Diet Taco... trying to keep things light

This is awesome. You gave me some good ideas. I'll make use of these batteries and lights in the bed of my truck for sleeping and maybe a few in our camping boxes just for rummaging at night without blinding ourselves. I can just stick a few lights to the inside of our boxes with tape or velcro. Same goes for under my softopper

 

Wow, incredible pics and description. I think we’ve all been in a situation like that where you underestimate what your about to do. Glad you made it thru ok, and were able to share the tale.

 

Hidden Valley, DVNP - Day 3
October 2018

Wednesday morning broke mostly clear with a few clouds blowing through but the forecast indicated a potentially stormy afternoon as a trough blew in from the Pacific. Given how badly I had underestimated the hike of the previous day I decided I’d take it a bit easier. There are number of mines just below Hunter Mountain on the southern end of the road that passes through Hidden Valley and Ulida Flat which I’ve driven past many times but never turned off to explore. More interesting though was that I had learned in the past few years that unbeknownst to me about 15 years ago I had walked almost right past an interesting site. Returning to that area would be a relatively mellow hike and so that was my priority for the morning.

Because of the sensitivity of such sites I’m not giving any details on its location. I had deduced its location based on some thin reporting and a photo or two online and my general familiarity with the area from past visits. I was fairly certain where to look and that the search would be confined to a small area.

It was a mostly sunny morning and my hike was down a gentle wash most of the way. There was little wind and so I spent most of the walk using my hiking umbrella. This provides more and deeper shade than a hat while also leaving ones head to radiate heat away very effectively. Doesn’t work in the wind of course but if there is wind about then the breeze keeps you cool enough without the umbrella. Recommended accessory for all desert explorers. Get one with a reflective top and a black underside for maximum effectiveness.

There were no human footprints around that I could see in the wash but I’m sure there is an occasional visitor here. Eventually I left the wash along the low hillside where I expected to find what I was looking for. Here I did notice some deeper impressions that I’m fairly certain were old human footprints that gave me a hint I was on the correct track. Soon I started seeing the types of rock outcrops I expected. And then a fairly obvious sign…

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Now certain I was in the right spot I slowed down and watched for more signs. Indeed there were fainter panels around but that wasn’t what I was looking for. Ahead I saw a likely outcropping. On the other side in a small cool alcove I found what I had been looking for…

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This whole area was rather unusual. There was an incredible amount of coyote and kit fox scat about. Packrat middens spilled out of nooks in the surrounding rocks. There were lots of birds around and plenty of vegetation that was green and blooming. To the north of each of the many large outcrops on the hillside were areas of what I presume is nearly perpetual cool shade. In many of these shady spots there were dens dug and I had visions of fox pups playing in the shade every spring. There are no springs indicated on the map and I saw no sign of any. Instead I suspect the hillside outcroppings act as water pockets trapping rain that would other wise become runoff or percolate to a deep aquifer. All the areas around these outcrops are covered in shallow sediment and I suspect the water soaks into these sandy little basins where it is protected from evaporation by the sand above it and trapped by the hard rocks below it. The shade the rocks provide greatly reduces solar heating and evaporation. All these little things put together makes enough of a difference to create a microclimate that supports noticeably more life than the surrounding desert. Not much life mind you but noticeably more than you’d expect. It was almost like a weak riparian environment spread over a hillside instead of a wash. It was easy to see why this was a special place to those who lived here for centuries past.

After spending the better part of an hour poking around this unique spot I began the gentle climb back up to the truck and continued my far more mundane explorations of the day.

Most of the mines in the area proved rather uninteresting. They are mostly all talc mines with few remaining structures or particularly interesting history. I did drive out to a more obscure one at the end of a long spur road that I’m pretty sure was closed in the past. More clouds were starting blow across the sky producing another day of wonderful shadows. As that spur road climbed some hills it provided a great vantage point of Sand Flat and the crest of the southern Cottonwoods.

Sand Flat​

There is a small network of roads all around the area that visit the various mine sites. Many of the spur roads are in excellent condition while others are fairly rough and slow but none are particularly long. I spent a couple of hours traversing each and every one of them.

