February 20, 2025 - Car Fixed and Return to Fresno

 

Title: February 20, 2025 - Car Fixed and Return to Fresno
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Menu : Extra Photo's : Animals 

Hike Info:

Type:Car

Borax Museum

Description:

Wow! Last night we had a couple wind events. Both Sherri and I woke up to things flying off of the table. But Sherri got ready first and secured things. Then a few more things were banging around and she went out again. This time it was the neighbors stuff which was flying. The wind was strong enough that I felt the floor of our tent lift up a bit, even with my body on it. In case you cannot tell, Sherri is the hero of this story.

Once things settled down we both fell asleep. I got up at 6:30 and walked our campground, talking with a couple from New York. This is their first time in Death Valley. When I plop down in my camp chair, Don comes walking up. Sherri gets up shortly afterwards.

This is our cue for getting breakfast going. It is a repeat of Tuesday mornings: French Toast and Turkey Sausage. Sherri makes the batter and I cook this morning. It feels good to have a spatula in my hand.

By 9, Steve has not shown up, so Don goes for a walk. Shortly afterwards, Steve shows up and starts to work on getting the car put back together again. We talk and he thinks he can get it together in a couple of hours. That would be great If that happens, then we will get camp broken and be able to go by noon.

 Sherri and Don make lunch and get the food put away. I start to clear out the car and get things organized to go if it happens. Don had visited the Borax Museum at the Ranch area, so the two of them went down, while I babysat the situation and did some preparation for a possible departure.

Don shoting the Palette

I do not get much done between talking with the two Dave’s-our jumper friend and the campground host. Then Jim and Joe, our neighbors. I tell them all that it looks like things will get fixed and we are planning on leaving. I enjoyed talking with all of them.

By 11, Steve is putting the finishing touches on the car. I got some water for him, about a gallon, so he can top off the radiator. Then we start up the car and it works! I am amazed and thankful. We let it run for a few minutes and I start to break down the camp. Steve wants me to take the car down to the shop to put some coolant in. I meet Don and Sherri on the way up and let them know. Steve takes the car for a ten minute test drive and it passes. We are good to go!

When I get back to camp, Sherri and Don have gotten much of the camp broken down. I finished up on a few things. 

One thing which we decided to leave out was a scorpion. It was under the ground cloth of our tent. Don saw it before it decided to seek shade someplace else.

We have the car packed and ready to go by noon. So we say goodbye to our campsite and head out.

But let's get one thing seen in Death Valley. We choose Artist Palette. This is about ten miles south of us. We quickly drive, within the speed limit, to the entrance. Artist Drive is a one way road. At the southern end, there is a women’s bicycle tour group. Sherri gives them a thumb’s up.

Rainbow Canyon

Don is suitably impressed by the terrain and with where Sherri and I have walked before. And we had not gotten to the Palette portion yet. When we do, Don goes and gets a closer view of the colorations. We stay at the parking area and talk with a couple of the women cyclists. When Don comes back, he is really jazzed by the assortment of colors. He starts spouting off about what makes the various colors. It is always good to see someone who is energized by the beauty of what they are seeing.

It is now time for us to start back to Fresno. We go through Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells. The car is holding up nicely. When we get to Panamint Springs, I decide to put five more gallons of gas into the tank, just in case, even though I think we would be able to make it to Bakersfield on this tank, but why chance it?

About 20 minutes later we get to Father Crowley’s Point. Here we have lunch before we continue on. But we were able to look into Rainbow Canyon. I do not really see the rainbow colors, but Don sees it. A couple asks us if any jets have come through? Not in the 20 minutes we have been here, but they did see a jet earlier on a practice run.

I am back in the driver's seat and we continue on our way. After leaving the Park, we go through some valleys where we see some small Joshua Trees. Then we break over a small hill and the peaks of the high Sierra Nevada start to show through. We are trying to pick out Whitney, but not sure that we are. That is until we got to a sign close to Owens Lake which pointed out where Whitney was.

 At that stop, Sherri takes over driving. She guides us down 395 to 14 and into Tehachapi. There we stopped at Chipotle for dinner. It has been awhile since we have been there. Evidently it is Don’s favorite place. We come out of there full and content.

I drive down to Bakersfield and get filled up with gas at Costco. Then it is up 99 to Fresno. Thankfully this trip home is uneventful. Shortly before 9, we let Don off at his house, unloading his stuff. Here we do notice one causality from the trip. A syrup bottle must have tipped over and Don’s tent now has a certain sweetness to it. Then it is another three minutes to our house. We decided to just leave everything packed in the car until morning.

While the trip was shorter than anticipated, it certainly felt longer. I am also glad that if the car was to suffer a breakdown, it was where it did and not in the middle of the desert. Just feel gratitude that we were being watched over.

