Gary-Summer: November 16, 2021 -Death Valley: Jensen Canyon and the Badlands Loop

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

November 16, 2021 -Death Valley: Jensen Canyon and the Badlands Loop

Title: November 16, 2021 -Death Valley: Jensen Canyon and the Badlands Loop
Hike Info : Description : Background : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking
Trail: Jensen Canyon
Trail head: border of Death Valley
Destination: End of Canyon
Distance: 2.09 miles
Start Time: 10:08
End Time: 12:36
Travel Time: 2:28 (0.85 mph)
Moving Time: 1:22 (1.53 mph)

Elevation Rise: 304 '
Descent: 334‘
Maximum Elevation: 2,563'

GPS Tracks

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking
Trail: Badlands Loop
Trail head: Zabriski Point
Destination: Loop including Gower Gultch and Golden Canyon Trails
Distance: 2.58 miles
Start Time: 2:41
End Time: 4:36
Travel Time: 1:55 (1.34 mph)
Moving Time: 1:27 (1.78 mph)
Elevation Rise: 447'
Descent: 461‘
Maximum Elevation: 663'
GPS Tracks

Car Mileage: 36 Mile

Description:

I woke up at 6:30 and enjoyed watching the eastern sky light up until 7am. I then got up and started straightening up the car.. We had gotten a bit disorganized. Sherri fixes pancakes and bacon for breakfast. It still is cloudy, but does not look very threatening. By the time we get all ready, it is 9:30.

Sherri walking to the berm.

The first adventure of the day will take us to the eastern edge of the park. This is a short ways beyond the Dante Overlook experience we had last night. But it is closer as we do not need to go the 15+ miles off the road. We come to the Death Valley sign and park. I do not think we interpreted the book^* correctly. In retrospect, it was trying to tell us to park a quarter mile west of the sign, but we parked at the sign.

We got ready for our hike and walked over to the berm which controls the flow of the Furance Creek Wash. The book tells us to descend into the wash, but the berm has a nice hard even surface, so we walk that for close to half a mile. Both Furnace Creek Wash and the canyon we are going to go up join at almost the same place. In this way the book was very explicit about which canyon to take-the second one. This is Jensen Canyon, which the book calls Mummy Canyon-more on that later.

Barrel Cactus

As we go up Jensen Canyon we start spying different types of cactus: barrel, cholla, and little beaver tail. The barrel cactus are the most noticeable. We see some with flowers which are about to bloom. Not much else as far as botany-there is the sage and various grasses, but nothing really exciting. I take that back, we did see one plant with yellow flowers on it.

One of many bones in the canyon

Who is Jensen?

Gary, Sherri and the Natural Bridge

The sun is beating down on us and it is getting pretty hot as we climb up the canyon’s slope. We find a sliver of shade and decide this is a good place to sit for a few minutes and cool off. If we had only gone twenty yards further, the canyon narrows and is totally shaded.

The canyon narrows

Our rest stop is about half a mile up the canyon. The canyon narrows considerably and it turns cooler. A couple of things of interest pops up. The book^* tells us to be on the lookout for something of historical interest. A few steps into the canyon’s narrow part, we see a large boulder with T.A. JENSEN 1862 written on it. Who is Jensen? We do not know, but it makes sense that the canyon on the maps are called Jensen Canyon. We enjoy the coolness, the wonder and sense of accomplishment from being here. Also, we divide an extra leftover pancake

The Mummy

We walk up the canyon further. Now instead of encountering cactus, we see bones. There is an assortment of these. Looks like a rib cage which has gotten scattered. Then a pretty big femur-I am guessing. This is followed by what I think is a goats leg. At least the hoof is still attached along with some hair.

Mummy's Head

It is a short walk from there to the end of where we can walk in the canyon. There is a 20’ wall, made of layers of pebbles, rock and mud. The the top, there is a small natural arch. Look at this wrong and you do not see it. But with the right view, it almost seems you are looking into eternity. We take an additional few minutes to ponder and rest.

The way back is a lot quicker. This may be a bit of wishful thinking on my part, but even when we exit the narrow part of the canyon back into the sun, it does not seem as hot. Is that a cool wind pushing us? One thing, which we can see as we exit the narrow part of the canyon is a column of rockish mud with what looks like a face and wings. There is a reason this canyon has the nickname of Mummy Canyon.

We make it back to the car in a reasonable time. In doing so, we figure out that instead of parking by the Death Valley sign, a little bit west of there would have been the optimal place, close to the curve of highway 190. This just means we get more steps in.

Sherri has been interested in a place called Hole In The Wall. But she is a bit apprehensive about going down it. From the map, it looks like it is a 4-Wheel Drive road. At least the first part of it is about the same level as the Delilah Road-not too bad. Just keeping it nice and slow. After a mile, we start seeing people camp out here. About four miles in, we drive through an opening in the rock wall-this is the Hole

Start of Badlands Loop

, into another wash. Lots more people camping here. Also the road gets a bit more rugged. We hear rocks bang against the under part of the car. Now, how to turn around? I find a place and we return down the road, without seeing the Hole in the Wall. Wait! Is that opening in the rock wall the Hole in the Wall? I believe it is. Later on, another book in the Visitor Center confirms it.

Zabriskie Point with golden clouds

By this time, it is 2:00pm and we have not had lunch. Se we stop at Zabriskie Point and have our lunch under the same rock giving us shade as yesterday.Sherri is interested in doing the Badlands Loop. I need to rest for a few minutes before deciding. After reclining for 20 minutes, I tell her I think I am up to it.

This loop starts to the north of Zabriskie Point and then drops below it. But to get to this part, you go through an opening in the ridge. Feels like we are entering into a new world. I think the trail is an old mining road-just a guess on my part. It has a pretty steep decline, but not a problem going down. But I am wondering about coming back up it.

Sherri has read navigation is easier going counter-clockwise. So when we get to a trail junction, we have a discussion about which way is clockwise. We take the trail leading towards Golden Canyon. It begins steeply, but only for a couple hundred yards. Then the trail wanders down through ridges and ravines until we hit the trail between Golden Canyon and Gower Gulch. Before hitting this trail, we meet a couple who wonders how much time it would take to get to Zabriskie Point. I can only tell them it is about a mile.

Then Sherri and I have another discussion about direction. We decide to head south. Turns out my mileage estimate is pretty accurate according to a sign there. We have been on this segment of the trail a couple of years ago, so we talk about where we had lunch and where we stopped and so on. We go along and hit Gower Gulch,

Now it is the final segment: back to Zabriskie Point, about a mile and a third, uphill. At this point, Sherri has more energy than I do and constantly out paces me. For my part, it is mostly putting my head down and keep moving. When we meet the original junction, I know the steep part is before us. Sherri goes up it at a steady pace. I go up it at a steady, but slower pace. Towards the top, Sherri notices an illegal drone being used on top of one of mounds high above us. I get a sketchy picture of it.

I am relieved to get back to the car. We drive back to camp as the skies darken into night. Sherri fixes us polish dogs for dinner. Afterwards, we mostly read before going to bed around 9pm.

Background

^*Best Easy Day Hikes Death Valley National Park. We went on two hikes listed in this book on this day:

Jensen Canyon/The Mummy. The book has this as an easy 1.8 mile out and back. It is. It is a pretty accurate rendering of our hike. We tacked on a little bit more because we misunderstood where to park.

Extra Photo's