I also finally visited Goldbelt Spring which was definitely living up to its name on my visit. The few small cabins below the spring had all collapsed some time ago. Nonetheless it is a picturesque little spot.

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As it was getting to be early afternoon I had to decide what to do with the rest of my day and part of that related to what I was going to do the following day. I was considering exploring White Top Mountain road and heading up that way I knew I’d get some cell coverage to check the most recent weather forecast. It would also be a nice vantage point to have a light lunch. I stopped a little ways up the alluvial fan to take a break, eat and evaluate. The first thing I noticed was building clouds to the west. Checking the weather forecast it looked like the afternoon and evening had a good chance for thunder storms but the follow day would be clear and unseasonably cool. Taking in the view I watched thunderheads form over the Inyo and Nelson Ranges as well as smaller cells at the north end of the Panamints. It occurred to me that there was a chance, albeit a slim one, that both Hunter Mountain and Racetrack Road could end up getting heavy rain. The forecast also called for the storm chances to continue well into the night as the airmass was moist and unstable enough to not require solar heating to force the convection.

I decided it would be best to exit the backcountry and perhaps take advantage of the next day's cooler temps to do a canyon hike somewhere in Death Valley proper. The storm in Saline Valley was seeming to build more and more and move to the north. I suspected it would stay on that side of the Last Chance Range but it could potentially cross and take out Racetrack Road. So I decided to make tracks. As I passed Teakettle Junction it was clear a series of cells was building over the southern Inyo Range. The largest storm was already headed towards Steel Pass but more seemed to be forming in its wake. The skies had changed a lot from the benign puffy little clouds a few hours earlier.

Tempest over Teapots​

The drive to Ubehebe proved very easy, I made the 19 miles in just 35 minutes. The storm did in fact stay on the other side of the range but was steadily getting worse. I stopped at Ubehebe to air up and there was a fierce wind. The major storm appeared to be well up into Eureka by now. As I finally headed south on the paved road I could see the storm had crossed into the northern extreme of Death Valley and was looking just as ugly as ever. Meanwhile the lesser cells that had been forming over the northern Panamints and southern Cottonwoods were now bathing both sides of the Cottonwoods including where I had stopped earlier to check the weather.

Future Wildflower Site?
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Heading towards Furnace Creek with better cell coverage I could check the radar and there seemed to be long strings of cells forming all across the Mojave. My original plan had been to camp somewhere near Furnace Creek and ride out the weather for the night so I could take in the pleasant day forecast to follow. This was now seeming a questionable plan as I realized all my best camping options were in canyons. If West Side Road had been open I know of some safe spots to camp on the fans along there but the park service has it closed at present due to previous storm damage. As the radar showed more and more cells forming I decided that perhaps I had been very fortunate with the weather so far and perhaps I wouldn’t press my luck. With some regret I decided to head out one day early. At least the sky was putting on a nice show for my drive.

Stormy Afternoon
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I was a bit bummed to be heading out early but as more storms showed up on the radar it seemed the safest option if a bit conservative. Later that night I did watch on the radar a cell pass very near Echo Canyon where I would likely have tried to camp. I don't think it caused any significant issues but it was a warning as to how unpredictable things can be when the weather is unsettled. Along the way I saw some amazing clouds and some great lightning shows. I was getting a bit too tired to keep stopping and taking pictures so I mostly just enjoyed the view as I drove along. There was one point though where it appeared the weather was confirming I was on the correct path with my decision to head out.

On the right track
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In the end the trip was a blast. Despite running away from some storms at the end of the trip the weather had actually turned out much better than expected for the start. I was treated to some rare lighting and some amazing dynamic views courtesy the weather - a special kind of thing in a region usually only sporting a spotless dome of blue.

As usual though I can't wait to get back again!

