Death Valley Part 1: Wildrose Peak, Darwin Falls, Panamint Sand Dunes

Camo and I spend first night at Moosie's house.

Cold night, late dinner

Charcoal Kilns from the late 1800's. Beginning of hike up to Wildrose Peak.

Old pinyon pine, gnarly old tree limb.

Nearing the summit of Wildrose Peak

View west towards the snowy Sierra Nevada.

View south towards Telescope Peak, highest mountain in Death Valley.

First two nights camp at an old ruin off a dirt road. Very cold first two nights.

Beautiful Darwin Falls.

Driving towards Panamint Sand Dunes

Camo hikes on Panamint Sand Dunes

Camo, Moosie, and I.

Desert Wildflower

Last week I spent a memorable 8 days exploring parts of California's deserts with trail friends Moosie and Camo. We spent most of our time in Death Valley, but also spent time in Mojave National Preserve, Joshua Tree National Park, and Anza Borrego State Park. Boy, did it feel good to be back in California, experiencing relief from Maryland's long winter, and spending time with good friends.

Our trip began with Camo and I flying into San Diego airport and meeting Moosie there. My flight came in the latest around 9:30 pm. I was still on east coast time so my body felt like it was 12:30am. I was also just recovering from a 3 week cold so I was worried about running myself down early. One breath of that Pacific Ocean air felt great however, and looking at the palm trees swaying in the breeze at night made me feel better too. On top of that, Moosie, Camo, and I bought California burritos stuffed with French fries for dinner from a taco place near San Diego. It was gearing up to be a great trip!

After spending the night at Moosie's house, we packed all of our gear into Moosie's car and left San Diego for Death Valley. I enjoyed seeing my old stomping grounds, the giant mountains around Los Angeles as we traveled north. The sharp contrast to Maryland's trees and vegetation that I've now become accustomed to made the scenery more enjoyable. It was fairly cold our first day driving into the desert. As we approached the Sierra Nevada mountain range and Death Valley from the western side, we saw several flocks of snow geese.

Our plan for the week was to do some dispersed car camping, and possibly some backpacking. I'm a big fan of dispersed car camping now. Moosie was able to take her 4 wheel drive car down some rough dirt roads and we were able to find some isolated camping areas as a result. We were able to enjoy the best of both worlds, the luxury of having a car along with solitude.

Our first couple of days in Death Valley were cold. We found a dispersed car camping site near the ruins of a building, possibly a CCC structure of some sort. The site was around 6,000 feet and we actually had snow flurries the first night camping. The next day, we hiked up Wildrose Peak, a scenic 8.4 mile round trip, the mountain summits at 9,064 feet. The three of us coming straight from "the cubicle," this mountain was a perfect fit for our out of shape hiking bodies.  It was frigid and extremely windy at the summit. We were able to enjoy views of the snowy Sierra Mountains and then had to retreat off the mountain out of the wind. After camping in the same spot the following night, Moosie, Camo, and I drove to the Darwin Falls trailhead the following morning. The hike was easy to the falls, probably a little more than a two mile round trip. The hike led us through a dry, rocky wash, and then into an oasis, a hike along a little stream with beautiful, emerald green vegetation and an array of plants and some wildflowers. The hike was fairly crowded, with many other visitors embarked along the trail. The falls were beautiful though, the sun was intense and the air gradually warmed. After finishing the hike, the three of us sat in the shade of the car, tailgate style, and feasted on sandwiches. The simple joys made the trip. After finishing lunch, we refilled our water jugs in the Oasis village of Panamint Springs, and drove towards the Panamint Dunes. It was getting late in the afternoon. As we entered the valley via a dirt road, Moosie exclaimed, "the world is our oyster tonight for camping!" There was plenty of dry, flat, open space to park the vehicle and camp for the night. The feeling of freedom was practically overwhelming. We reached the end of the dirt road where there was an 8 mile round trip, cross country hike to the dunes. It didn't look like 4 miles to the dunes from where our car was parked but distances were definitely deceiving in the valley. Around 4:00pm we took off cross country on foot to reach the dunes. This meant we would probably get back to the car after dark. As we hiked towards the dunes, the car became smaller and smaller, the dunes larger and larger. After a couple hours hiking, we finally reached the dunes an hour before sunset. It was a surreal world, with changing patterns in the sand, colors, and shadows. We hiked to the top of a few large mounds, making what appeared to be the first tracks of the day. The wind was blowing hard, so our tracks probably became covered pretty quickly. After enjoying an hour on the dunes, we turned back towards the car and resumed our trek. The sun was setting, the colors magnificent, the desert quiet except for the occasional military jet plane streaking just above the valley floor. Soon a near full moon appeared over the mountains, and we picked up our pace to reach the car in the fading light. We eventually reached the car in the dark after the three of us fanned out and targeted the area where we thought our car would be. We drove fifteen minutes down the dirt road and found a secluded spot to park the car in the expansive valley. After eating dinner under the moonlight, I simply threw my sleeping bag and ground pad on the sandy desert floor for the night. One of the luxuries of desert camping. The air was warmer down here, and the three of us the next morning commented on how well we slept...