Hiking in Yosemite Valley and climbers on El Capitan

On our first full day in Yosemite National Park,Dad and I hiked some trails along the valley floor. All around us,the rock monoliths of Yosemite soared to dizzying heights. We hiked several miles back to Mirror Lake to get some views of Half Dome so named because it is a huge granite conical mountain sheared off on one side leaving a sheer rock wall thousands of feet high! The views of Half Dome from the valley floor were impressive. We waded across chilly Mirror Lake to bypass a section of trail closed by a massive rockfall and resumed our hike. Yosemite Falls was visible as it tumbled over a high cliff and cascaded down a sheer rock wall hundreds of feet high! We camped in the Stanislaus National Forest outside the park overnite as camping was free here and returned the next day for more hiking. A nice trail system follows the emerald green waters of the Merced River and led us to the base of another towering rock monolith---El Capitan. This feature rises about 3,000 vertical feet from the valley floor and is a mecca for rock climbers from all over the world! Dad and I climbed the rocky trail to the very base of El Capitan and observed several climbers high up on its sheer face. We got some nice shots of the climbers here.

Yosemite Valley and climbers on El Capitan

Tioga Pass road

Leaving Mono Lake behind,we turned off onto CA 120 near the town of Lee Vining. This road is also known as the Tioga Pass road as it crosses a high mountain pass at just under 10,000 ft. The road climbs steeply into the rugged Sierra Nevada mts passing a few lakes along the way. Both Ellery Lake and Tioga Lake higher up the road were quite picturesque with sapphire blue lakes surrounded by snowcapped peaks under a sunlit sky! We camped overnite at a forest service campground at Tioga Pass.It was rather cold and windy here and dad made sure to anchor the tent securely! The next morning,a full moon was visible over the mountains at sunrise. We entered Yosemite National Park here and enjoyed spectacular sights as we continued along the Tioga Pass road. Some pix with descriptions follow.

Tioga Pass road

Highway 395 thru central California

Leaving Death Valley,we stopped at an overlook known as Father Crowley Point. There was a panoramic view of the desert from this lofty point. We traveled some lonely desert roads to work our way to US 395 which traverses the Owens Valley at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mts. The snowcapped peaks of the Sierra were an impressive backdrop over the desert floor. It grew dark as we were in the vicinity of Independence and we found a really nice spot to camp. The Tinnemaha campsite sat in a picturesque valley and striking camp the next morning,we were treated to some impressive views. We resumed our journey north along highway 395 headed towards Yosemite National Park. Nearing the park,we hiked the trails circling Panum Crater,an old volcano near Mono Lake. Fine views of the Sierra Nevada Mts were had from the trails circling the rim of this volcano. We could also see Mono Lake off in the distance. Mono Lake is an unusual geologic feature with amazing rock formations and 2 volcanic islands in it. It has no outlet to the sea,so it is also quite salty. We hiked some trails around Mono Lake after leaving Panum Crater. Late in the afternoon,we traveled CA 120 over Tioga Pass to arrive at Yosemite National Park.

Sierra Nevada,Panum Crater,and Mono Lake

Mudflats and Darwin Falls

Dad and I exited Death Valley via CA HWY 190 over Towne pass. Topping this approximately 4,900 ft pass,the desert was spread out below us and highway 190 was a thin line snaking across the desert floor. We could see that midway off in the distance,the road appeared to cross some unusual brown mudflats. Descending from the pass,we parked on the road shoulder by the mudflats and took a hike out across them. Dad marked his car as a waypoint with his GPS and we decided to hike out as far as 1 mile then turn around. The desert floor here was a wierd hard packed brownish mud riddled with small cracks. An ancient lake bed perhaps? It was quite hot with the desert sun beating down on the mud,we had only a small amount of water along and didn`t want to stray too far from the road and run dry. The area was framed by tall mountains,so it was a dramatic place for a short hike.
We continued along hwy 190 and reached the town of Panamint Springs. Here we took a dirt road cutoff and drove back to the trailhead for Darwin Falls. Darwin Falls is about 80 ft high and is fed by one of the few perennial streams in Death Valley. At the base of the falls was a secluded beach shaded by riparian vegetation that grew along Darwin Creek. There was a deep pool here and both of us relaxed here and had lunch as well as a short swim. Some photos of the mudflats and falls follow.

Mudflats and Darwin Falls

Slot Canyon and the Eureka Mine

On our final days in Death Valley National Park we explored a narrow slot canyon near the village of Stovepipe Wells. It was a little over a mile long and made some tight twists and turns as it wound its way back into the mountain. Eventually it dead ended at a jumble of boulders.
Nearby was the Eureka gold mine. There were some interesting mine shafts here. The ones closest to the road were gated off but we did some hiking across the desert floor in the area and found one that you could walk into. In addition to the mine shafts proper,there were vertical vent shafts blasted into the mountains to supply air to the mines. Dad climbed atop one of these and dropped a few pebbles down. They bounced about for a long way down into the hole indicating that it was quite deep. Some pix with descriptions follow.