 

Tailgate Abrasion Mitigation
October 2018

This is a real simple mod and perhaps not the final iteration but hopefully good for awhile. I've got a aluminum tailgate cover and it is powder coated. The bottom gasket of the Flip-Pac rear door naturally overlaps with it. With trail dust that gasket acts like fine grained sandpaper and abrades the powder coat. These days the top of the tailgate looks like this:

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Now since the tailgate cover is aluminum there isn't any sort of rust issue. The real problem is that the powder coat dust is extremely messy. If I forget to wipe the top of the tailgate down and lean over it I've got a nearly impossible to remove black streak across my shirt. Worse still the rear door rubber gasket now acts practically like an ink pad since it has been impregnated with this extremely fine black powder coat dust. Drive down a dirt road for ten miles and run a paper towel across the top of the tailgate and it comes back jet black. I wiped down the door gasket a good ten times with a wet paper towel before it finally started only making the towel gray as opposed to black.

The door and the tailgate are always going to move somewhat independently of course - everything flexes and jiggles off road. There will always be dust as well. I had hoped the problem would abate as I got down to bare aluminum but well it hasn't seemed to. So I'm now trying a simple solution - an ablative layer of tape.

A local HD had some inexpensive white reflective tape. It is very smooth which perhaps will reduce the amount of abrasion slightly. More importantly though any dust generated won't be black. A side benefit is that when I have the tailgate down in a parking lot at night it will be much easier for other vehicles to see it.

Cost only about $6. Time spent applying the tape about 5 minutes. Time spent cleaning all that dang powder coat dust off the top of the tailgate and the gasket probably 15 minutes. Effectiveness to be determined!

​

 

Tape just might do the trick. So simple and versatile. So much hate for the black dust problem you described. . It kills your clothing image of you breath it in.

 

So sorta kinda similarly, the new sliders on the Leer windoors are extremely tight against the rubber seals surrounding them and sealing against their exterior surface. It is a hell of a lot of friction. And it is at its worst right near the end of travel as it hits the end seal, and the window catch won't click closed, and I'm afraid if I shove it any harder, i'll end up breaking the glass against the metal window frame. Also, the windoor gasket on the fiberglass cutout of the cap really sticks closed. Both are a complete PITA nuisance, but potentially shattering the slider has be most worried. Because I get enraged. And you know what happens to glass things when I get enraged. *entune*

ANYHOOO

WITAF can I lubricate glass and rubber with, and not have a horrible mess, especially once the dust starts flying?

I got some of this. It greatly reduced the slider friction to a manageable state. It may aid your tape or possibly replace it. Plus it is damn handy stuff for other uses requiring clean applications and dissimilar materials.



https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company...Silicone-Lubricant/?N=5002385+4294924458&rt=d

Don't get it on Amazon. Once you pay shipping, you could have two cans for the same price. I picked some up from a local Finish Master (there appear to be 3 locations in LV), and I think you can get it from Fastenal, too. Just call to see if they have it or can get it within 24 hours.

 

I'd try some prothane super grease for the window track. It's a synthetic, safe for rubber, plastic, etc.

Also, be careful with silicone spray lube. If you ever intend to paint anywhere close by, you may have a serious problem because no paint molecules will adhere to silicone. And silicone is impervious to solvents, so getting rid of it can be xtremely difficult.

 

Sounds like you have firsthand experience lol. Other than inside the track, where I used the red tube applicator, I sprayed it on a rag and hand wiped only on the contracting edges. It is all rubber and glass.

 

I reread what you wrote, you may be outta warranty, but the window shouldn't be that hard to close. Maybe try to slightly expand the frame with a sicssor jack or something. Just nudge it bigger. I dunno.

 

I hope it's not out of warranty after 1 month!

It's isn't the frame. I initially thought that too, because there is a subtle arc upward in the middle bottom of the aluminum window frame, but the glass slides easier in this area. I've seen that same arc in pics of other Leer windoor sliders. The window channel all around has ample clearance from the glass. It is the rather robust rubber seals against the sides (think surface, not edge) of the glass that create the friction. These are at top and bottom and aligned in the direction of travel. Modest resistance. But when the glass nears being closed at the rear of the frame, the end area of rubber seal (think a new 3rd source of friction acting across the entire vertical glass surface), it encounters a dramatic increase in resistance just from the stiffness and orientation of the rubber. I don't a good pic to show it.

