Death Valley Deep Dive 2024

[netllama]

The next morning I headed back up Johnson Canyon to take another crack at the Sandstone Dome that overlooks what I've found is called White Tanks Wash, between Johnson & Starvation Canyons. 

Alice Hunt's archeological papers from the 1950 mentioned several Native American “campsites” in the area (a loose category that is not elaborated on) and, having found one that I don't think she had found on my last trip out here, thought I'd see what else I could find.  All the tinajas (natural potholes that hold water) would mean that it must have been a great stopping point for many travelers over the millennia.  Plus, I have never seen any trip reports or heard any tales of this fantastic feature that can be seen from all over the valley, and thought that the area needed further exploration.  Let me be clear:  I'm not “discovering” anything out here or “pioneering” any routes.  Just exploring an area that sees criminally (or delightfully!) few visitors.  Haha. 

But first: Tragedy. 


Somewhere in the first mile or so of Johnson Canyon Rd I DESTROYED a tire.  I still can't quite believe it.  Tires were set @ 20psi for rough road touring and I was in 1st gear puttering along at about 12mph on a freshly graded road.


But I somehow still managed to get a 3in long gash in my sidewall.  It happened so fast I heard my rim hit the gravel.  The only thing I could find walking back down the road was a rock that the bulldozer had shattered into several knife blades.  So there's a fun new danger to watch out for out here.  Not that you can see them from the cockpit. 


This one is very obviously not only wedged into the back wall but also held in place by several stones that were used to make sure it was wedged tightly.  There is no way of knowing whether it's been for a hundred years or several thousand years.  As unassuming as it looks, it is the only item of spiritual or religious significance that I have ever come across in the wild like this.  Something that a human soul imbued with a type of magic and that a human hand placed in the same spot that it still sits today, likely thousands of years later.  Without a doubt the coolest stick I've ever found. 

You've posted some truly amazing stuff, but this one, in my unqualified opinion, takes the cake. Never did I expect to see scenery and rock formations like this in Death Valley. You nailed it, its like Utah (or some other far more distant corners of the world).

That flat tire reminds me of the time I experienced something very similar several hundred kilometers from civilization on the Gibb River Road (outback Australia). I was looking for somewhere to pull off the "road" to make lunch, and after an hour, couldn't find anything, when I came upon a very rocky dry wash forking off. I figured why not, and drove very slowly, but huge bushes closed in fast and I noticed they were full of huge spiders. I noped out of there, and reversed back out. Less than a quarter mile further up the road there was a nice, flat clearing and I pulled in. As soon as I opened the door and got out, I heard the dreaded hissing sound. Rear passenger tire was completely shredded. My best guess was that stupid spider infested wash had a sharp rock.