Death Valley
Report
Biking, Hiking,
Camping
February 6-10,
2008
Wednesday morning, the
6th of February, 2008 I awoke in my cozy warm bed in Van Nuys at the end of
my 59th year. By the end of the day, I had attained 60 years of life
and went to bed on the cold, hard ground in a tent on the floor of
Death Valley. With a smile on my face. What a great
way to celebrate my birthday! -- Robco
Baggins
Day #1--The Drive
To
Rod, Jamshyd, Dean and I
left in 2 vehicles on Wednesday morning, bound for an adventure in Death Valley
National Park. Communicating by cell phone and walkie-talkie, we
coordinated our first stop--lunch at Mike's Roadhouse Cafe in Mojave where all
went well except for Rod's rather dry chicken in his taco salad. Undaunted
by this mishap we four manly men continued our caravan up highway 14
merging with the 395 to the turnoff for Death Valley. We climbed up the
first of 2 mountain ranges making only our 2nd stop of the day--prostates being
what they are at our ages--to pee atop the Argus Range. Then it was down
to the Panamint Valley, over the Panamint Range and onto the floor of Death
Valley.
Stopping in Stovepipe Wells,
we met Ranger Bruce Casper who threw water (or should I say ice) on one of our
goals for this trip--to hike up to Wildrose Peak (normally accessible this time
of year). According to our portly ranger, lacking ice axes
and crampons, we were unprepared for the Nordic Conditions
existing now on Wildrose. Unfazed by this turn
of events and with the hour getting late, we headed towards the visitor
center in Furnace Creek to obtain information regarding our plan to bicycle
through Titus Canyon. Arriving minutes before the 5 o'clock closing time,
we got the info we needed before being kicked out of the facility inspite
of our whining.
As the sun was getting ready
to set, we arrived at the Texas Springs Campground, circling several times
trying to eye the most ideal campsite. The campground was sparsely
populated but we wanted to have a scenic view while also being in close
proximity to and yet upwind of the bathrooms. Eureka!
Our
campsite
We got the tents up and
our gear stashed. As darkness fell, the temperature did
likewise. But before we retired to our tents my fellow travellers
surprised me with a birthday party. Although the wind blew too hard to
light the candles, we had Hostess Cupcakes and I was given unexpected
gifts. Given my age and our location, Jamshyd gave me a very apropos
gift--a copy of The Tibetan Book of the Dead--and from Dean, Rod,
and Jamshyd (plus contributors BruceK, Matthew, and Koala) I
received a complete set of Avid mechanical disc brakes for my Intense
mountain bike. How touched and thankful I am to have such
friends.
Day #2--Titus
Canyon via Mountain Bike
Dragging my 60 year old bones
out of my sleeping bag and into the cold morning air took a lot of effort, but
the hot coffee and oatmeal energized me for today's adventure and the
primary goal of this trip--to mountain bike through Titus Canyon.
We drove the 33 miles to the outlet of the canyon, leaving Rod's minivan
there. With all 4 bikes and riders on and in Dean's passat wagon
we shuttled another 33 miles into Nevada to the start of the 27 mile
fireroad through Titus.
We started pedaling up a
couple of long climbs which brought us to the high point of 5250 feet at
Red Pass. Here we had a lunch of whole grain bread and cheese while
nestled in the rocky outcroppings away from the cold wind--about 12 1/2 miles
from our starting point. Snow dotted the hillsides and there were areas
with snow and ice on the road.
Jamshyd surveys the
road
Dean pauses to enjoy
the horizon
Rod pedals up the climb
Jamshyd and Rod savor the snowy view during
lunch
A look back at the climb up to Red Pass
After our lunch break we headed down towards Titus
Canyon proper.
Our thick rubber tread crunched the icy surface of the
road,
red mud oozing out of the broken
surface.