Places we planned on, but could not do:

ubehebe crater

old stovepipe wells

mesquite dunes

Trail Lesson:  Gratitude is the response I should have at the end of each trip

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
French Toast/Turkey Sausage/syrup/jam	PB&Nutella or jelly Sandwich	Chipotle in Tehachapi	Clif Bar, GORP, Propel, CytoMax, Scratch, Coffee Candy, Jelly Belly

 

Extra Photo's

View of the Sierra

The Road

View to the south of Father Crowley Overlook

View to the east of Father Crowley Overlook

Rainbow Canyon

Wash close to Artist Palette

Don climbing up for a better look

Artist Palette

Borax Museum

Animals

Scorpion

Scorpion

November 17, 2021 -Death Valley: salt Creek and Ubehebe Crater

 

Title: November 17, 2021 -Death Valley: salt Creek and Ubehebe Crater
Hike Info : Description : Background : Extra Photo's : Animals 

 

 

 

 

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking
Trail: Salt Creek Trail
Trail head:Salt Creek Parking Lot

Destination: Loop
Distance:  0.91 miles ¹
Elevation Rise: 128 '
Descent: 129‘
Maximum Elevation: -191'
 ¹Data and maps are from Google Earth as I did not turn on my GPS

Hike Info:
Type: Hiking
Trail: Urehebe Crater and Little Hebe Crater
Trail head: Ubehebe Crater Parking Lot

Destination: Little Hebe Crater
Distance: 2.09 miles
Start Time: 1:27
End Time:  3:18
Travel Time:  1:51 (1.31 mph)
Moving Time: 1:15  (1.67 mph)
Elevation Rise: 572'
Descent: 576‘
Maximum Elevation: 2,885'

GPS Tracks

Car Mileage: 120 Miles

Description:

It is a special treat to be able to have a tent up only for privacy without a rain

Salt Creek Area

fly. When we went to bed, the moon brightened up the interior of the tent much better than a night light would have. But this morning when I woke up at 5am, there was no hint of morning, just bright stars overhead. I put on my glasses and gazed up at them, feeling very fortunate to be an audience for this show. I would doze and then awake to the beginnings of a morning sky, Finally around 6:30 I got up to find that a wind had come up to cool us down.

Sherri got up shortly afterwards and we had oatmeal. We put the camp away and went to the market to pick up ice. Then on to the Death Valley Visitor Center. We toured the museum-I was hoping to find out something about Jensen, but nothing there. We asked the rangers on duty some of our lingering questions:

• Since we are going to the dunes and someone died there recently, what safety precautions should we have? He recites the normal stuff-water and don’t get lost, …
• There is a road on the west side of Death Valley. What things of interest is there over there? Just the canyons up the side of the mountains.
• Where can we find out about Jensen? Who? Unknown.
• What scat did we see? Either a goat if large or rabbit. (Probably a rabbit.)
• Is the leg we saw yesterday of a goat? Looks like it.

I suspect they were hoping that we did not have any more questions, which we did not. But we can see if we can be puzzled about other things today.

Old Stovepipe Well

We traveled up the road, turning off at Salt Creek. This is a spot where a variety of pupfish reside. We went on the mile or so interpretive trail which is built on a boardwalk. It was a nice leisurely walk. But we were disappointed not to see any pupfish. It was not from the lack of observation. They may have been hidden in the weeds along the edge or in another part of the creek.

We returned back to the car and continued on north. On thing which our Salt Creek venture did for us was to help us realize it is still pretty warm in the open sun. Our next stop is the Old Stovepipe Well area. We had hoped to hike into the Mesquite Dunes, but we were thinking this would not be fun under this sun. When we parked, two ladies were taking pictures. I took there picture for them. We chatted for awhile. They definitely are not hikers, but they wet our interest in going up to the Ubehebe Crater.

Ubehebe Crater

So off we went, 30 miles more to the north. The road is good and all paved, so we made good time. Several cars were already in the parking area. Our first order of business, after glancing into the crater was to have lunch. Once that got taken care of, we decided to hike up a little ways. Going counter-clockwise, we ascend up a steep, gravely slope. This is more plodding than a problem. But once we get the hang of it, we are able to look down into the crater.

Because of the gravel, Sherri is not wild about going on, but she does. Down a slope and up another slope gets us to the Little Hebe Crater trail. We take this branch off of the trail. It is a short ways to the Little Hebe Crater (what is a hebe anyway?). Sherri is content to look at it. I going around it-clockwise. It is a nice walk. A couple from San Jose is celebrating their birthdays today-we talk for a few minutes and I rejoin Sherri.

