Recently in Desert Southwest Category
"What wonders lie ahead?"
This is how Dave started us off on the trail every day of our six day trip into the Grand Canyon. Our group, (me, Paige, John, Dave (Paige's Dave), and David (my Dave)), spent an incredible week exploring some remote corners of the Clear Creek canyon, while also enjoying some civilization at the Phantom Ranch down along the Colorado River.
View the extended entry for the trip report and links to pictures. It's a long one, but I decided to keep everything in a single entry instead of posting a separate entry for each of the six days on the trail.
After a couple days of fun in Las Vegas we hit the road to join a group of friends in Death Valley for Thanksgiving. Our meeting place was the old trailer park on BLM land just outside of the park. This is an interesting place - once a trailer park for local miners, it is now a makeshift overflow campground for visitors to Death Valley. Old trailer slabs are now convenient flat spaces to set up camp, the old paved road makes it accessible to all vehicles, and firepits have been built around the old slabs. It's a minimal facility campground though - no running water or rest rooms to make things nice.
We met Sooz, Robin, and Joe at the trailer park late in the afternoon on Thanksgiving. Gary showed up shortly after. Everyone had planned ahead to bring pieces of the Thanksgiving meal, and it was an incredible feast. Turkey, rolls, stuffing, potatoes, green bean casserole, wine, and pumpkin pie. It was incredible, considering the conditions we were working in to get the meal ready.
Overnight, Lewis and the two Toms showed up. We hit the road and headed out Greenwater (past Dante's View) to hike Funeral Peak. We dropped our cars on the side of the road and hiked up the easy peak. We got to enjoy some history along the way. Tom G spotted some incredible petroglyphs and we spent some time exploring the area for more. There was a large (~3 ft tall?) headless shaman-like figure with a head in its hand, among many others.
A short time later we ran across an old mining claim post. These aren't unusual in the Death Valley back country, but this one still had the claim paper in it. Prospectors would put up a post to stake their claims, and then roll up a sheet of paper containing copies of the documentation and stick it in a hole in the post. It's very unusual to find a claim post with a paper still in it.
Funeral peak was a simple hike but it was a lot of fun with our group. It was a bit disappointing to arrive on the summit and find that someone had actually gone through the trouble of stealing the benchmark.
Friday night was a bunch of fun around an exploding campfire. We even saw chickens fly.
Saturday was one of the highlights of the week. Tom G and Lewis had some vague information about the location of some pictographs (which are painted, rather than carved like petroglyphs) in the southeast area of the park. We decided to spend the day hiking the area and searching for these pictographs. We spent the morning wandering around the canyon, searching every nook and cranny of every rock that looked like it had the potential to hold pictographs or petroglyphs. By lunch we were starting to feel a little discouraged, although we were having fun hiking around and enjoying the views in this beautiful canyon. Tom G had spotted some signs of Indian inhabitants, including hunting blinds and campfire caves, so we were encouraged that we were on the right track.
By 2 pm we were thinking about heading back to the trucks so we could get back to camp before it got dark. We decided to follow one last side canyon, and it was here that we were successful. Actually, David was the successful one. He ran ahead and caught sight of the cave we were searching for in the next canyon over. We worked our way over to this cave and were treated to some spectacular pictographs and remains (chips, arrowheads, mortars, grinding stones, and tools). There were other pictographs in the region as well.
As we hiked back to where we left the vehicles, chatting happily about the day's experiences, we found some signs of more recent inhabitants. We found the dump behind what was once likely a 'refreshments' stop for miners coming up the canyon. Carved in the rock by the piles of ~100 year old glass was the name of the likely proprietor of the saloon. A cold beer would have been lovely after the day's adventures, but unfortunately the saloon is long gone.
On our way back I got to see a little bit of the town of Death Valley Junction. We stopped by the local cemetery and the fascinating Amargosa Opera House.
Saturday night consisted of a few more bottles of wine, a few more flying chickens, and many more laughs. I always enjoy this trip so much, and look forward to next year's adventures already!
Click on the petroglyph photo for all the images from Death Valley.
After our eventful day in Zion National Park we drove the short distance to Bryce Canyon National Park. Arriving after dark, we didn't get to enjoy the scenery until the next morning. We got up early and were in the park just around sunrise, which we enjoyed from Sunset Point. Sunrise at Bryce is amazing, and I would recommend to any one who visits to get out of bed early to experience it.