 

I have a weight related issue to bring up. My truck didn’t come from the factory with the towing package, but the dealer had installed a Toyota trailer hitch with a 4-pin connector before I bought it. The hitch was showing some surface rust and the powder coating was beginning to peal in spots, so I pulled it of to clean it up this weekend. As expected, it was really heavy. I don’t currently have anything to tow, so I am considering just leaving it off until I do. If you have a towing package truck I think your hitch is different, and actually part of the bumper. Either way if you are not towing and never plan to, you might want to consider removing your hitch or putting a non-tow bumper on (whichever is applicable to your truck) and deleting the hitch altogether. One surprise that may be applicable to everyone is the fact that Toyota chose to put two small holes on the top of the hitch’s main 2” square tube to allow little plastic wire clips to be inserted. The wires acted like wicks and directed water right into the holes, and you guessed it – no bottom weep holes were included. The whole thing was full of rusty water. That’s a weight and corrosion issue that I intend to correct before putting it back on…if I ever do put it back on.

 

Mojave National Preserve
November 2018

This will be a quick report, I'm late and behind on reports!

I've been in MNP for election week many times and it is now almost a tradition. Death Valley is occupied by 49ers this week usually and so since I like solitude it is a good time to explore MNP to the south. Other advantages of MNP are its proximity to my truck in Vegas and a number of hiking options at mid-altitudes for comfortable temps this time of the year.

Flew in Monday morning, provisioned, early lunch at In & Out and then on the road out of town before noon. Clear skies forecast and near a new moon so I was hoping to get a lot of stargazing in. I've run myself a bit ragged in the past trying to get too much in on the first day so the only goal for Monday was to drive to a campsite under dark skies. Heading up a dirt road north from Kelso got me to a suitable spot where I set up camp.

Camp Dark Sky
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I was trying out some new astronomy binoculars on this trip. There was a lot of experimenting with tripod mounting and what not in the evening and the early morning. Views of Orion's Sword, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Double Cluster and a number of other targets were amazing under the super dark skies. A little before sunrise Venus was almost blinding above the eastern horizon and the binoculars could actually resolve it as a tiny little crescent. Shortly after an extremely thin crescent moon rose which was a delight to observe though it was swimming in quite a bit of atmosphere that low on the horizon.

As Tuesday got off to a real start I headed out for my first hike of the trip. Table Top Mountain has been on my list for a long while - almost hiked it years ago but weather intervened. There were quite a few cows around the trailhead and despite them looking curious and friendly I gave them a wide berth. Temps were wonderful and the hike started flat for awhile before eventually steeply climbing to a ridge. After a brief walk along the ridge there was another scramble up talus before getting to the "table" itself. Most of the top was burned a decade ago but along one edge juniper and even a pinyon or two have survived. I made a leisurely circumnavigation of the mesa stopping about midway for lunch. The feeling walking up there was other worldly with stands of burnt trees on one side with steep cliffs and endless miles of view on other.

Table Top Mountain
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After descending from the table to the ridge Digonnet recommends returning to the trailhead via the ridge but I could see this would be a punishing boulder hopping adventure. I descended the way I came instead to find the same cows still milling about the trailhead. Since I took my time hiking it was already getting on into the afternoon so I returned to the same spot to camp. I spent a relaxing afternoon resting and reading so I'd have the energy to do some more binocular viewing that night.

Wednesday was another beautiful day and I headed to Kessler Peak for another hike. This was done as a loop hike heading up a canyon and chute to get to the peak ridge. On the ridge I encountered a female bighorn sheep. As I stumbled to a sweaty stop to watch she essentially completed the rest of my hike in perhaps 45 seconds. I'd be another 10 minutes doing it myself. The peak offered delightful views and I had a lazy lunch on the top.

Kessler Peak View
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Descending the north ridge of the peak was far more taxing than I had expected. It was very steep in a number of spots with heavy brush mixed in with large boulders. It did however offer a change of pace from the way up and its own impressive views. Completing the hike in the early afternoon I was ready to position myself for Thursday's hike. This would mean heading south of Baker which was a bit of a drive. The weather forecast was starting to turn rather windy so finding a sheltered camp seemed a good idea.