Jamshyd leads Rod and Dean into the depths of the
extraordinary Titus Canyon proper
At an S-Curve
Rod at a water-carved cave at a canyon
curve
Dean pauses at the entrance to heaven....or the exit
of Titus Canyon at sunset
The last 3 miles out of Titus were down a very, very, very (did
I emphasize very?) rocky road across a massive alluvial fan. In
fact, we became big fans of alluvial fans which were to be seen, driven
on, biked on, hiked on, and camped on throughout the valley. As
darkness again fell, 4 tired riders loaded bikes and bodies into Rod's vehicle
and shuttled back to the ride start to pick up Dean's car. We then
drove the 10 miles or so to Beatty, Nevada, where we had dinner and inhaled 2nd
hand smoke in the local casino before the drive back to our camp site and a
well-deserved night's sleep after a day of epic
riding.
Day #3--Gower Gulch Loop by foot
This was to be a hiking day. Since we were not prepared
for the aforementioned nordic conditions, we chose a hike that started
on the canyon floor at Golden Canyon and wrapped around to form a loop through
Gower Gulch.
Hiking on the floor of Golden Canyon, Rod carries his
Canon Digital SLR
Dean and Rod climb up a narrow chute (or is that "the
pipe"?) off the main Golden Canyon floor
Jamshyd found his long lost
throne.....
rock or porcelain?
Hiking across the base of Manly Beacon
Heading towards Gower Gulch, not far
from Zabriskie Point
The view out of one of the many mining caves in the
gulch,
Jamshyd is silhouetted during our lunch
break
At the bottom of Gower Gulch--view out to the
valley
After the 4+ mile loop hike that included exploring and
scrambling up side canyons and mining caves, we arrived back at the car.
The short drive back to our campsite was pleasantly delayed by a stop at
the upscale Furnace Creek Inn where we enjoyed the view of the setting sun
from the patio while sipping on beer/coke and munching on chips and salsa.
We would have stayed longer but Jamshyd could not charm our
waitress into giving us any more chips....gratis. So
we headed back to the campsite where we cooked up some East Indian fare with
rice. Dark chocolate and hot chocolate rounded out the evening which was
warmer than the last two nights. I think this is also the evening that we
had an enjoyable campfire before going to sleep.
Day #4--Bike on the Road to
Badwater
Back to the bikes today. But this time we rode the
pavement most of the day. Most of the ride was fairly flat with
rolling hills at the edge of massive alluvial fans. We headed
out towards the Artist's Palette but then lengthened the ride by going
first to the Devil's Golf Course and then to the lowest point in the western
hemisphere--Badwater--before turning around.
The highway to Badwater
The Devil's Golf Course: Dean, Rod, and Jamshyd
looking for their balls in the rough on the 18th salt
Below sea level....282 feet....lower for Jamshyd and
me.
We turned around at this point and headed back along the highway
until we arrived back at the start of the Artist's Palette Drive. Not
knowing what to expect, we ended up with a long steady 3 mile grind up an
alluvial fan. This was the hottest and most grueling part of the day--at
least we were not experiencing nordic conditions! Midway up the climb
Jamshyd informed us via walkie-talkie that he had a flat tire.
This gave Dean a chance to take a nap in the middle of
the road
We wound our way along the Artist's Drive, enjoying the pinks,
reds, greens, and their myriad shades "painted" on the rock from nature's
palette. We had covered about 45 miles by the time we pedaled back into
the campground. We "cleaned up" a bit and headed over to the local eatery
for a fine dinner before retiring for the evening.
Day #5--Trip Home
This was the day we packed up to head for home and hot
showers. Before leaving, however, we checked out one last feature on the
advice of Dean--the Keane Wonder Mine, an old mining operation whose wooden
structures have managed to fare fairly well in this dry desert.
Rod looks out over the Valley while Dean and Jamshyd
discuss whether they have discovered gold.
On the drive back, again on Dean's suggestion, we took a
different route that he had taken years ago. In the Panamint Valley we
took a left turn and took the old road into Trona, a quaint little hamlet of
industrial smells and waste. Eventually we reached highway 14 thus having
completely encircled the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, another
peaceful hamlet. Not too many hours later, as darkness fell over Los
Angeles, the four intrepid adventurers merged back into the traffic and frenetic
pace of life in the big city.
Humbly submitted,
Robco "The Aged"
Baggins
Topo Maps
