2024-03-21, 05:41 PM
(2024-03-21, 05:02 PM)Beardilocks Wrote: [ -> ]
Spectacular! That is now on my to-do list. One has to work to get views of Eureka Dunes and Hidden Dunes at the same time.
(2024-03-21, 05:02 PM)Beardilocks Wrote: [ -> ]
(2024-03-21, 05:21 PM)netllama Wrote: [ -> ]I'll never tired of seeing Eureka Valley. Thanks for those gorgeous shots.
BTW, is that some leftover snow in the last photo ?
(2024-03-21, 05:58 PM)Beardilocks Wrote: [ -> ]Last Chance was looking snow free on the south slope (I’m sure Brice will update us on that one eventually).
(2024-03-25, 05:56 PM)Beardilocks Wrote: [ -> ]Hanaupah Canyon, off West Side Rd, opened up this last week so I decided to go check it out. I haven't been all the way up the canyon in about 6 years and I was curious what it would be like after the flooding and road repairs.
Overall an interesting trip up one of my favorite canyons in the park. On the way out the next morning I ran into two kids (early 20's) that had somehow driven a Honda Civic up from the South entrance of West Side Rd and slept overnight at the intersection of Hanaupah and WSR. You're only making that drive with either commitment & skill or stupidity & luck. The first words out of their mouths when I pulled up was “Did you summit?!” My immediate thought was “Summit what??” Followed almost immediately by “Y'all are crazy”. Yep, they were starting out to summit Telescope from WSR. Only about 11,250ft up. And covered in many many feet of snow. When I asked if they were really prepared for the snow and the climb (and mentioned the two guys getting choppered off the slopes of Telescope last winter) they turned around to show me their helmets, ice axes, and rope. Alright guys. I guess my thoughts on the drive in apply to summiting a snowy Telescope as well. Good luck.
(2024-03-25, 07:18 PM)Beardilocks Wrote: [ -> ]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.