra. We drove up the hill to the trailhead for Telescope Peak again where I hiked out to meet Dad coming down, while Jacqueline gave Zyla a little snack. Dad had made the summit not allowing the poor weather to turn him around. We hiked the last little bit down as I tried to recall the trail from the time I had hiked to the top of Telescope Peak 9 years earlier. I wondered now if we would have to go back later to finish off this hike to the top of Wildrose Peak.

Death Valley

Jacqueline and I had an entire week off of work! With nothing but time on our hands, we decided that we wanted to spend it out camping, hiking, and traveling. A place not too far from home is Death Valley. Jacqueline had never been there, so I figured this was a good opportunity. We got a good start on our first day out. The drive is not incredibly long being only about 4.5 hours. We decided to mix it up a bit and go out to Devil’s Hole. This is the famous place with the pupfish that seems to be in every Biology textbook. It was a short detour from our drive down some incredibly dusty roads. The hole was exactly what we thought it was. It had gates up and a bridge to look down into it. It definitely warranted a visit, but was rather unexciting from a tourist point of view. Glad I went, but never going back. We continued the drive and found ourselves arriving in Furnace Creek at 100 feet below sea level just after dinner time. We quickly set up the tent and wondered how we were going to sleep in the intense heat. It was over 100 degrees and as the sun went down, we did not get any relief. After getting our camp chores done, it was time for Zyla to go to sleep. She was just melting in the heat, so we decided to not use the pea pod for the night. Instead, we set up the pack and play where our 16 month old dripped sweat with just a diaper on. The pack and play confined Jacqueline and I to a small space. That was not working well as we became a sticky mess. I finally got to sleep when I went out and laid down on the large picnic table in just my shorts. I joined the girls in the tent after midnight and finally got a few hours of sweaty sleep. Zyla did fairly well, but we were all up early and ready to go. We ate a quick breakfast and then went down the road to see the sights. Our first stop was Badwater Basin where Zyla enjoyed playing in the salt deposits.On the drive, we saw a desert bighorn sheep out in the salt flats baking in the 100 degree heat. He must have been lost because I would have been in the mountains if I was him. We finally got out to do a hike to the natural bridge. It was so hot that just hiking out to that spot was challenging. Zyla felt extra heavy in the backpack slogging up the sandy section of ground going up canyon to get to the bridge. It was only a half mile, but it felt like a lot more. The bridge was massive going right over the canyon, but being the mudstone that is so common in Death Valley, it was less inspiring than a sandstone arch. We left from there to go to Devil’s Golf Course which is the very course evaporates that look as uncomfortable as a cactus to fall into. We did what was known as the Artist’s Drive next preferring to stay inside of the vehicle with the comfortable air conditioning. By that time, it was approaching noon and Zyla’s lunch time. So we decided that we did a pretty dang good job of seeing the sights on the Badwater Road skipping only Golden Canyon as the main touristy area. We drove on up to Stovepipe Wells where we had a room for the night and meeting up with my dad and Laura. They let us check in early and I have never been so happy for an air conditioned hotel room. Showers for all and some football watching, before a dip in the pool was in order. So refreshing!We spent the rest of the day just enjoying ourselves until we had an overpriced dinner in the evening. On our way back to our room, a visitor reminded us what kind of creatures truly enjoy this hot environment. We made sure to keep our distance as we were visitors in his home. So far the beginning of our vacation was going great as we were yet to scratch the surface on some of the great hikes and outside experiences that lay ahead for Zyla. Or as she liked to call it “side”, which was quickly becoming one of her favorite words on this trip.