Death Valley 2022/23

[MojaveGeek]

It’s especially interesting because the “A” seems to be repaired. As if someone changed an E to an A. I believe his birth name was Lamoignon. Later changed to Lemoigne. So the spelling in the carving is interesting either way.

Oh, interesting trivia, thanks!

The Owlsheads are great. But.. mystery forum member who does not wish to be identified? Not I, home in Boston ATM.

[John Morrow]

It’s especially interesting because the “A” seems to be repaired.  As if someone changed an E to an A.  I believe his birth name was Lamoignon.  Later changed to Lemoigne.  So the spelling in the carving is interesting either way.

Oh, interesting trivia, thanks!

The Owlsheads are great.  But..  mystery forum member who does not wish to be identified?    Not I, home in Boston ATM.

Indeed.  Inquiring minds want to know!

[DeathValleyDazed]

The Owlsheads are great.  But..  mystery forum member who does not wish to be identified?    Not I, home in Boston ATM.

Loving those photos of Owlshead area. I have no idea who the mystery forum member is. 

However I am really looking forward Steve Hall's forthcoming (hopefully some time in 2023) backpacking video production dedicated to The Owlshead Mountains region. Steve Hall posts occasionally on the DEVA Facebook hiking page:
DEVA Hiking FB Page

Gotta love the fantastic names given canyons in DEVA:
Some of the most well known canyons include Wingate Slot Canyon, Slickenside Canyon, Talc Canyon, Owlshead Canyon, Contact Canyon, Granite Canyon, Through Canyon, Smoke Tree Canyon, Passage Canyon, Sand Canyon, and Sagenite Canyon.

BTW, there is another Owls Head (sic) located across the country in Maine. 
Owls Head, Maine

[Brice]

But..  mystery forum member who does not wish to be identified?    Not I, home in Boston ATM.

I don't think Beardilocks said anything about his hiking partner not wanting to be identified.  He was just being discreet  Anyway, it was me.

By the time I got back to Lost lake I was fortunate to have sunshine, and the sun was low in the sky.  Therefore, I was able to find a couple sailing stones.  Being small stones (smaller than a loaf of bread), their tracks are subtle and would be impossible to see in cloudy conditions.

[MojaveGeek]

I don't think Beardilocks said anything about his hiking partner not wanting to be identified.  He was just being discreet  Anyway, it was me.

Nice. Good company! Any pix of the sailing stones? I'd love to see some not at the Racetrack, as I never have. Lost Lake is substantially less visited for sure

You both had a great hike, glad for you!

[DeathValleyDazed]

Any pix of the sailing stones?  I'd love to see some not at the Racetrack, as I never have.  Lost Lake is substantially less visited for sure

That's cool about Brice locating sailing stones way out by The Owlshead Mountains. I located a crop of sailing stones in the playa just southwest of Lake Mountain which is a few clicks north of Highway 190 and south of the Panamint Sand Dunes. Here's my video evidence. Some of the tracks are almost too shallow and faint to detect but others quite obvious and long. 

[Brice]

I only took the one photo because the tracks were hard to see in person, and even harder to capture in a photo.

[MojaveGeek]

Nice photo, and the track is pretty clear to my eyes. Thanks!

[Beardilocks]

Here’s a couple of completely out of context sunset shots from last weekend after the rain.  Taken from Ibex Pass toward Dumont Dunes. 

[Beardilocks]

Brice & I took a walk into the Sidewinder Slots to see how many natural bridges we could find.  There’s has been some dispute over how many bridges there are exactly in the Sidewinder Slots.  We counted 5 bridges.  Two in #1, one in #2, and two in #3.  I’m not sure why one of them (seemingly one of the two in #3) was either overlooked or not considered “major” enough as, to our eyes, all three in #2&3 are of equal size and splendor.  

Also, after some rather spirited scrambling into #1 from the top AND bottom we found that, contrary to what’s typically written online, you can absolutely hike #1 all the way through to the top and out.  There’s some minor class 3 scramble/climbing but nothing difficult.  The crux is a ~10-11ft fall deep in a dark cave that appears to immediately dead end at the top.  But it doesn't!  And that section is actually the most fun part.


View of the salt pan from the ridge. 




Scrambling down #1 from the top:



Descending into the deep dark slot of #1:





*(apologies for the crappy photos coming up: iPhone long exposure without a tripod will need some more experimenting with… lol)

What I believe Steve Hall refers to as Cavern Bridge in #1:



The dryfall deep in #1 climbing up from the bottom:



Just some eye candy from #3:




At the time of the hike, we thought it was one of the two bridges in #1 that was disputed.  Not #3.  So I wasn’t focused on getting pics of all 5.  I wish I had now.  Oh well, just another hike to add to the future “to-do” list now.