I drove down to Cowhole Mountain to camp near the trailhead. I don't know if it was the light of the setting sun making things look worse but as soon as I looked at the route from the trailhead I said "no effing way am I doing that tomorrow". I think perhaps no effing way I'll ever do it. It looked like practically vertical talus almost the whole way.

I sniffed around the south side of the adjacent Little Cowhole Mountain and found a spot that would be sheltered from the forecast north wind. I formed a backup plan for Thursday to explore and perhaps hike among the cinder cones. Then I opened the Flip Pac...

Well one of the Bimini brackets that supports the tent frame had somehow pulled out of the fiberglass. The bracket being plastic it was also bent. This wouldn't be a major repair, in fact I might even be able to do it in the field. That said with the wind forecast for the next day I decided it might just be better to head back to Vegas in the morning and do the repair there with a Home Depot nearby and internet access for repair advice.

And so Thursday morning I woke up quite early as I was still on east coast time and headed back to Vegas. I had a yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then got the Flip Pac fixed along with some other mods to be documented in another post.

All in all it was actually a great trip though not one to produce a particularly exciting trip report. I continue to be happily surprised with all my visits to Mojave National Preserve and I think I'll be back at about the same time next year.

 

Quick Release Supports and Flip-Pac Repair
November 2018

As mentioned in the MNP trip report the Bimini bracket for part of the tent pulled out of the fiberglass.

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Now it just so happened for quite some time I've been meaning to replace the Bimini brackets on the Flip-Pac roof (when closed) / bed bottom (when open) so that I can store the supports in the cab rather than have them get ripped off by low hanging branches (already almost happened once). I've had the hardware for quite sometime. So long in fact that @inv3ctiv3 was able to acquire the same hardware, install it on his Flip-Pac and then sell his Flip-Pac for a GFC all while my brackets have sat in my "to-do" bag in my truck (this "to-do" bag is like a super miniature version of @scocar's shelves).

So with a bent/broken plastic Bimini bracket on the inside of the Flip-Pac to replace it was a good time to remove the identical brackets from the outside of the Flip-Pac and use one as a replacement part while simultaneously completing my removable Flip-Pac support mod.

Swapping the external plastic brackets with stainless quick release versions was very easy. Unscrew the old ones. Reuse one of the screw holes and mark the spot for the new hole. Drill new hole. Fill old hole with silicone. Glob silicone under the new QR bracket and install. Attach QR stubs to the supports.

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And that's all there is to the mod.

Now with two replacement plastic brackets in hand I could repair the interior tent support. With some searching I of course found all sorts of suggestions on repairing a stripped screw hole in fiberglass with the right kind of epoxy and then drilling a new hole. This was what I assumed I was going to do and one reason I went back to Vegas early assuming I'd have to track down the correct fill epoxy.

It turns out while searching for that I found that those ever resourceful and also typically newly poor boat owners have an alternative that is about as low cost as you can possibly imagine:

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Yep, those are the twist ties from my bread and hot dog buns. Apparently the metal in the twist tie ends up acting a bit like a self forming heli-coil and the plastic as thread lock. This was surprisingly secure once screwed in. Time will tell how long this holds but if some boat owners are to be believed it could last a long time. If it doesn't well then I'll track down the epoxy. Or get lazy and fill the old holes with silicone and move the bracket half an inch onto fresh fiberglass.

I did all this work in a Home Depot parking lot but I never actually had to go inside. Turns out this could have entirely been a field repair if I had known of the twist tie trick.

So in the end the Flip-Pac repair forced me to do a mod I've been meaning to do for over a year. And the whole thing took maybe 30 minutes tops. Decent way to end a trip...

