Death Valley: Not so wicked hot

So I just got back from a few days in Death Valley National Park; it was an awesome trip. It seems that every place I go introduces me to a few more places that I want to visit, it is a never ending cycle and this trip was no different.

We spent the first day doing road-side touristy things, visiting places that fit the image I had of Death Valley. We drove in the south entrance of the park and up to Badwater--the lowest point in the western hemisphere at 280 feet below sea level. It was a flat, dry lake bed with lots of salt crystals. There was also a spring which made a pool with floating salt crystals. And you could look up and see a sign on a cliff above you reading "sea level".

Then we drove further up the valley to Artist's Palette, an area of colorful rock formations. Then on to the visitor center and Borax museum (Death Valley was a big area for borax mining with the use of mule teams). Finally we went on a short walk of Mosaic Canyon--a canyon with really cool rocks, both finely polished marble and mosaic like conglomerate.

The next day we headed out of the valley and up Telescope Peak--11, 049 ft--the highest point in the park. It was a nice hike--though I could definitely feel the altitude. There were lots of really gnarly, big trees and some colorful shrubs. The top was cold and windy but with great views. We could see Death Valley and Badwater to the east and the Sierras to the west. From that one point, one can see the highest and lowest points in the continental US.

On our last day we headed to Panamint Valley, on the western edge of the park. We were warned by the book that the valley was frequently used by the military for low elevation flying and indeed they were flying over our heads all day. We camped out on a dry lake bed and then hiked out to the Panamint Dunes. Distances are deceptive in the desert, it certainly didn't look like 4.5 miles to the dunes, but it did take us an hour and a half of walking to get there. The dunes were really cool, especially the dramatic ridge lines. I felt a little guilty walking on them and messing up the windblown patterns, though judging by the scarcity of footprints, it doesn't take the wind long to erase our steps.

Panamint Valley with Telescope peak in the background (tallest mtn on left)

Panamint Dunes

Hitch 1: The Work

By day we wonder the desert, collecting branches and digging holes; by night we sleep out under the moon and stars. Overall, I really can't complain.

Our primary task is to restore illegal OHV (off highway vehicle) trails. The Rand Mountains are a limited use area so OHVs are allowed on marked trails/roads, they are not allowed to create new trails or ride across the open desert. Our task is to disguise the illegal trails and to promote re-vegetation.

Since most desert plants look rather dead for most of the year, our primary tactic in disguising trails is to build fake plants out of dead branches. So we wander around collecting dead branches, then dig a hole where we want the bush, and arrange the branches to look like a living bush. We also decompact the soil (the soil gets really hard from being ridden on) and spread seeds to encourage real plants to take over the area.

While out there, we saw a horny toad, two desert tortoise shells and a bunch of tarantulas. And the local ranger stopped by with fire wood and marshmallows.

Horny Toad---Baby Tortoise Shell

Bird skeleton found with a pack rat skeleton in a piece of pipe

Aircraft fly overhead frequently, and whenever they do, we stop work and stare up at the sky for a while. There are also periodic explosions from the mines.

Our group has definitely reached the storming stage of group development. People are no longer pretending to be overly patient with each other. This has caused a number of conflicts, though so far I have mostly stayed out of them.

When the clouds come, it make for great sunrises and sunsets

So that is what we do, though I am still not convinced that this is an effective method. It seems like a labor intensive project that is easily ridden over or around. The problem in the open desert is that short of a fence, people can easily drive around just about any barrier we create.

Yosemite

While it has now been several weeks since the trip, I did not get to write about it because our internet crashed and then we headed back into the field for work.

Anyway, one of the benefits of this job is that we get 4-6 days off at a time, and we are based in Ridgecrest, CA which is surrounded by many cool places. So on our first set of days off, a few of us headed up to Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite Valley --- Fall leaves near Mirror Lake

Terry and I did two good days of hiking from the valley. On the first we hiked up to the top of Yosemite Falls and then over to North Dome. The beginning of the hike was packed with people but once we got past the falls, we saw only a handful for the rest of the day. The trail offered many great views of the valley and also wandered through groves of giant sequoias covered with awesome green moss.

Top of Yosemite Falls ---Sequoias

Trail up Vernal Falls --- Half Dome seen from North Dome

The next day we woke up to a bear cleaning out our neighbor's bear bin. Then we hiked up the other side of the valley, up Vernal and Nevada Falls and then along Panorama Cliff to Glacier Point. Again the views were awesome.

It was really nice to be in an area with changing leaves. I find the desert disorienting when it comes to seasons; it is like summer during the day, winter at night, and plants look dead most of the time.

On our way out of the park, we drove through Tuolumne Meadows and over Tioga Pass. That brought us into higher mountains and even a little snow. Seeing that area of the park made me want to return to go skiing.