Death Valley 2022/23

[Beardilocks]

And now for another virtually invisible Rock Alignment!  One has to wonder how much humanity or climate has degraded these structures in the 70yrs since they were surveyed, or were they barely perceptible back then?  

The only way I've found that I can track down rock alignments out here is to have as many points of interest as possible.  (That or sheer dumb luck).  Which is extra hard with the changing landscape, more accurate elevation equipment, better topo maps, and honestly the sheer number of typos I have been finding in scientific papers.  I have 3 confirmed typo or mis-documented map sectors.  This time the biggest problem was part of designed navigation hinged on finding a fence line and navigating from that.  Only to find that there was no fence anywhere in sight.  Grrrr.

So I gave up and headed back to my truck amongst thickening rain drops.  Only to get angry with myself part of the way and turn around.  I would do that 3 whole times.  I think a record for me.  Lol.  

I finally found a single broken off fence post.  Figuring that it could only have come down the wash (I was grasping at straws at this point but I could at least remember that "gravity, it's not just a good idea, it's the law").  I grid searched the wash until I found some barbed wire.  I knew the cardinal direction the fence used to go and it had definitely been twisted up & dragged by the 70yrs of floods.  Eventually it led to a bench where it seemed to be caught in its more or less original position, although no fence posts remained.  Finally found the next clue in my search, a group of cleared circles.  But still no alignment apparent.  Then I found marker 3, an ancient pathway.  Still can't find the ^&*^$# alignment.  Finally, at just the right angle, i could pick up parts of it.  See if anything is visible in the photos.









Not the most exciting photos.  Lol.  Sorry.  Overcast and not much contrast in the rocks.  It's essentially just two lines sort of sinuously intertwining and a few cleared circles.  As per usual, I found quite a lot of cairns and rock piles in the area.  Which are bloody everywhere once you start looking.  At least I can check this one off my list now.

[Beardilocks]

Finally a quick trip out to one of the springs in the area.  Some of you will recognize it no doubt.



Very odd place.


I'm not sure if this is an old mine or the NPS's pump house or both.


Pic from above.


Random Native American remnants.  I can't tell if this is a collapsed hunting blind or ... what.  Rock Alignment?  Supposed to be one out here but no clue what it looks like or where it is.  


A suspiciously intact hunting blind.  I believe this one was either recently created or rebuilt.


Interestingly, this design is very similar to the DV I "hearth (?)", just not as weathered and embedded into the pavement.  


Some random rocks that look to have been used... for something.  Possibly as grinding stones?  

[GowerGulch42]

That tunnel is the water supply for Ryan Camp all the way across Furnace Creek! They did a rehabilitation project a few years ago. Good job finding all these spots.

[Beardilocks]

So I took a trip out to the Racetrack finally and made a few stops along the way/in the area/around/etc.  Much like the last string of posts, these will be out of order and spun around to keep some sensitive places safe.

First stop was a weird cave.  




Surprisingly, while the mouth was only maybe 4ft wide, the interior was massive.  Easily pushing 15ft high.


LOADS of lithic scatter outside.




The nearby canyon was short but brightly colored.

[Beardilocks]

I'll disclose the location of this one because there's nothing left to protect really.  I stopped by the Coville Rock Shelter in Lost Burro Gap.  It was excavated in the 1950's when the road was re-done to accommodate the growing motor-tourist industry in DEVA amongst fears that the sites would be looted by tourists/artifact hunters.  Dozens of other caves were also checked for signs of habitation and harvested of all artifacts.  

Climbing to these caves is extremely hazardous and, ultimately, I found it rather disappointing.  Most, if not all of the caves have been swept free of anything at all that would have made them interesting and it's really not worth the risk you're undertaking.  But the views were nice at least...

The Coville Structure was literally wiped clean.  I actually thought I was in the wrong place.  It's not a cave so much as a wide shelf with nothing on it.




Truck for scale.


Looking towards Racetrack Valley.


The Racetrack was flooded in spots and totally too wet to walk on.  Luckily it's my 5th or 6th time here so no biggie.


Time for dinner.


Great view of Hidden Valley for sunset.


Racetrack Rd is in fabulous condition for the moment.  No doubt it will be a washboarded mess within a week or so.  When I went up LBG there were 3 tea kettles at Tea Kettle Junction (NPS had just harvested them a week prior).  When I came out 2 days later there were over a dozen.  Crazy.

Hidden Valley Rd is in great condition as well.  The same cannot be said for White Top Rd.  It hasn't been touched since the flooding last summer.  It was easily passable in anything with reasonable clearance up to 6500ft, where large patches of snow still exist.  I was the first vehicle up that far since the last big snow at least, maybe much longer.

[Beardilocks]

Next up is a habitation site I visited.  One of the larger, still standing rock shelter rings/foundations I've come across.  



Crazy amounts of lithic scatter again here.