 

I wonder if those plastic drywall anchors would act as a more "permanent" fix for the stripped holes in the flippac. They'd essentaily be doing the same thing as the plastic tie wrap you have there now- forming a mechanical bond by shrinking the size of the hole. I question the structural integrity of the epoxy repair on such a small scale because you're relying on the epoxy to hold the torsional load of the screws while also maintaining adhesion to the fiberglass. As opposed to f full scale fiberglass repair over a larger area where you're essentially building new structure. I know with the right epoxy a repair can be plenty strong, but also from my own personal experience of working at Home Depot for many years, they most likely don't sell the "right" epoxy.

 

You are cordially invited to take a seat on my trailer dolly.

 

I very quickly established that I’d have to order the correct epoxy and wait for it to be shipped to me which is one of the reasons I did the twist tie trick. I like the drywall anchor idea! I think even with the correct epoxy what I’d do is fill the holes and shift the placement of the bracket slightly.

 

Hah, I always carry twist ties in my junk can in my truck, and even have a few in my mountain bike pack, but I’m not sure I’ve ever used them. And I sold my FlipPac several years ago

 

Actually, HD probably does have the "right" kind of epoxy. A 2-part that will work on/with plastic should work just fine for this application.

And, you can strengthen the current holes in one of two ways. The easy way is to coat the screw with a release agent (such as wax) then coat the screw with epoxy. Put the screw back in the hole, and let the epoxy cure. The stronger way, albeit slightly more difficult, is to drill out the hole slightly larger, and do the above. The additional epoxy will greatly increase the screw's gripping power.

Yes, there are better epoxys to use (such as West System) but the home center variety would work in a pinch.

And, I do not think drywall anchors will work properly in fiberglass. For those anchors to work properly, they expand. I think the expansion would work to fracture the fiberglass (the load being into the edge of the glass layers, as opposed to across them.) Also, the smooth hole would offer a minimal to none gripping surface to the anchor.

My $0.02

 

Death Valley - Part 1
December 2018

For a number of years I've spent a week in early December at the Saline Valley Hot Springs as it is a low visitation time. Sadly thanks to FB, IG and goodness knows what else the place is now overrun to the point of not being enjoyable at all to me anymore even in "low visitation" times. Inyo County hasn't helped at all by grading the road frequently...

The silver lining though is that the rest of DV is still rather empty this time of the year and I'm now "forced" to go visit it rather than lay on my ass (or float rather) in SV. For this trip then my goal was to visit around the low elevations that are toasty the rest of the year as well as near the typically more crowded areas of the park.

The trip began the usual way - up at 4AM in Baltimore headed to the airport and eventually on the road out of Vegas by noon with a provisioned truck and tummy full of In & Out. Since this was suppose to be a restful break I planned on doing nothing on Monday other than getting into the park and resting in camp. By mid-afternoon I'd found a spot along the Echo Canyon wash to pop open the Flip-Pac. In the evening I attempted to stargaze with a new telescope but that lasted all of twenty minutes before clouds from an approaching front obscured the sky. I did get to see a few delightful sights before that but alas this would be the last stargazing for the entire trip.

Tuesday morning I decided to stop by the new Furnace Creek "Oasis" and try out the breakfast buffet before my hike for the day. It is rather expensive for what it is but it is of course in the middle of nowhere so that is to be expected. I was in no particular rush so I took my time reading and nibbling on stuff.

From there it was an extremely short drive to the "trailhead" which doesn't actually exist other than parking at the side of the road. Here began a leisurely hour and a half walk up a broad wash through the same badlands strata as over by Zabriske. Given the low temps and partly cloudy skies it was quite enjoyable. I was glad to have a GPS to confirm parts of the route since it is often difficult to tell what exactly is the "main branch" of these really wide braided washes.

Finally things began to narrow down and get shady. Once in the canyon there were two branches to explore. The branch to the left was known to be the most impressive so I started there. Wow - just WOW!

Slots and Tunnels


Desert Cathedral
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It is amazing that a place like this exists where the trailhead is right out of a popular campground and yet I would be the only person there this day. Apparently this place is a favorite of the park staff and so they do a good job of not advertising it but it does exist in more than one guidebook and more than one website. Hurray it isn't on FB or IG or any dumb ass "monetize your life" bullshit bane of this world antisocial media site yet and so there is still some peace and quiet to be found here. Let's all keep it that way, eh?

