Death Valley 2022/23

[Beardilocks]

Steve Hall discovered a remote and difficult bridge on the east side of Tucki Mountain but with his site off line I'm not sure if it's this bridge or another canyon. Maybe someone can clarify.

This is the "remote and difficult bridge" by Tucki Mountain that Steve had written about on his site, but he didn't discover it. This one was discovered by a canyoneering group, I believe one led by Rick Kent and Abby Wines.

Interesting that that trip (Kent & Wines) was either never reported or is now lost.  At least I can’t find it… Climbers tend to report everything.  Nothing on Ropewiki in that whole section of the range (east slope).  Odd.  

We did find evidence of past rappelling.

[trailhound]

Steve Hall discovered a remote and difficult bridge on the east side of Tucki Mountain but with his site off line I'm not sure if it's this bridge or another canyon. Maybe someone can clarify.

It is the same bridge described by Steve Hall.

[Daymoth]

Beardilocks I forget if you have said, how are you getting internets? We dont get reception in the park nevermind data.

[netllama]

Beardilocks I forget if you have said, how are you getting internets? We dont get reception in the park nevermind data.

he commented about this a ton of posts earlier:
https://dv.netllama.us/dv/thread-26144-p...l#pid81326

[Daymoth]

Beardilocks I forget if you have said, how are you getting internets? We dont get reception in the park nevermind data.

he commented about this a ton of posts earlier:
https://dv.netllama.us/dv/thread-26144-p...l#pid81326

Ooooh a booster! thats what that antenna I keep seing on trucks is

[Beardilocks]

I can only speak for the booster that I have but it's not much help in the main valley where weak 3G is all there is. It helps quite a lot on 4G, boosting a weak signal to an OK signal. And an OK signal to a pretty decent signal. But not the "turn 1 bar into 4 bars" they try to sell you on.

I just wish NPS would throw up a decent 4G tower in the park. With nearly 2 million visitors a year in a place that's pretty wild & dangerous, it seems like a no brainer. I'm all for areas without reception and "getting away from it all". But if you're on the main paved roads in the park (or at the damn Visitors Center) you should have cell. Especially with campground reservations and tour reservations all going onto Rec.gov.

[Daymoth]

Yes im surprised we cant get some data at furnace or stovepipe. Thats all is needed to be honest. Just enough to book a campsite and check the weather forecast, road closures or traffic going home while filling up on water and gas.

Speaking of. What the hell is going on with the gas pump at stovepipe???? Last two times weve been at the park it was a shitshow because filling a tank takes 20 minutes. With only two gas stations in the park and one will take your kidney in payment and the other has a diying pump...its not great.

[Beardilocks]

After a week of crappy cell reception, I'm back with a few stories.  The weather has been less than awesome and my timing terrible.  Every necessary rest-day after a long hike is only decent weather day of the week lately.  Wind has been the biggest factor, with it just really being incessant the last couple of weeks.  The big weekend storm is turning out to be more blow than bite with very little rain in the southern part of the park.  Although we'll see how today ends up.  

Last week I hit Hole in the Rock Spring on a "rest day".  One of those places I've always meant to check out but somehow always falls to "next time" because I'm always rushing through the pass.  I was camping on the very pleasant and quiet BLM land on the CA/NV border this time so it was an easy choice.  

There's a VERY well worn path to the spring from near the road.  Interestingly Google lists the spring in the wrong place.  I was hoping to find some signs of human visitation, both historic and pre-historic, but was mostly disappointed.  I had seen photos of some car-era signs in the area but found nothing of the sort.  I also know that at least one burial mound was excavated in the area, but I could find no signs of any kind of habitation or visitation.



The cave is much larger than I thought it would be, going in quite a ways.  But the spring was also much drier.  This was historically a big producer and with the rain we've had this year I figured it would be flowing at least a bit.  









Beautiful Area


There were a few very large rock cairns in the area.  I couldn't see any trails going to them or any prospects in the area.  They were definitely not as prolific and were much larger than the prospecting cairns in the Confidence Wash.  

[Daymoth]

Im obsessed with those wasp nests in death valley coves. I find them so beautiful. Ive never seen the occupants though.

[Beardilocks]

Next I took a trip to see if I could find some petroglyphs.

Rock circle along the trail.  Likely a deadfall trap.


Very nice trail on a very lovely evening.


Really killer panel.  Interesting finger placement on the "hands".  And the lines connecting the hand on the left to the other glyph.


The top is extremely interesting.  A map?  Is that a human figure?  And a lake or a river.  Fascinating.


This one was nearby.  A feather?  A footprint?



I just love the style on this one.  Almost monstrous somehow, as if a transformation is taking place.  


Interesting rock pile here.  A bit of a void in the middle.  I can't make out if it's a collapsed cairn, a deadfall trap, or something else.


This is a style I typically have seen further west in NV and UT.  I don't recall tons of others in this style in DEVA.  


Small glyph with some interesting fossils.


This is something I'm starting to see more & more of as I pay close attention.  Deliberate but very small lines alone on rocks.  As yet I have yet to see any kind of a pattern.  They don't point in line with the path or perpendicular to it.  They don't point in the direction of a spring.  But I am seeing them at almost every location and sometimes just completely on their own.



Really awesome glyph on it's own, more or less on the path from this location to the nearest spring.  Map?  Story?  




Interesting use of a natural hole in the rock.


Another small one in the area.  Lots of modern graffiti on this particular rock for some reason.  Not prevalent elsewhere.


Weird clouds.