Sherri returning to parking lot

Sherri decides she wants to go back the way we came and is content to do it on her own. After considering this, I continue to go around Ubehebe Crater. The uphills, I plod up, meeting the couple again at the top. We talk some more about hiking-they think I am a fast hiker. I got them fooled. 

 

 

 

Little Hebe Crater

 I continue around. I am feeling better about my walking than I have in a long time. My stride has rhythm and a bounce, at least on the downhill slopes. And I am enjoying this time out, not because of being without Sherri, but because I am feeling good about my walking.

Gary coming in

By the way, the Crater is a wonder each side has different coloration, markings and erosion patterns. This bit of scenery helps in my feel good time. Towards the end of the circuit, it is uphill. I wonder what kind of hike is this where both the start and finish are uphill slopes? But it is a good walk and glad I did the whole thing.

We travel back to home, that is back to camp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 . The sun is starting to go down, lightning up the sand dunes. I can see why the dunes attract photographers in the mornings and evenings. We get back to camp at 4:29-yesterday we noted we should be trying to get back to camp around 4:30-accomplished. Sherri makes Frito boats for us. A satisfying meal. I spend the rest of the evening catching up on my blog entries. Then we go to bed at 8:00.

 

 

Background

Pupfish. This is an endangered fish found only in a couple of places in Death Valley. They are very small, about 1½ inches in length-sometimes growing to 3 inches. We were looking for something even smaller. Take a look at Wikipedia for more information.

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

• Salt Creek. The book has a pretty accurate description. If w had read it closely, we would have understood that we should not expect to see the pupfish in November.

• Ubehebe and Little Hebe Craters. Pretty good description, plus added information about the volcanic geology of the area.

Extra Photo's

Gary walking the rim of Ubehebe CCrater

Gary and his new friends on Little Hebe Crater

Gary on Little Hebe Crater

Sherri on Little Hebe Crater

Little Hebe Crater

Dry pond

Side of Ubehebe Crater

Gary doing the initial climb on the rim

Sherri going up at the start

Dragon Rock

Trail around the rim of Ubehebe Crater

Ubehebe Crater

Rim Trail

Gary finishing up on the Little Hebe Crater

Animals

Lizard

November 23, 2019 - Golden and Gower Canyons

Title: November 23, 2019 - Golden and Gower Canyons
Hike Info : Description :  Menu : Extra Photo's 

Trail head: Golden Canyon Trail Head

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Golden Canyon-Red Cathedral, Crossover to Gower Canyon, Gower Canyon

Destination: Loop

Distance:  5.33 miles

Start Time: 9:28

End Time:  2:20

Travel Time: 4:52 (1.10 mph)

Moving Time: 3:07 (1.71 mph)

Elevation Rise: 745'

Descent: 670‘

Maximum Elevation: 521'

GPS Tracks

Description:

I got up a bit earlier, just before the sunrise-actually, well before the sun came over the top of the ridge to our east, but it was light enough. Sherri said that I was snoring lost night-the sleep of the tired. But that is not what kept her awake. There was hum of a generator someplace in the distance which bothered her. Anyway, when she got up to go to the bathroom, I got up-she went back to bed. I was rested.

Side Wash to Golden Canyon

Breakfast is pancakes this morning. First time with this new mix. Not bad. We brought two cups of mix and mixed with almond milk, it only slightly was over-filling. We got everything put away and left the campsite around 9:15.

Rocks above Golden Canyon

It is only a short drive to the trail head for Golden and Gower Canyons, about 4 miles or so. The parking lot is also close to being full. After I changed into my boots-Sherri is walking in her tennis shoes-we take off. Neither of us are taking our poles. So far what we have seen is that the poles will get in the way.

Looking back down where we came

The walking us pretty easy; it is a gradual incline. I calculate the first mile is about a 350’ elevation gain, But the differentness from what we usually hike in makes it an interesting and walk-worthy of noticing the incline of Golden Canyon. Also at one time, now under boulders and up some sand there was a paved road up this-we see remnants of it here and there. (As a note: there was some scenes from the original Star Wars filmed in this canyon.)

A bit steep

One way down

When we get to the trail junction for Gower Canyon, we decide to take a trip up to the Red Cathedral. It starts our as more of the same. But after about 0.4 of a mile, it narrows and we start to do a bit of scampering under some boulders. Or up and over 3-4’ rises in the path. Sherri takes it like a trooper. I am left wondering how to get down these when we return. Also the path is getting steeper. Sherri is charging right up these, leaving me to bring up the rear. As we come along, we have passed people coming back down the path, all of whom said it was doable. But then the final rise comes along. It is really steep with scree on top of the path. There is a narrow path up to a wide space, but I decide that this was as far as I was going-I was having some balance issues. Sherri went up to the higher level-and she said that I was able to be helpful to her climb down.