Bryce Canyon (which isn't a canyon, but there is no geologic name to describe exactly what it is), is an exposed feature of the red Utah landscape. It was once a sea floor and many processes combined to make the hoodoos what they are today. What's left are spires and formations that look like they were taken straight out of a Dr Seuss book. Half of the fun of wandering among the hoodoos is to see figures and pictures in their shapes. In one day we saw kissing camels, the Swedish Chef, Queen Elizabeth, the Road Runner, and many others (I seemed to be seeing a lot of Muppets, but maybe that's just me).
We used every minute of daylight available to us, doing some hiking from the rim down to the hoodoos, as well as doing the touristy thing and stopping at every viewpoint with our cameras. The hoodoos were obviously the highlight of the day, but we did have the excitement of seeing a Ring-Tailed Cat - supposedly related to the raccoon, it sure behaved more like a house cat, watching us curiously from a tree while we snapped photos.
Having scoped out the park, we figured out where we would catch a good sunrise and we came back the following morning before the sun came up. From Bryce Point I saw the best sunrise I've seen - it was a beautiful sunrise by itself, and the glowing hoodoos were just icing on the cake. We had to be back in Vegas by that evening, so we left Bryce after sunrise and took a scenic route back to highway 15, driving through Cedar Breaks National Monument for our last hoodoo fix.
Click on the photo above for the enormous photo album from Bryce. Next up: Death Valley!
Our trip started with the long drive out to Zion National Park. We arrived on Saturday night, just in time for sunset. After sunset we checked into our hotel, the Pioneer Lodge in Springdale. This was my favorite hotel of our vacation. The decor was great and the beds were really comfy. I'm sure that during the regular season it is overpriced, but we got a good deal since this is supposed to be the off-season. We just lucked out with the record high summer-like temperatures.Sunday morning we woke up early so that we could get in as much hiking as possible before the sun set. Our first stop was the Weeping Rock, a short little hike to a neat arch in the canyon walls. Here, water has seeped through the sandstone and collided with a shale layer. The water is forced out of the side of the rock here and drips down, forming a year round seep. After visiting the Weeping Rock we continued up and up the trail to the Hidden Canyon, a beautiful hanging canyon with dryfalls, steep walls, and arches.
Next we stopped by the Narrows. There is a nice paved trail along the Virgin River that ends at the entrance to the Narrows. Having asked at the Visitor's Center, we knew that the water was only knee deep at the worst, and we planned on walking down the Narrows for a while. Well, I didn't pay attention to the fact that the water was 47 degrees, and since I'm a big baby I stopped at the end of the paved trail and waited for David while he walked down the Narrows for a short distance. Lesson Learned: Next time I'll bring neoprene socks.
The last hike and definite highlight of the day was Angel's Landing. This is a towering rock in the middle of the canyon, with 1500 foot drops on either side. It was named Angel's Landing by early visitors who thought the rock's summit could only be visited by Angels. That couldn't keep a few hearty hikers away, and now the rock is scaled by many people every year. The hike is easy at first - it climbs up some cleverly built switchbacks and is wide and paved. After the switchbacks one reaches a nice viewpoint of the canyon below. At the same time, one sees the imposing ridge of Angel's Landing rising to their right. This ridge is narrow and steep, and chains have been installed for the guidance and safety of those who wish to climb the extra distance to the summit.
Now, if this trail were mere feet of the ground it wouldn't warrant a second thought from the average hiker. But, the enormous dropoff to either side of the ridge adds an element of danger and fear that scares many people away. I'm (luckily) not scared of heights and had a lot of fun scrambling up the ridge, enjoying the views and terrain along the way. I saw some people who look terrified, some who simply looked nervous, and others who were clearly having the time of their lives (other than me). We met a condor who was sitting in a tree next to the trail - by all accounts he had been there for hours - surveying the ridge, obviously waiting for someone to slip and fall. No one obliged, so Mr Condor went to bed hungry.
After Angel's Landing we headed out of the park towards Bryce. I've not gone through those pictures yet, however, so for now you can see the Zion photos by clicking on the image above.
Sunday night we made it to Bryce Canyon, so we got up early on Monday and headed into the park for sunrise over the hoodoos (love that word...). The day was spent oogling the views from various viewpoints and wandering down among the hoodoos - a nice mixture of hiking and sightseeing in a park I've never visited.
Tuesday morning we got up at the pre-crack of dawn to catch sunrise from another Bryce viewpoint. It was one of the most stunning sunrises I've ever seen, not that I wake up for many. It was definitely worth the below freezing temperatures and early morning wake-up call. It also forced me to take approximately two kerjillion photos, which is why nothing has been posted yet - it's just taking me too long to filter them down to the best of the bunch. After sunrise we worked our way back to highway 15 through Cedar Breaks National Monument - normally closed due to snow, but currently open. It was another spot to stop and take in hoodoo views before heading back to Vegas.
