Forum Index > Trip Reports > Death Valley Natl Pk and adjacent Wilderness; Final Hikes Nov 23-27, 2018
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John Morrow
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Joined: 03 Apr 2007
Posts: 1526 | TRs | Pics
Location: Roslyn
John Morrow
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PostWed Dec 12, 2018 2:17 pm 
Nov 23: Titus Canyon Road, Thimble Peak 6381', Death Valley National Park. Kimberly and I decided for our last hike together we'd hit Thimble Peak and tour down the Titus Canyon Road with the benefit of her Jeep. There are just a few parking spaces at Red Pass where a good tread takes off toward the peak. This hike is also well described and mapped in Michel Digonnet's "Hiking Death Valley": https://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Death-Valley-Natural-Wonders/dp/0965917835/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WFB7BJK2PGMJ59CARM77 It is a classic Death Valley peak scramble, with only easy Class 2 and lots of tread.
Dawn moonset over Corkscrew Peak
Dawn moonset over Corkscrew Peak
Red Pass; Titus Canyon Road, Death Valley NP
Red Pass; Titus Canyon Road, Death Valley NP
Death Valley Wilderness; Death Valley National Park, CA
Death Valley Wilderness; Death Valley National Park, CA
Mesquite Dunes/Stovepipe Wells
Mesquite Dunes/Stovepipe Wells
Cottonwood Mtns across
Cottonwood Mtns across
Red Pass vicinity
Red Pass vicinity
Titus Canyon below
Titus Canyon below
ast look at Thimble
ast look at Thimble
colors
colors
The Klare Spring Petroglyph Panel is one of the few in the National Park that is freely advertised. For those w/o high clearance/4WD one can hike the bottom few miles of the Titus Road to access the spring and rock art.
Titus Road
Titus Road
Titus1
Titus1
Titus2
Titus2
Titus3
Titus3
Titus4
Titus4
Titus5
Titus5
Titus6
Titus6
Titus7
Titus7
Nov 24: Quick stop Panamint Playa and Lake Hill 2030'. After a leisurely morning in Stovepipe Wells together, it was time for Kimberly to start home. Shower and Breakfast Buffet done, I needed an easy hike before I would move on to Bishop CA to meet a friend for last hikes. There is lots to do in the Panamint Playa/Valley area, I'd give it a look for future longer hikes by scrambling up Lake Hill 2030'. It stands out almost like the Racetrack Playa Grandstand rising out of nowhere from flats.
Lake Hill Panamint Valley
Lake Hill Panamint Valley
Panamint Butte towers
Panamint Butte towers
Lake Hill and Panamint Dunes
Lake Hill and Panamint Dunes
Interesting canyons there
Interesting canyons there
Panamint Dunes
Panamint Dunes
Death Valley Wilderness
Death Valley Wilderness
sandy playa
sandy playa
point
point
Nov 25: Paiute Canyon, Inyo Mountains Wilderness, CA. The Inyo Mountains rise out of the Saline Valley so dramatically it is if we were on another planet. This is the day it all changed. With my friend Jacquie and her dog Quin, we had originally planned on driving north to the Black Rock Desert. A major cold front with significant precipitation potential nixed that idea. We opted for dog friendly local hiking and backpacking (read: no National Park) adjacent to Death Valley. We also made a wrong turn thinking we'd try the Piper Mountains Wilderness and ended up dropping into the Saline Valley...uh, oh back in the National Park! Fortunately, the adjacent Inyo Mountains Wilderness is not in the Park and has many canyons to explore. Most canyons are eventually technical, but Paiute Canyon is an exception. Not the most dramatic, but a pretty day hike.
Paiute Canyon
Paiute Canyon
Inyo Mountains beyond
Inyo Mountains beyond
baby dryfall
baby dryfall
Fall color
Fall color
Nov. 26-27 Centennial Canyon, Coso Range Wilderness, CA: We originally hoped to backpack up north in the Black Rock desert so we found another local wilderness with opportunity for a scenic and interesting overnight camp. Since snow/rain was forecast on the 28th, I opted to begin the long drive home after this quick overnight. Our route was a very reasonable 4 miles up Centennial Canyon to the joshua tree flats of Centennial Flat. A fine camp it was.
loaded with berries
loaded with berries
Lower Centennial Canyon
Lower Centennial Canyon
Upper Centennial Canyon
Upper Centennial Canyon
Afternoon in Upper Centennial Flat
Afternoon in Upper Centennial Flat
Camp evening
Camp evening
Heading out we chose to make a loop with the unnamed canyon to the east. Since it was a jeep road I recommend instead heading west to Joshua Flat and returning by looping around to the canyon exiting NE out of Joshua Flat back to the trailhead.
Jacquie admires a panel
Jacquie admires a panel
Leaving Upper Centennial
Leaving Upper Centennial
Coso Mountains
Coso Mountains
Coso overview
Coso overview
Coso Loop
Coso Loop
And that was that....homeward bound. Let there be snow. Oh, some rock art: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23557848@N03/albums/72157676578439418

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” ― MLK Jr.
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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Death Valley Natl Pk and adjacent Wilderness; Final Hikes Nov 23-27, 2018
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