Slot Canyon and Eureka Mine

A longer hike on the salt flats and traveling the west side- road

Another update on our west trip last fall. We camped again at Mesquite Springs campground after our tour of Scotty`s Castle. The next day,my dad wanted to return to the salt flats for more hiking. We found this to be a most interesting place as once you got about a half mile from the road,there were no other people and the solitude was wonderful! In addition,we had only hiked for a few hours on our first time here and Dad wanted a longer hike. This time,we hiked out to a spot about 3 miles distant from the Badwater road---measured with my dad`s GPS. We could see some jeep roads in the distance as they climbed into the Panamint Range. The unbroken white expanse of the salt flats extended in all directions around us,totally devoid of features save for the pressure ridges in the salt. Dad was reminded of astronaut Edwin Aldrin`s words as he became the second man to step onto the moon "Magnificent Desolation". Dad popped up an umbrella that he had carried along and we rested under its shade while we had lunch. Resuming our hike across the barren flats,a tiny speck appeared on the horizon. We began to walk towards it curious as to what it was. It resolved itself as a dead goose. The poor creature must have succumbed to the brutal heat and tumbled out of the sky to a lonely grave on the salt flats.
We finished up after having hiked between 6 and 7 miles. Late in the day,we drove along the remote West Side road that parallels Badwater road on the other side of the salt flats. This road passes by the jeep roads that we saw earlier and unlike Badwater road,is not paved. It traverses more remote wilderness of Death Valley. It was late in the afternoon when we started along this road thus we planned on camping somewhere along it overnite. Dad kept his speed down so as not to suffer a flat tire or other vehicle damage on this remote road. We camped at a peaceful spot known as Shorty`s Well,named after an early Death Valley prospector. The next morning,we explored the ruins of an old borax works and found some giant rusted water tanks sitting incongrously in the desert. It was an interesting trip into the wilds of Death Valley. Some pix with descriptions follow.

Salt Flats and the West side road

Scotty`s Castle

In northern Death Valley,there is an extraordinary mansion known as Scotty`s Castle. The large residence was built in the 1920`s by Albert Johnson and resembles a midevial castle! Scotty was really Walter Scott who was somewhat of a con artist. He persuaded Albert Johnson that he had a gold mine in Death Valley---when in fact he didn`t---thus getting Mr Johnson interested in the area. The two actually became friends and Scotty wound up as the caretaker of the mansion. The name Scotty`s castle stuck although Scotty wasn`t the builder or even the owner. What is really interesting about this structure is how Albert Johnson took advantage of the desert environment in which the building is located. A nearby waterfall provided electricity and batteries in the basement stored it. In those days before air conditioning,the house was cooled by drapes hung over windows. Water was trickled in a very fine stream down the drapes and fans blew air across them creating a cool breeze! Dad took a tour of Scotty`s Castle after our explorations of Ubehebe Crater. Dogs were not allowed inside the castle but I was able to stay in the car parked in a shady spot with the windows down. Some pix of this amazing building follow.

Scotty`s Castle

Windy and cold hike in central NJ

Yesterday was a windy and cold winter day. Dad and I took a hike along the Raritan Canal towpath near Princeton,NJ. There was a light dusting of snow in spots due to a small storm the day before. It made for some nice winter scenery! We also hiked several miles of adjoining trails in the 6 mile run resevoir site. Dad packed a small tent along and he popped it up at mid day so that we could have our lunch in comfort. A small camp stove burned inside the tent as we had our lunch,so all was warm and cozy :) Late in the day,we witnessed a beautiful sunset and finished up with a hike back along the towpath by headlamp.

Windy,cold hike in central NJ

Ubehebe Crater

After finishing our explorations of the Death Valley sand dunes,Dad and I drove towards the Mesquite Springs campground where we intended to camp for the night. Along the way,we made an amazing discovery! There was a road turnoff to Ubehebe Crater. We took it out of curiousity and arrived at a parking area on the rim of a huge volcanic crater. It was late in the day and growing dark,so we had time only to hike a small bit of the trail that circles the rim but we got some nice sunset views. We returned the next morning and hiked the entire trail 1.5 miles around the crater rim. From this rim trail we could gaze down into the depths of the crater,600 feet deep. A side trail led to Little Hebe crater which we also explored. Trails led to the bottom of both craters but we only hiked to the bottom of Little Hebe. Dad wanted to explore nearby Scotty`s Castle and somehow we didn`t wind up returning to hike to the bottom of the main crater. Next year hopefully we will! Some photos and descriptions of Ubehebe Crater follow.

Hiking around Ubehebe Crater

Death Valley sand dunes

The next part of Death Valley that we explored was the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells. Stovepipe Wells was an early settlement in Death Valley and a vast dunefield is located here. Some of the dunes rise to heights of 100 ft or more. Dad and I took along water and some lunch and backpacked across the dunes for a few hours. It was hot so he carried an umbrella for shade. In addition,there were clusters of small bushes in the valleys between the dunes which provided cool oasis of shade. We climbed to the top of several tall dunes and walked along the narrow ridgelines. It was also possible to race down the side of a tall dune as the sand would cushion your descent! It was an otherworldly place to explore!It was rather like exploring a region of Saudi Arabia here in the U.S.

Death Valley Sand Dunes