We did the Vegas thing - saw a show (The Producers), ate too much (Eiffel Tower Restaurant), and spent too much (wine bar at Mandalay Bay). Before we got into too much trouble we headed out to Death Valley to meet the other Southern California hikers for Thanksgiving dinner and a few days of hiking and exploring. We met on BLM land just outside of the Furnace Creek side of the park at the location of an abandoned trailer park that once housed miners and their families. No trailers are left, but there are nice flat concrete slabs and spaces for camping/parking and fire pits. It's a nice place to base camp for exploring the Southeastern part of the park. Nothing but classy accommodations for us - squatters in a trailer park.
Thanksgiving dinner was better than I imagined it ever could be with only a campfire, a campstove or two, and no running water to aid in preparation. On Friday we climbed Funeral Peak, and on Saturday we spent all day hiking and searching around a canyon for the location of a cave containing pictographs. It took several hours, but eventually Dave found them. It was an incredible site to see and I'm really pleased that we got to experience this rarely seen and preserved location.
So, after all of that, I have lots of photos. I'm slowly getting through them, hopefully I'll have them posted over the next few days. As usual, it was a great trip with great people and I can't wait until our next outing.
Dave and I regularly head for the desert over Thanksgiving week. Aside from the crowds, it is a great time to visit due to the mild weather. This year's trip was a mishmash of a lot of places: Rainbow Basin, Mojave National Preserve, Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, and Death Valley. Rather than throw everything into one photo album, I tried to break it down by area or hike.
Click links for photo album.
- Rainbow Basin, Saturday Nov 18: We left the Bay Area on Friday and drove all the way to Barstow. Just outside of Barstow is Rainbow Basin, a small BLM area of scenic rocks and canyons. We set up a late camp at the nearly deserted Owl Canyon Campground and had a short fire and snack before heading to bed. In the morning we did the short loop drive to oogle the scenery, then drove the few miles over to Calico Ghost town.
- Calico Ghost Town, Saturday Nov 18:
Calico is a commercialized and rebuilt old silver mining town. Some buildings are original, but most have been converted into shops, restaurants, and even a Mystery Spot. If you have ever been to Bodie, imagine the Mouse taking it over and you have Calico. It did allow me the opportunity to discover that Dave had never been to a Mystery Spot, so I made us pay the $1 entry so he could experience its wonders. It was an amusing trip to kill a few hours before we tried to find a sports bar to watch the UM/OSU game. (*sniff*) - Mojave National Preserve, Sunday Nov 19: After the game, we drove over to Mojave National Preserve to meet the Southern California 4x4 Geocachers for a campout at Mid Hills Campground. We had a great time socializing around the fire with the group, and I'm glad we stopped by. On Sunday morning we checked out the newly renovated Kelso Depot, the old train station in the middle or the park, and then drove down the Aiken Mine Road, a semi-rough dirt road that runs through the lava field and cinder cones in the park. We stopped at a lava tube, saw a cinder mine, and finished our visit by paying our respects to the missing Mojave Phone Booth (a fascinating story).
- Las Vegas, Sunday November 19 - Thursday November 23:
After Mojave we drove over to Las Vegas. We stayed on the strip, at the Monte Carlo, and spent our days on visits to the nearby parks and our nights wandering the strip, eating, and catching shows. Highlights include: an amazing wood fired mushroom pizza at Wolfgang Puck, visitng several brepub/casinos, dinner across from the Bellagio at Mon Ami Gabi while we watched the fountains go again and again, and seeing the Amazing Johnathan at the Sahara. - Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Monday November 20:
Red Rock is easily accessible from Las Vegas, and offers a lot to do to keep anyone busy, from sightseer to hiker to climber. We've visited several times before, but this time we did a quick hike through an area we hadn't seen before and checked out some petroglyphs we'd never noticed. On our way out of the park we saw some wild burros and stopped for photos. - Valley of Fire State Park, Tuesday November 21:
Valley of Fire is an amazingly scenic valley of red rocks about an hour outside of Las Vegas. Everywhere I turned I was clicking my camera. We stopped at the standard stops: arch rock, petrified logs, viewpoints, and even saw some big horn sheep hanging out in a canyon below us while we took a short hike. It's a beautiful place and I highly recocmmend stopping by if you are in the area. - Panamint Springs Thanksgiving, Thursday November 23:
By Thursday we had gotten enough of Las Vegas, and after stuffing our bellies with a breakfast buffet we hit the road and headed for Death Valley. We passed straight through the park and went to Panamint Springs Resort, where we partook in their annual Thanksgiving feast. Thanks for the awesome meal in the middle of the desert! After eating and topping off the gas, we headed out over Hunter Mountain to head back into the park, into the Racetrack area. At Lost Burro Gap we planned on meeting with a group from HighSierraTopix.com, and John, Sooz, and Joe were already settled in. - Perdido Canyon, Friday November 24:
On Friday morning we sucked down some coffee to help warm us up after the near-freezing night, then set up a shuttle so the five of us could hike Perdido Canyon one-way. We ended up leaving a truck at the upper end and driving back to the bottom, which in retrospect seems kind of silly. Why didn't we hike *down*? Anyways, the canyon was nice - we found several fossils and at the end had some good views out over the desert. - Corridor Canyon, Saturday November 25:
Sooz had suggested hiking Corridor Canyon on Saturday, and it was an awesome choice! Tom and Kathy had arrived on Saturday night and joined us for this hike. Corridor had a bit of everything. It began at some interesting mining ruins, passed through a really fossil-rich area, had walls with petroglyphs everywhere, offered some nice dry falls for us to slide around on, petered down to a 3-4 foot wide narrows, and eventually spit us out in a 2/3 mile long straight canyon, unlike any I had been in before. The pictures don't do it justice, but I tried.
