Death Valley Adventures Steve Hall's Death Valley Adventures
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"Welcome everybody to my Trip Planning blog for future hikes I am researching to take in Death Valley."-- Steve Day 11- Lower Rainbow CanyonPosted on March 15th, 2010
(above) The narrows before the 20 foot dry fall of Rainbow Canyon
On Monday morning, I set out on my first ever hike that started at Panamint Springs Resort. After parking there and using their great internet service, I set out to the north and hiked all the way through Lower Rainbow Canyon. I stopped at the base of the 20 foot dry fall (comprised of huge boulders), which is the same place I had reached after hiking down Middle Rainbow Canyon (although I stopped at the top of the 20 foot dry fall). I tested out climbing it a bit and I could see why the hiker who tried to down climb it got hurt, so I wouldn’t recommend trying it. I think if I had pushed to make it, I would have gotten hurt, too.
HIKING MILEAGE UPDATE
Day 6- Upper & Middle Rainbow Canyon (4 miles), Day 7- Grave Canyon S Fork (15 miles), Day 8- Mill Canyon (13 miles), Day 9- White Slickenside Canyon (8 miles), Day 10- Tuber BM & Tuber Cyn (8 miles), Day 11- Lower Rainbow (10 miles)
Total to date for Spring 2010 Trip– 116 miles
Day 10- Tuber BM & Tuber CanyonPosted on March 15th, 2010
(above) View of Telescope Peak from Tuber BM
On Sunday, Charlie came up with the brilliant plan to one-way hike Tuber Canyon. We parked up Wildrose Canyon Road and first hiked up almost 2,000 feet to Tuber BM. After reaching the summit, we dropped into Tuber Canyon near the 2nd major spring (as marked on topo maps). We found flowing water there, and then enjoyed the hike down canyon. After passing by one smaller spring, we then reached the 1st major spring and bypassed the gorge on the right side by following the trail along the cliffs.
Day 9- Amazing DiscoveriesPosted on March 15th, 2010
(above) Charlie and Steve at the base of the 1st dry fall during their hike
On Saturday, Charlie Callagan (park naturalist) and myself hiked a remarkable unvisited canyon. During our hike, we made perhaps the most significant discoveries of natural features in the park during the past decade. And the remarkable thing is that both of these special wonders were found in the exact same canyon. Along with our two discoveries, we also enjoyed the canyon itself… it was fantastically beautiful in every way imaginable. Pictures and more details will follow later in my report, however this will be one of the canyons where we share the range it is found in, but not the exact location (much like the Natural Bridge Canyon in the Cottonwood Mountains report). Right now, we’re trying to choose between 3 different names for the canyon. Also, with Charlie’s help, I climbed an 18 foot near-vertical dry fall towards the end of our hike, which was even scarier coming back down. (Different than the dry fall pictured above.)
Day 8- Mill CanyonPosted on March 15th, 2010
(above) Looking over the edge of the 50 foot waterfall in Mill Canyon
Friday we used car shuttles and hiked the full length of Mill Canyon. I must say, it was one of the most memorable and enjoyable experiences I have ever had in DV to hike from South Pass, down Mill Canyon, across Panamint Valley, past the Panamint Dunes, and back to Lake Hill. The crowning jewel of Mill Canyon is the absolutely beautiful 50 foot waterfall in the lower canyon. In contrast with all of my research, we found the 50 foot waterfall easy to bypass (it took us about 5 minutes), whereas some had described it as almost suicidal and others had taken a 1 hour+ bypass just to avoid it. The Mill Canyon waterfall bypass is probably comparable to the Fall Canyon bypass.
Day 7- Grave Canyon (S Fork)Posted on March 15th, 2010
(above) 1st waterfall in the 1st narrows of Grave Canyon
(above) 2nd waterfall in the 1st narrows of Grave Canyon
Grave Canyon is the major named canyon in between Dry Bone Canyon and Bighorn Gorge. It’s a long 5 mile journey from Scotty’s Castle Road to the split of the north and south forks of the canyon. We went deep into the S Fork of Grave Canyon and were stunned at the incredible beauty on display. There were 4 sets of very pretty narrows. The 1st narrows even had 2 flowing waterfalls. I’m really looking forward to writing up this report and sharing these photos when I return home.