Some really beautiful pieces.


A couple of petroglyphs near the house structure.




Grinding Stone.


Another view of the rock circle shelter.  Note the petroglyph in the rock at the bottom of the photo.  This is the first petroglyph I've seen on a rock used in any sort of structure like this in DEVA.




Another rock circle.


A glyph oddly on a rock in the middle of the wash nearby.


The coolest thing at this site by far:  Metate with Mano still in place after all these years.  Bonus for the petroglyph on the metate.  


A short hike from this location, but oddly up over a hill & near a small wash there was quite a collection of petroglyphs (several dozen decorated rocks, large and small, in total).  The collection continued over a ridgeline and down the other side. The location is extremely odd and out of character for where I usually see petroglyphs placed.  Quite the mystery.








Archeological tag at the top of this photo that I didn't notice until just now.


This was a pretty large boulder.  Biggest of the group that I found.












Note the odd glyph on the far right side of the rock.  I love when they are truly in the round like this.  Adds a layer.



This one seems to be a hunting scene with a complete landscape.  Or a map.  


Very cool location.

[Kauri]

Great photos, as usual!!

Two questions:
- How do you keep your fresh broccoli/vegetables so fresh while camping in DV, or was it only possible for them to make an appearance in your photo since you'd recently restocked on supplies? We'd be fighting to keep broccoli from wilting after a few days even when repeatedly wrapped in paper towel that's changed as soon as it gets damp, with similar issues with zucchini, so we'd survive on carrots and potatoes later in the trip. Hoping you can share some camping-with-vegetables advice
- I'm assuming White Top Road still has those rocky steps when climbing out of the canyon--how bad are they currently? OK with decent clearance only for someone who knows the undercarriage of their vehicle and has experience with tire placement, or point-and-drive?

[netllama]

Great photos, as usual!!

Two questions:
- How do you keep your fresh broccoli/vegetables so fresh while camping in DV, or was it only possible for them to make an appearance in your photo since you'd recently restocked on supplies? We'd be fighting to keep broccoli from wilting after a few days even when repeatedly wrapped in paper towel that's changed as soon as it gets damp, with similar issues with zucchini, so we'd survive on carrots and potatoes later in the trip. Hoping you can share some camping-with-vegetables advice

Broccoli (and most vegetables) survive best if they are cold and exposed to very little air circulation. It will honestly last weeks if its in an airtight plastic bag and below 50F. If its wilting, then its likely getting dehydrated due to too much air exposure.

[Kauri]

Great photos, as usual!!

Two questions:
- How do you keep your fresh broccoli/vegetables so fresh while camping in DV, or was it only possible for them to make an appearance in your photo since you'd recently restocked on supplies? We'd be fighting to keep broccoli from wilting after a few days even when repeatedly wrapped in paper towel that's changed as soon as it gets damp, with similar issues with zucchini, so we'd survive on carrots and potatoes later in the trip. Hoping you can share some camping-with-vegetables advice

Broccoli (and most vegetables) survive best if they are cold and exposed to very little air circulation.  It will honestly last weeks if its in an airtight plastic bag and below 50F.  If its wilting, then its likely getting dehydrated due to too much air exposure.

Thanks! Airtight plastic bag must be the key change I need to make. We kept it cold, but definitely not in an airtight bag.

[Beardilocks]

Great photos, as usual!!

Two questions:
- How do you keep your fresh broccoli/vegetables so fresh while camping in DV, or was it only possible for them to make an appearance in your photo since you'd recently restocked on supplies? We'd be fighting to keep broccoli from wilting after a few days even when repeatedly wrapped in paper towel that's changed as soon as it gets damp, with similar issues with zucchini, so we'd survive on carrots and potatoes later in the trip. Hoping you can share some camping-with-vegetables advice
- I'm assuming White Top Road still has those rocky steps when climbing out of the canyon--how bad are they currently? OK with decent clearance only for someone who knows the undercarriage of their vehicle and has experience with tire placement, or point-and-drive?

My big secret to keeping broccoli fresh while camping?  I have a fridge.     Honestly, a fridge is one of the best things that I ever added to my previous rig.  You can get decent ones on Amazon for ~$200.  I've had both Api-Cool and BougeRV.  The only drawback is the compressor running at night when it's warmer outside.  But my veggies stay fresh for 2 weeks easy.

How to describe White Top Rd...  You go through the first in-canyon section and the soil/road gets a very dark color.  There are a few steps in there and that section is in very nice shape other than a couple of washouts that are sort of oddly in the middle of the road.  I easily straddled these.  I turned around right after the big right hand hairpin after you come out of the canyon, where the ground becomes more purple and colorful and sort of clay-ish, in the last section before you can see Dry Bone Canyon.  I'm assuming that the next canyon section past Dry Bone would be very rough to impassible if they haven't cleaned it up since this summer.