Photos are trip reports are here! Click on the day in the list below for the trip report and a link for the photos from that day.
- Day 1: Joshua Tree National Park - Boy Scout Trail and Samuelson's Rock
- Day 2: Joshua Tree National Park - Carey's Castle and the Oasis of Mara
- Day 3: Joshua Tree National Park - John's Camp, Wall Street Mill, and Hidden Valley
- Day 4: Joshua Tree National Park - Eagle Cliff Mine, Geology Tour Road
- Day 5: Palm Springs Tram and San Jacinto
- Day 6: Living Desert Wildlife and Botanical Park
- Days 7-9: Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park
As a break from all of our hiking we spent the morning visiting the Living Desert Park in Palm Desert. The botanical gardens showed off many of the plants we had seen throughout the week and it was good to put names with the plants we recognized. They also had some desert wildlife; most of the animals are kept there because they cannot survive in the wild due to various reasons.
Photos are available by clicking on the image of the Octillo to the left.
Today we left our cheap and never-boring accomodations at the Twentynine Palms Motel 6 and headed down to Palm Springs to catch the Tram. The tram, which left at 10 am, starts at about 2000 feet and carries riders up to aroound the 8500 ft level of the San Jacinto State Park. From there, it is about a 12 mile round trip hike to the 10,804 ft summit of Mt San Jacinto. We were on the summit by 12:30 and were surprised by the lack of wind and the nice temperature - about 70 degrees F.
After enjoying our picnic lunch and the view, we headed back down and were back at the tram station around 3, giving us plenty of spare time to enjoy the views, then get down and check into our hotel and enjoy a swim in the pool before heading out for dinner. Although the temps at the top of the tram were very comfortable (70s), on the way down I could feel the numbers creeping up, and once we were back down in Palm Springs it was well above 100. Ugh. It was a nice incentive to order a giant margarita with my yummy dinner at Las Caseulas Terraza. There is nothing like a margarita and an enormous pile of Mexican food after a long hike.
Photos available by clicking on the image to the left.
Since we enjoyed our hike to and exploration of Carey's Castle, a docent/ranger at the west side visitor center recommended another hike to us, Eagle Cliff Mine. This one has a similar and just as impressive miner's cabin in the rocks, but it is not as strongly a kept secret as Carey's. In fact, the Eagle Cliff Mine hike was clearly and accurately described in one of our hiking guidebooks. A short hike from the Desert Queen Mine parking area, we were in and out in a jiffy and got to see some amazing relics of the mining era.
Next, we did the Geology Tour road. We avoided this over the weekend specifically because it can be a pain to drive this 4WD, one way road when there are a lot of people around (such as on a holiday weekend). We did the whole tour without seeing another soul until we got to the very end, and it included a stop at Pushwalla Canyon for a good hike.
The hike was supposed to take us to Pushwalla Plateau for an impressive view of the valley and mountains south of the park. However, the guidebook description was not very clear and we ended up taking a wrong fork in the maze of a canyon. We figured out later that we were right where we needed to be to get to the plateau, but didn't really realize it at the time. Ah well - it gives us something to come back for.
We headed back to the hotel for what ended up being a pretty exciting laundry afternoon (involving the stealing of my duffel, a police report, recovery of said duffel, and a guy going to jail), and a great dinner at a not-so-fancy but oh-so-yummy BBQ joint in Twentynine Palms.
The photo album for this day's hikes is available by clicking on the image to the upper left.