This branch of the canyon included some minor climbs that were essentially through tunnels as well as one or two awkward climbing moves to be done but none of them with any serious exposure. It eventually became impassable at a huge sixty foot wall with a narrow three fluted dryfall. This wall was in fact a fault between two different strata and was really impressive. On the way back down I had a wonderful lunch inside a cool dark cathedral of rock.

The right branch is much less interesting in comparison but would be a destination worth the hike by itself. It also had many interesting geologic features. There was also one extremely tight but short slot canyon branching off of it.

Eventually it was time to head back out of the canyon and down the wash to my truck. This part of the hike was surprisingly delightful. A nice gradual downhill wash walk there were constantly sweeping views. For many parts one could pick a route right along the base of a mud hillside and be in the shade as well. The photo below doesn't really do it justice but gives a feel for how even the mundane part of the hike delivered.

Death Valley Winter Stroll
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In all I hiked about 9.5 miles and really took my time to set an enjoyable pace and explore every little nook. This ranked as one of my very favorite hikes in all of the DV area and I felt a little dumb that I hadn't taken the time to do it until now!

I spent the rest of the afternoon back in "camp" over in Echo Canyon. For me "camp" is just popping open the Flip-Pac. The clouds started to thicken as the afternoon wore on but there wasn't any rain forecast for the evening. I cooked an easy dinner and read before hitting bed early again.

Echo Canyon "Camp"
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Wednesday morning dawned much the same as Tuesday and once again I headed over to the breakfast buffet because why the hell not. If I'm going to be right next to Furnace Creek might as well use it! I had a fairly mellow day planned as I wasn't sure how tiring the previous day's hike would be. Turned out to be pretty easy but I decided nothing wrong with a mellow day anyway.

After breakfast I headed south along Badwater Road and then well to the south of Badwater itself parked along the side of the road. This hike was much shorter with less than about a mile from the road to where the canyon started to narrow. In not too long the walls became quite high and the canyon twisted with occasional massive rockfalls creating short tunnels. Not as impressive as Tuesday's hike but what an amazing payoff for a short jaunt from the road.

Inside Room Canyon
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Eventually the canyon widened into a "room" that was fairly spectacular. The canyon continues above an easy to scramble up fall and is fairly entertaining but the main event really is nearer the start of this branch of the canyon just before the "room".

On the way out I explored a side canyon slot I had seen on the way in. This slot was incredibly tight (I occasionally had to hold my tiny daypack over my head to fit through). Near the top it is possible to cross over a ridge and then hike back down another extremely tight slot and along the way see some impressive conglomerate pinnacles.

Last stop on the way out was something I knew was there from reports but failed to notice on the way in. Two huge towers of conglomerate one of which looks a lot like the chimney in Panamint City.

Chimneys
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This hike was short enough I was done well before lunch. I really had nothing else planned for the day so I headed on to my last camp for the trip. Thursday's hike would be much longer and so I wanted to position myself close to that hike. I took a leisurely drive down Harry Wade Road and in the end found the lowest impact place to setup camp was in the middle of the Amargosa River. Or rather its presently bone dry river bed. While reading and napping I felt two earthquakes both of which USGS reported as occuring over near Trona. Gave the truck and the Flip-Pac a good shake. At sunset I climbed a nearby hillside to take in the evening view. The sky was almost entirely cloudy but a few openings and thinner patches produced a soft all encompassing pink light.

Amargosa Camp
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Virga swept from many of the clouds and the forecast was for light showers through the night. I hoped they would in fact be light showers as I hadn't bothered to put on the rain-fly. And so ended another delightful day in which I saw practically no one after leaving Furnace Creek. I had passed maybe five cars on Badwater Road and had not seen a soul all afternoon along Harry Wade Road. I was as it is said a pretty happy camper. As amazing as a trip as it had been so far it would be Thursday that would prove to be the highlight of it all.

 

Outstanding! can't wait for more. Thanks for taking the time.