April 2-12, 2024
In this final phase of our 3-week trip, Case & I were homeward bound from our hiking holiday with ten other members of the Chilliwack Outdoor Club in Arizona. We took 7 days to get back, exploring along the way, namely in three national parks.
Day 1:
Day 1: Bidding final farewells to six in our group, we drove north with the group we'd driven to Arizona with: Johnny & Coulette + Brigitte & Anne. Hwy. 17 turned into Hwy 85 after Flagstaff. At Bitter Springs we turned west.
The highway followed along the Vermilion Cliffs for about 80 miles.
4-pic slider
Marble Canyon.
At Fredonia we stayed west, turning onto Hwy 389. In about 20-minutes we arrived at the Kaibab Paiute RV Park.
Day 2:
We deviated from the original plan shortly after the day began. Instead of us joining the others in Bryce Canyon and then Escalante NP which we'd explored and hiked years ago, Case & I decided to head west, to parks that were new to us.
Just down the road from our campsite was the Pipe Spring National Monument.
Immitation shelters of the Ancestral Puebloans, the Kaibab Paiute who's culture gradually faded from the Arizona Strip between 1000-1250AD.
Normally there's water in this reservoir. Springs are formed when rain water and snow melt and soak slowly into the ground through porous rock like sandstone. When the water hits shale, it stops and flows horizontally until it flows out of the ground and forms a spring.
In the mid 1800s Mormons settled into the Arizona Strip by the springs such as this one. Grazing space and water were good for their "tithing herds". Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were required to give 10% of their income to the church, often in the form of cattle.
4-pic slider of inside the fort
The fort also became a hideout for polygamous wives, when federal laws passed from 1862-1887, making polygamy a felony.
From there we got onto Hwy 15, heading southwest which led us to Valley of Fire NP.
We did several small loop hikes that had a lot of bang-for-their-buck. Much to see in a short distance.
We started with the two most popular trails.
The White Domes loop trail / 1.1 miles
Fire Wave trail / 1.5 miles
3-pid slider
Back in the van we drove to the Arch Rock where this group of Big-horned Mountain Sheep were cooling off in the shade.
Atlati Rock
Petroglyphs
We drove a bit west of Las Vegas and boon-docked farther up the road towards Mt. Charleston ski area.
Day 3:
From Hwy 95 we turned south onto Hwy 373 that led to Ash Meadows, right beside Death Valley NP.
This Chrystal Loop trail started from the visitor center. At the bottom of Chrystal Springs, 15' down, every minute 2800 gallons of fresh water flow up into it. All that water flows through the creek to Chrystal Marsh and feeds dozens of migratory birds. Eventually it joins the Amargosa River and flows to the lowest point in North America, the Badwater Basin in Death Valley.
Prince's Plume
The ground water contains dissolved minerals from the surrounding limestone mountains. When the water reaches the surface and evaporates, it forms a hard salt crust.
A bit farther down the road was the Point of Rocks trail.
Mistletoe
Local tribes say the Creator placed everything in its ancestral home for a reason. The plants and animals provide food, medicine, pest control and even peace of mind. Biologists agree -- and so do I.
This little blue fish, the Amargosa Pupfish, is exclusive to Amargosa Valley and since 1967 is listed as an endangered species.. Two of these poolfish became extinct in the 1970s when they were growing crops in the adjacent Pahrump Valley and were pumping for irrigation. This third species survives only in Ash Meadows, thanks to the efforts of the refuge's establishment.
Our third stop was at the Devil's Hole. Scuba divers descended to a depth of 132m. They believe its another 152m deep. Earthquakes around the world can create waves on its surface within minutes, some of them having been us to 6' high!
Death Valley National Park claims to be the hottest place on earth with a recorded 57C on July 10, 1913. It is the lowest elevation in North America in the Badwater Basin at 85m below sea level. And it is the driest, getting an average of only 2.2" of rain annually.
We did a quick stop at Zabriskie Point that overlooked Golden Canyon. Many years ago, when lakes filled this valley, fine silt and minerals from volcanic ash settled on the bottom, creating a thick layer of clay, sandstone and siltstone. Siesmic activity and pressure caused the valley floor to uplift and fold and powerful rainstorms eroded the soft rocks, creaing this landscape.
It was a longer drive up to Dante's View (1669m). It was very windy throughout our stay in Death Valley.
I walked down to the lower point where you could see all of the Badwater Basin. This is the lowest elevation in North America at 83m below sea level.
The green lake was a very unusual phenominum. Due to recent heavy rains, water gathered on what is usually dry salt cracked earth.
Also named the Devil's Golf Course, we walked out further into it. I had to lean to the left to keep the wind from knocking me over!
The water was spraying over the road in spots.
salt
It was approaching sunset, a perfect time to drive to Artists Palette.
We stayed at a campsite in nearby Furnace Creek.
Day 4:
Sunrise and back to Golden Canyon to do a morning walk.
I hiked 2.5 miles to the Red Dragon.
At this junction I went straight and then left on a narrow trail.
The Badwater Basin in the background.
Harmony Borax Works was in operation from 1883-1888. Borax was named the "white gold of the desert". It was the most profitable mineral in Death Valley.
The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
We drove slowly across salt-flats on a gravel pothole-ridden road to the ghost town of Ballart. There wasn't much to see. It looked more like a meeting point for 4x4ers at the store/garage.
From Death Valley we drove south on Hwy 190 and then west on Hwy 178. The strong winds did not relent.
We spent the night in a Sequoia National Forest campsite, north of Lake Isabella.
Day 5:
We were parked tight by the Kern River. From there we continued driving north in the Sequoia NF.
Spring Creek Falls Pic 2 -The only Sequoia tree we saw, just north of Johnsondale. The road was closed beyond that point so we turned back.
Once back at Isablella Lake, we got onto the I-5 until Coalington where we went west on Hwy 198 and then north on Hwy 25.
With all these rolling green hills, we were thinking, where would the pinnacles be?
I wouldn't want to get on that guy's bad side.
And the goats are coming in...
Orange poppies fill the field.
The Lupines were like bushes. We parked at a large pullout here, about a 5-minute drive from the entrance to the park. By the end of the evening, four more vehicles were parked beside us. It was 3:00pm when we arrived at the park and there was a long line-up to get in. So the attendant advised us to come early in the morning when its not as busy in order to secure a parking spot. On the drive to this park, Case thought it wouldn't be busy because we didn't pass many people but you can also access this park from the northwest where the big cities of San Fransico & San Jose are located.
Day 6:
Pinnacles National Park in California
Stats: 9 km / 581m gain / 2:35 hours MT
This small national park had much to offer; from the colorful variety of wildflowers, to the towering granite pinnacles and the red smooth bark of the Manzanita shrubs. Not only did we go to and through the pinnacles, but we went on and over them.
We hiked the loop counter-clockwise. It was 7:30am and other than a few people, we had the trail to ourselves. We had phone reception so I left Case and went at my own pace. It was so peaceful, listening to the bird-song and seeing the pinnacles in the early morning light.
Western Wallflower Fiesta Flower
Larkspur Indian Warrior
I was so excited to see what I thought to be a condor. Afterall, we were on the Condor Gulch trail. But later I found out it was just a Turkey Vulture.
Indian Paintbrush.
Bluedick
California Goldfields
Now we were on the High Peaks trail.
In the photo on the right, its hard to see but there are small footholds chiseled out of the rock.
Turkey Vultures in the sky.