A trail friend coming down from Sherri's perch

Red cathedral

We devour a Clif Bar break before we reach the Gower Canyon junction. That was nice being able to stop there. For whatever reason, I do better going down than Sherri. I do not think it takes away for her doing fantastic going up. Still there is a bit of niceness that I was able to help her down-call it my old fashion chauvinism.

Us on our way to Gower Canyon

After we pass the side of Manly Beacon, it goes downhill pretty good. There is another loop around the Badlands area-the part which we saw last night from Zabriskie Point. But she did not want to go to that one-and I agree with her, I am getting tired. We crab crawl down the couple of steep places. This is where the boots came in handy. Even with the scree, I am able to get a descent grip on the path.

When we enter Gower Canyon, Sherri and I find some shade and stop for lunch. This is a bit late, but it does help to revitalize us. I am not sure if it is the stop or the food, but I will take it. The walk down is not as relaxing as in the other canyons. It seems like the stones under foot are of different sizes, so when I set my foot down, I am careful not to twist an ankle. There are places a bit above the flow where the rocks are fewer and the sand is harder. I try to pick my way on them. When I can, my stride becomes more normal.

As we approached the end of the canyon, two things happened. The first, two ladies from Texas and a daughter, who is entering college next year. We walk with them all the way to the car, about a mile more. The interesting thing is that one of the ladies had a leg brace so she could do little more than swing her leg forward. Going over these rocks I was not pleasant for me. I can only imagine what it was like for her.

Sherri marching down Gower Canyon/Gulch

Chocolate topped mound

 Then the second thing is that there started to have some drop offs, not bad, but enough that some scrambling was needed to get over them. Evidently this is called the Lower Knickzone. But this brings me back to point one, how in the world is the lady with the brace going to get over and down? I offered her some help, but there was no need to fill any macho need I may have. She struggled a little, but made her way down without my male help. There was several of these little 3-5’ drops to get down. Not too much of an issue for any of us. As we traveled along, we talked with the ladies. They are from Texas and had come to Vegas for a wedding. The daughter, Luna, is an adventurer herself. We walk with them all the way to the cars.

Gary and the ladies in Gower Canyon/Gulch

But before we get back to the cars, there is one more obstacle of note. When we came out the mouth of Gower Canyon, there is a 30’ drop off. Now what do we do? Well there is a ledge to wrap us around the opening of the canyon and this hooks us into the trail. The ledge looks more scary than it really is. Once we start around it, piece of cake. A few steps along the trail, I look back and our campground neighbors was rounding the bend. When they catch up, we talk for a few minutes. For a person who is in some pain from a nerve, the father is moving pretty fast.

Now it is about ¾ of a mile back to the car. It feels good to get into the car and sit for a few minutes. Then it is back to the campground at Texas Springs. It is our last night, so we are concentrating on left overs. So our dinner is like the rest of our dinners, We get to rest a bit, not that we are going out to hike. 

Our camp friends exiting from Gower Canyon

 

As the skies darken, we get ready to go out to the Harmony Borax Works. The volunteer at the Visitor Center said Friday this is where they do their dark skies talk. The better place is the Mesquite Sand Dunes, but neither of us feels like driving 30 miles for this. It was hard driving in without bothering others and I do not think I was successful in this. I know that others were not. Still when our eyes got adjusted, the skies were a beautiful sight. Layers of stars above other stars as far as I could see. When I got my telescope focused, the sight was jaw dropping. No pictures-sorry.

We got back to camp by 8:30. I wrote and read. Then it is off to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day as we drive back to Fresno.

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Pancakes	Sandwhich: Peanut Butter, Nutella	More burrito’s.	Clif Bar, Scratch, Coffee Candy, Jelly Belly

Extra Photo's

Entrance to Golden Canyon

Looking towards the Red Cathedral

Side wash into GOlden Canyon

More mounds around Golden Canyon

Looking back at Death Valley through Golden Canyon's mouth. Also remnants of an old road

Looking across some of the lower areas

More looking into Death Valley

Manly Beacon

Dry Waterfall from Red Cathedral

Red Cathedral. Sherri's perch is in the middle of the picture

Manly's Beacon

Gary trudging up the cross over trail. Manly's Beacon.

Panorama including Gary and Manly's Beacon

More scenes from the crossover trail

Looking into Death Valley

Unnamed point to our west on the crossover trail

Manly Beacon from the base

Panorama including crossover trail

Panorama to the south and west

Manly Beacon

Zabriskie Point

Sherri with Manly Beacon in the background

Gower Canyon/Gulch and Gary

Gower Canyon/Gulch

Entering Gower Canyon, looking back

One of the many mines in Gower Canyon

Close up of the mine's entrance