Day 6- Upper & Middle Rainbow CanyonPosted on March 15th, 2010
(above) At the base of the 100 ft 1st dry fall in Rainbow Canyon
(above) Looking into Middle Rainbow Canyon from the 2nd dry fall
Rainbow Canyon is divided into 3 sections– Upper (accessible to both hikers & climbers), Middle (climbers only), and Lower (both, but known mainly for hikers). These sections are all divided by massive dry falls. The head of the canyon is crowned by the 1st dry fall (100 ft.). Upper & Middle Rainbow are divided by the 2nd dry fall (170 ft.) and 3rd dry fall (90 ft.). And Middle and Lower Rainbow are divided by the 4th and final dry fall (20 ft.). On Day 6, I had another true Death Valley adventure as I first used a well known bypass to get into Upper Rainbow (described in a climber’s report). This allowed me to get to the base of the 1st dry fall and also overlook the middle canyon from the top of the 2nd dry fall. From that point, my hike should have been over. But against all odds, I found my way into the Middle Canyon after trying and failing at various bypasses for several hours. In the middle canyon, I was able to walk up to the base of the 3rd dry fall and also walk down canyon to the top of the 4th and final dry fall. The bypass was very risky, so I won’t be giving out details of its location in my upcoming report. But the bottom line is that Rainbow Canyon is unbelievably beautiful, with walls colored by rainbow bands towering up to 1,000 feet on each side of you.
Spring 2010 Short Trip BreakPosted on March 9th, 2010
(above) View of the mysterious Crystal Hills in Death Valley
After doing the 4 days of epic hiking in the Owlshead Mountains, I took a short break from my Spring 2010 trip. Now I am set to resume hiking in Death Valley to a wide range of destinations starting on Wednesday or Thursday. Once that happens, I will check in again from Death Valley at the first opportunity. Until then, I leave you with a great view of the beautiful Crystal Hills in southwestern Death Valley.
HIKING MILEAGE UPDATE
Day 1- Nemo Cyn / Mud Spring (5 miles), Day 2- Talc Cyn overnight (9.5 miles), Day 3- Owlshead Cyn (13.5 miles), Day 4- Sagenite Cyn & Owl Lake (11 miles), Day 5- Lost Lake & Epsom Salt / Crystal Hills (19 miles).
Total to date for Spring 2010 Trip– 58 miles
Day 5- Lost Lake & Epsom Salt / Crystal HillsPosted on March 8th, 2010
(above) Chilling out on Lost Lake
(above) Getting a picture with the Epsom Salt Monorail ruins:
Day 5– Lost Lake & Epsom Salt / Crystal Hills
After hiking out to Owl Lake, we set up camp at the trailhead for Lost Lake. Overnight, it rained for probably 6 hours. Fortunately, my tent did its job and kept me dry. I awoke to warm sunshine and a beautiful rainbow, which kept us company on the long hike out to Lost Lake. After walking out to the lake, we went up a nearby hillside for some viewpoint pictures of Lost Lake. In the afternoon, it was on to the Epsom Salt Works & Monorail, which is located in the beautiful Crystal Hills. I’ll have more info in my Trip Reports in a few weeks, but the Crystal Hills are basically a spectacular blend of Artists Palette and Zabriskie Point. That tells you all you need to know, it’s a very pretty area. I’m headed home now for a brief break from my Spring trip to rest up a bit. More to come in the near future.
Day 4- Sagenite Canyon & Owl LakePosted on March 8th, 2010
(above) View down from Sagenite Hill into Sagenite Canyon
(above) Relaxing on Owl Lake
Day 4 started with a visit to Owl Hole Springs, which I found interesting enough to write up a Trip Report on later. Then, it was on to the destination I had been waiting 2 years to visit and explore: Sagenite Canyon. Sagenite Canyon and Sagenite Hill were both awesome places to visit. I will have to make sure to thank Niki and Jamie when I write up my report, because this place is fantastic (if you like pretty rocks). In the afternoon, we hiked out to Owl Lake, which was about 5 miles each way.
Day 3- Owlshead CanyonPosted on March 5th, 2010
(above) In the slot-like part of upper Owlshead Canyon
(above) Backpacking across the Amargosa River
On Day 3, I woke up with the warm sunshine in the Owlsheads and hiked deep into Owlshead Canyon. And for as boring as the wide lower canyon was, the exciting upper canyon more than made up for that. I found an awesome slot-like area and 3 magnificent dry falls before my progress was stopped once and for all. The 1st dry fall took me an hour to bypass, and it still probably was a bad idea. But of the 4 officially named canyons in the Owlsheads I have explored so far, Owlshead Canyon is the best.