The forecast today is for wind gusts up to 30 mph by afternoon, fittingly, our hike today will be shorter. Approx. 5 miles, we climb from the Dante’s View parking area at 5475 ft. elevation, up past Dante’s Peak at 5705 ft, and beyond along a ridgeline to our turnaround point. I slipped in the loose dirt on a downhill section and my hand landed on a pricker bush--that was a bloody scene! A bit over 3 1/2 hours later, when we got back to the van, you could no longer see Telescope Peak and the Panamints though the sandy haze. Back at camp, a bunch of us went on a hike we dubbed the “Poop Loop” through “Poop Canyon” (no explanation needed) and around the mountains behind camp. Dinner tonight was excellent--London broil, garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. The wind was so fierce that I was in the tent by 8:15, just to get out of the blowing. A fine layer of sand had covered everything in our tent.
Nice view of the alluvial fans coming off the Panamint Range, it’s still clear
Looking north west up the Valley. Badwater Basin is straight down, center frame.
Our trail up to Dante’s Peak, 5705’.
Yeah, it’s real chilly up here!
Salt flats are 7 miles wide at widest point near Badwater.
There is that blue, blue sky again
One of my favorite shots, though you wouldn’t think I was in a desert!
Looking east over Greenwater Valley
This is the high point on Dante’s Peak
Natural bridge
snack break
bloody thorns that my hand landed on
my blood on the rocks. A week later, I still have some prickers stuck under my skin.
Lunchtime friend
Chuckie, the Chuckwalla lizard
looks fierce
he stores enough fluid from food to survive without ever drinking water
he can puff up his body 3x its size to wedge himself in this crack so he can’t be pulled out by a predator
ok everybody kick! What’s up Joe?
Heading back to the parking area
I didn’t realize I had the black and white setting on
Even without color, you can see how the view is obscured
Mine worker dormatories from old Borax Mine
the “Poop Loop” (rough guess)
heading into Poop Canyon for our loop hike
the walls narrow to this slot canyon
Lena & Margaret
We don’t know who made this stone garden, or what it is for. Maybe aliens made it?
out of the canyon, onto the wash
some sort of desert graffiti. Don’t think it is a real petroglyph
That’s Anil up ahead, walking along the back of the “Wall”
Could the Death Valley Mangler live in these holes? (sorry Margaret)
picking out way along the slopes
Gail, Lena, Margaret
The Hole in the Wall
