November 20-24, 2019-Death Valley

 
Death Valley - 2019
From November 20, 2019 through November 24, 2019


Our People : Trail People : Thoughts :  Trail Log : References : Abbreviations



Our People:
Gary - That would be me
Sherri - My wife

Trail People:
These people included many whom I think will be folks whom we keep in touch with.  All of these were people were folks who camped close to us.

• Yoni - Just moved to Las Vegas from New York. He came n with his motorcycle late on the 21st. We helped him set up his tent.
• Alma and three of his children-He has been accepted to sing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They all were adventuresome and very fit.
• ???-A couple from Texas who was making a grand tour of parks in California. They are backpackers. We talked with them the morning when we left.
  

Thoughts:

Death Valley is something different than what we usually do. That may be a theme for this year. Because we also did another desert trip in the Spring: Anza-Borrego. I know that the Sierra is my first go-to place. But do I love the desert like I do the mountains? No, but there is still an allure to the desert: the desolation, the vastness, the feeling of how the planet goes on forever.

What was my favorite day on our trip? I would say when we went up Golden and Gower Canyons on November 23rd. It may have been because it was the only day of extended hiking, or because it was just down right interesting.

I am left with the thought that I would like to know more about the places where we hiked. Also that I am sure we will be coming back here again.

 
Journey Log:

Our journal is given by each day. Most mileages came from our GPS.

 

Date	Campsite	Miles Walked	Elevation Gained	Max Elevation
11/20/19	Lone Pine-Best Western	-	-	-	Travel to Lone Pine. Rain to Bakersfield. Then a bit of snow around Lone Pine
11/21/19	Texas Springs	1.4	-	-	Set up campsite. Did an late afternoon hike to Natural Bridge
11/22/19	Texas Springs	4.31	370'	429'	Walked around Badwater. Then drove Artist Dive. End of the day, hiked Desolation Canyon
11/23/19	Texas Springs	5.33	745'	521'	Hiked Golden Canyon up to the Red Cathedral. Then used a cross trail over to Gower Canyon and back down to the car. Did a little bit of sky watching
11/24/19	Fresno	2.81	726'	1,506'	Went to the Borax Mine, then hiked Mosaic Canyon. Drove back to Fresno

Our total walking was 13.85 miles, Our "average day was 3.5  miles with an ascent of  1,841'.  Nt much when you consider what we have done in the Sierra.

References:
For those of you who might be interested in hiking this hike, here are some references which you can consult:

• NPS Web site for Death Valley
• NPS Mining Study for Death Valley (online)
• Hiking Death Valley: A Guide to Its Natural Wonders and Mining Past by Michel Digonnet  (book)

Abbreviations:

• NPS - National Park Service