Welcome to Death Valley! We are staying at Stovepipe Wells Village, about 25 miles from the Furnace Creek area, home to the Visitor Center and more lodging.
From Stovepipe, we travel .2 miles turning left to drive up a 2.3-mile dirt/gravel road to Mosaic Canyon’s trailhead. I was here last year and had to come again. Why did you not hear of my visit last year? Well, that’s a saga, so come along and I’ll fill you in. Beside, you are going to love this hike!
So, last February’s trip to Death Valley. I was gone about a week spending two full days in Death Valley. Mid-February through March is spring in the desert and it was lovely–the first day. Temps were mid-60s to low-70s with little wind. The first full day I walked Mosaic Canyon, Salt Creek to see the pup fish. Yes, fish about 2″ long living in the desert creek and got lots of pics to prove it to you. Visited Zabriskie Point, Dantes View, and the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near my lodging at Stovepipe. The second full day? More on that later . . .
So, had LOTS of photos to share, stories to tell, all saved on my very reliable brand new solid state external hard drive. After getting home, I plugged it in my high-end laptop and zap. The computer did something strange and locked up. In response I turned it off, turned it on, and it would not read my external drive. The drive was locked tight–with all my pics!! I had been having a few small issues with that new laptop–it was traded in that week–grrrr.
Turns out it was a serious situation. A few local geeks sent me to higher level then higher level geeks with such amazing knowledge. My last hope said I would have to send it to a place specializing in this type of data recovery. He called a lab in California he had used before for such work. He shared all the information with them, packed up my drive, and off it went. Hopefully they could save my pics.
Three days later I got a phone call. They were not sure they could recover my pictures, but if they could it would cost $3,500. WHAT? So guess what–that much money will pay for a whole new even longer trip! So here I am and here you are. Let’s go!
From the parking area it is a wide walk to the canyon with rocks of different colors and shapes. It gets more interesting as the canyon begins to narrow. This canyon provides drainage for a 4.3 square-mile area off Tucki Mountain’s northern flank. Flash flooding could be deadly here, but luckily the sun is almost out. Tucki Mountian is 6,732 feet high and part of the Panamint Range which is the western edge of Death Valley’s basin.
This is the outcropping that gives the canyon its name; Mosaic Canyon Breccia. Breccia is an Italian word meaning “fragments”. Angular fragments of the various types of rock found here are locked within a natural cement.
As the canyon narrows the walls are smooth marble of Noonday Dolomite. Flash foods through the canyon are laden with grit which scour these walls to a smooth, beautiful finish.
The beautiful marble is so smooth I wish you could feel it for yourself.
Up ahead we make a sharp left, but have to scramble up the marble formations first. Just be careful, it can be slippery.
Phew, it was a bit slippery but good hiking shoes help. These marble walls never cease to amaze!
Watch your step. Let’s rest here a minute and I’ll tell you of my second day in Death Valley last year.
It is a 45 minute drive to Badwater Basin from Stovepipe Wells. I left at 6:30 am hoping for sunrise spectaculars. After Badwater I had a few stops and hikes planned along the way. The wind was picking up all along the drive south and arriving at Badwater, 282 feet BELOW sea level, the wind was about 40mph with gusts to 60. Now I can barely open the SUV door pushing against the wind.
Decided to take a canyon walk to Natural Bridge and escape the wind. It is a short hike and we’ll be doing it later. Well, the wind changed direction–straight into the canyon–and it was a battle getting back to the car. No matter what I’m driving Artists Drive and getting pictures of Artists Palette. At Artists Palette, finally pushing the car door open, I could barely stand still enough to take a picture! I’ve had enough. Time to return to Stovepipe and have some lunch.
About an hour after getting “home” we were suddenly hit with a huge sandstorm! It went on for two hours and you could barely see the campers on the other side of the street. Suddenly it stopped, I walked out of my room and looked up and down the road. It was about a mile to the east and going straight down into the valley. That sealed any hope of getting back down to continue the stops and hikes in the valley.
The sand, sneaking in the corners of every window and door, was so fine and actually a bit sticky making it more difficult to remove than I expected. It took months to removed all the sand from my SUV. More just showed up all the time?! Thankfully it did not damage my vehicle.
Well, I’m always looking for new adventures–then again, I can live without ever doing that again!
Onward . . .
Northeast wall of dolomite.
Southwest wall of . . . sandstone? There are so many kinds of sandstone, many very hard, but frankly I haven’t found any resources that help identify these rocks.
We are beginning to see shale as well. Don’t tell, but I tried to pull apart the layers and many separated easily.
The canyon is starting to widen.
It is almost like a small valley with a butte and small hills.
As we enter the wide canyon, the northeast wall is green! The many colored rocks in Death Valley are typically a mix of minerals but mostly a form of iron. Blues and greens are Chlorite and/or Nontronite.
Continuing toward the end of the canyon the mountain’s walls are glorious colors. See the blues and lavender? Purple colored rock is Hematite.
The colors and formations are stunning.
Up ahead we could go right into a short canyon making the walk a bit longer. Last year I asked someone who did the walk if it was worth the walk. She said “no”. I talked with a fella earlier today and now see him again coming down from that trail. I asked if it was worth the walk. He said “no”. Well, have loved the hike so far but let’s go back!
Looking back down the trail let me give you a few facts. We hiked a little over a mile since leaving the parking area AND we are 1,000 feet higher than the parking area. Congrats!
Those are the Cottonwood Mountains in the background.
Things always look a bit different heading in the opposite direction. A great reason to slow down and look around.
This is where we had a challenge earlier getting to the top of the marble where we are currently standing. Now what? I learned this last year 😉
See the long narrow rock in the left corner? Walk down that onto the raised rock a bit to the right. Now sit down and slide down the rest of the way!! Super smooth rock on your butt and a safe landing. This is fun!
The canyon is widening, we are almost back to the car. Wait . . . . .
A Canyon Wren, and about four feet away too. They are feisty little critters with little fear of us and they have an interesting song. Rather like a creek running downhill. Click the listen button.
Time to head back down the hill. What a view. Those are the Grapevine Mountains running north/south. Toward the bottom, see the white roofs? That is Stovepipe Wells Village, home for the next 3.5 days. Standing here we really are up high. It is about 1,000 feet down to Stovepipe and we’ll be driving those 2 miles in 1st and 2nd gear.
Back on CA Highway 190 the signage puts things in perspective.
Until next time my friend . . . and watch for upcoming adventures in Death Valley.
