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2021-04-13, 07:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 2021-04-13, 07:37 PM by MojaveGeek.)
Ah sounds like you got what you needed then! I would love to get into the Morning Glory and I would have been fine going down that ridge if I had a ride waiting for me at the bottom!! I just didn't want to climb 1K to get to the saddle, then down nearly 2K to the mine, want to go on to the camp, and then have to climb back out.
The south wall of Trail is intense, rocky, and steep, but you're not going there.
As for comparison with the route south from Telescope, the biggest difference is probably that I'm 25 years older now The route from Telescope was more wide open, without dodging fallen trees and cliffrose patches, but you know I'm sure that over time memory erases the bad stuff and leaves mostly the good. It's the "rose colored glasses effect".
Oh, and I assume you specifically want to go to the Morning Glory, right? There's a good trail into Trail from the end of the Wood Canyon road - from the ridge where two tracks branch off in various directions there's a trail with heads down and to the south, but I think it would go lower than you need to go. I saw it only from the top and it was a pretty clear trail, looked like more than an animal trail.
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Going down Trail from Wood has been a consideration. Didn't know there was a trail! Great to know.
I am actually hiking to the bottom from there, so I could take any number of routes, but, yes, I do want to visit the mine. My alternate route off the north side of Wildrose probably adds 3 or 4 miles, including the 2.5 miles I would have to go back up to get to the mine from the camp. There is sufficient time for either, but I've done that route before, minus the mine visit.
I know what you mean about memory taking away some of the negatives
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(2021-04-12, 04:31 AM)wbdeford Wrote: I will also be doing the Telescope Peak trail on this trip, so I will try to spend a little time trying to capture the trees and the location I shoot from to share with you. I also wouldn't be surprised if I see some in the vicinity of Wildrose, as I have seen some on short hikes I did in the Thorndike and Kiln areas.
Hey Brian, thanks for the links, tips and pointers for me to use on my next trip to DEVA. I'd love to see any new images of the trees and locations that you capture on your next DEVA adventure.
Life begins in Death Valley
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According to my usual routine, unless the trip is a failure and I find the prospect too depressing, there will be a detailed trip report.
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I am not 100% certain, as I did not line it up with the topo map, but I believe this is the ridge you were looking at, wbdeford, that goes from the Wildrose saddle down to the Morning Glory Mine. Let me know if you want me to get you the full res version somehow.
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Great shot, MG! It gives a nice view of the kind of terrain. My ridge faces northeast, however, while that one appears to be facing a bit south of east to Badwater. I will be looking more in the direction of Furnace Creek. I'm thinking this shot is from the northern part of Trail Canyon, perhaps in the vicinity of Aguereberry Point?
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On further reflection, you are probably right that it is not your ridge, but it is also probably not what you are thinking of. If you look at the topo, there is a marked 8285T east of Wildrose. From that point, follow a ridge which goes east and then starts to bend to the north. If you follow it out to about the 7800 ft contour line, which juts out a bit, that is where the photo was taken. So the shot is from the the edge of the south fork, looking NW. I think your ridge is behind this one, and out of sight, but probably similar terrain.
There's a lot of really rough / steep stuff along the heads of the Trail forks.
Our goal had been 7913, but there was a somewhat rocky notch to cross just below where we stopped (and took that pic), one of those things that doesn't really show up on the contours. I had not looked closely at the sat images as I did not have internet access - this was a spur of the moment destination we picked while out on Colville Ridge, immediately south.
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If I am understanding you correctly, then it is on the Death Valley Canyon side of the ridge that divides it from Trail Canyon, looking down to the mouth of Death Valley Canyon across Badwater Basin?
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That's the ridge, but this view is looking pretty much straight down the south fork of Trail, and out from Trail to Badewater. So its on the Trail Canyon side of that ridge. The lens is slightly wide angle.
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Unless I am seriously misreading something, the mouth of Trail Canyon is on the way from 8285T to Furnace Creek, in the northeast direction. The south fork of Trail goes north-south, with 8285T overlooking the south end.
https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=36.28472...o=r&n=0.25
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