My extended DV stay

[Kauri]

So the biggest risk right now seems to be the possibility of being stranded in bumper-to-bumper gridlock traffic between the Golden Canyon parking lot and Furnace Creek

[DeathValleyDazed]

So the biggest risk right now seems to be the possibility of being stranded in bumper-to-bumper gridlock traffic between the Golden Canyon parking lot and Furnace Creek

Agreed and while I drove through the area the last weekend in March 2023 I slowed way down because Badwater Road was lined on both sides by parked vehicles overflowing from the limited Golden Canyon parking lot. No way did I want to run over a child darting out from a vehicle or a dog off leash. I literally thought it's just a matter of time until we hear of a lethal accident of some kind in this area due to dangerous congestion of people, vehicles, and glorious geology. 

Badwater Parking was overflowed to the point I believe more vehicles were along side the road than inside the parking area. This is another headache for Mike Reynolds, DEVA supervisor to solve. Poor guy is faced with one disaster after another but he seems capable of the challenges.

[MojaveGeek]

This is another headache for Mike Reynolds, DEVA supervisor to solve. Poor guy is faced with one disaster after another but he seems capable of the challenges.

The guy climbed Pete's Peak. He ought to be able to fix this

[DeathValleyDazed]

The guy climbed Pete's Peak.  He ought to be able to fix this

Agreed, Mike is a endurance athlete, runs like a deer long distance and I lost track of how DEVA peaks and his NPS buds have bagged. If you're up early around Furnace and Cow Creek, you'll see a group of these fine folks jogging around. From his FB posts and other communications he seems to be in love with DEVA.

[Brice]

With Furnace hitting 100 degrees for the first time this year I retreated to Racetrack valley area to beat the heat and focused on bagging some peaks in the area.

I hit a couple of minor high points on the way out there.  This horned lizard near Crater benchmark was annoyed by my presence.



Next up was Tin Mountain.  There was a north facing slope to climb where the snow was knee deep, but it was a short section and I was able to avoid the snow in all other places.  I think mountains look their best when they have lingering snow fields.  This is looking south from Tin Mountain at the White Top area.



Had a bunch of hummingbird moths (white-lined sphinx moth) hanging out in the bushes next to my campsite later that day. 




A large collared lizard also paid me a visit and was happy to pose for a photo.



Here's the west side of Ubehebe from Cameo benchmark.   It was a little hazy, but the next day would be even worse. 




On the way out of Racetrack I tackled Dry mountain, plus two other nearby summits in what ended up being a fairly difficult day.



This sinuous juniper got my attention.  Dry mountain in the background.



Desert spiny lizard (I think).  Unfortunately the photo didn't pick up the iridescent green in its scales.



Old boundary sign.



Camouflage hall of shame communication antenna on top of Peak 8565.



Dry mountain had a 20mm ammo box containing what looks to be an old canteen that I thought was neat.  I didn't want to pull anything out of the container to get a closer look.



Flowering Joshua trees



Before getting back to the car I stopped to check for hitchhikers and found one that my camera wouldn't focus on.  It's that time of year I guess.

[MojaveGeek]

That photo from Tin is stunning. Nice view! Dry is indeed a long slog. I tried it from the north once but it was out of range. Felt like a pretty lonely area once getting up high out there. You're obviously putting in some serious miles!

[DeathValleyDazed]

Brice, so do you usually "get all ticked off" filing these fun photo filled trip reports of yours. I enjoy your mix of geology, history, flora and fauna photos bringing life to Death Valley.

[Brice]

That photo from Tin is stunning.  Nice view!  Dry is indeed a long slog.  I tried it from the north once but it was out of range.  Felt like a pretty lonely area once getting up high out there.  You're obviously putting in some serious miles!

Indeed there's no easy way to get there.  I think there are three common routes and they all have good points and bad.  From steel pass road west of the mountain, through the north canyon, and up the headwall which is the way I went.  It was very steep, very loose, and very unpleasant for about 600 vertical feet.  If I wanted to summit again I'd try it from Steel pass road.

[MojaveGeek]

Yikes, I see your route on Peakbagger.  That headwall looks STEEP - all dark red and purple when I turn on slope angle shading.  Yet is seems to be a route taken by others who have posted tracks there.  I don't think I would try that route  

My route was at least 25 years ago.  We went in off the Steele Pass road up the canyon that is probably the true "Marble Bath" (complete with the misspelled "WATER" pecked into the rock), camped up on the long rolling N/S ridge, but then the next day ran out of daylight with the peak in close sight.

I'm envious of this one, good job!

[Brice]

I decided to take advantage of the one cool day last week to finish up some tasks I had at lower elevations.  Here's a nice blooming cactus near Longridge peak, off Jubilee pass road. 



As it got hotter, I went into Gold valley to do some climbing and canyon exploring.  There was a nice lush colorful section.



This week I had to go high again to avoid the blazing temperatures.  Here's the southeast side of Tin Mountain.  The next day I'd be going down into the cliffy area at its base.



One of the peaks in this area had some equipment on it and this helpful explanatory sign.  I wish all communication antennas on summits had a little something to explain what they are used for.



The next day it was down to the base of Tin mountain to find a chockstone in the shape of a heart.




The backside isn't so heart shaped...



Then it was off to the Hunter mountain area for more high elevation climbing.  I really wish I could have gotten a video of this angry guy.  The way it was undulating while remaining stationary was hypnotic.



A long drive and short hike took me to the top of the southern Racetrack overlook peak.



I had plans to bag Hunt benchmark and Hunter mountain but turned around when I got to a very deeply rutted mud pit.  I'll have to come back when it's dry.