Sand dunes, salt flats, mountain hike & my 77th marathon finish. Last desert day…all good things come to an end. Drove back by way of Dante’s View — one last hike in the Park, one last overlook of Death Valley. WOW, just WOW.
More than an afternoon in Vegas [’til my return flight]. Casino walk, afternoon show? Naw…been there, done there.
Hoover Dam.
Did a fly-over 2 years ago during my Grand Canyon Heli Tour, but never down, down, down to the Dam’s base nor studied its history.
At the time of its creation, Hoover Dam was the largest of its kind. Harnessing the power & volume of the mighty Colorado River, water is distributed amongst the West thru a system of pipes and irrigation canals. Hoover Dam’s reservoir, Lake Mead, is America’s largest man-made reservoir.
Dam construction created thousands of jobs during the country’s Great Depression & completed 2 years ahead of time. The Dam’s spillways were last tested in the 1980’s; since then water levels have diminished significantly, triggering renegotiation of the Colorado River Compact within the next 2 years. While Colorado snowpack has provided steady & consistent volume, population explosion in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix & Tucson have eroded Lake Mead’s levels.
Living in Colorado, many of us grow frustrated and anger at California’s seemingly wasteful use of water resources: creation of lush manicured lawns & agricultural water waste. Arid landscaping — popular in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada & Arizona — has not been widely adopted in America’s most populous state.
…but I digress. Breathe in, count to 10, exhale 🙂
$20 was the ticket price for the tour. Historical film, followed by a series of elevator rides to the Dam’s bypass pipes & massive hydropower generators. The science as to how this all works — super interesting!
Elevator UP. Walked the Dam perimeter, snapped sunset shots, self-toured its Monument. Thank goodness for standby — ’cause this flyer missed his departure home. Many thanks Southwest Airlines. Life lesson learned.
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- infamous California chain — check, done
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- greatest dam of its day
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- [Colorado] river was diverted through four 50-foot-diameter tunnels, two drilled through the canyon walls on each side of the river
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- 4 billion kilowatt-hours a year — enough to serve 1.3 million people
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- 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete
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- tonite’s WOW shot!
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- Lake Mead (Nevada left, Arizona right)
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- Hoover Dam Monument
Hoover Dam (in 47 seconds)
Signed up for today’s trail run almost a year ago. Sells out every year, marked my calendar.
Why Death Valley? Fave of my 50 State runs: Crater Lake [Oregon]. fave Half: Rocky Mountain [Colorado]. Opportunities to race in a National Park come far & few between. Not letting this opportunity pass.
biggest concern? Intense HEAT. Cracked dirt, sand, salt flats & record 130+ degree summer highs. Ya’ll know I’m not a hot weather runner…but the quest to ‘park-run’ overruled any worry. It’s December, how hot could it be?
Chilly morning wake-up. Ironic, huh? Cap, gloves, hydration pack. Hydration pack? Yep, trail run. Park rangers trucked in water at miles 7, 15 & 23. Oatmeal breakfast; backpacked Fritos & an apple.
Race Director provided last minute instructions (& a few laughs), then boarded chartered buses to the Start. Probably a 60/40 split marathoners/halfers. Hour-15 minute drive; soaked in the desert landscape. Lucky in life.
Steady climb in elevation, steady drop in temps. Folks piled off the bus, I stayed behind. Not leaving ‘til I’m forced outside. 33 degrees & blowing wind. Over the next half hour, bus slowly refilled with weather-beaten runners. Not my first rodeo 🙂
8:30am start. Popped off the bus & trekked dirt road for 4 miles. Sand, gusting wind. Kept my head down while I pushed thru the long stretch of flat. Neck gaiter pulled over my mouth. Adapted well.
Looped thru Titus Canyon, would spend remainder of the day here. Tall canyon walls provided protection from the wind. Shade (gloves on), sunshine (gloves off). Desert climate created insta- 10-15 degree temp swings.
Miles 8-10: WOW whatta climb! 1700ft to 5400ft elevation. Didn’t even attempt to maintain pace. Unpacked Fritos, slow-ate my Gala [apple], and hiked UP a series of switchbacks…Colorado style. Whatta view! LOVE LOVE our National Parks!
Posted a 2:47 first Half – maybe an all-time worst. But then…I grew STRONG. Down, down, down multiple miles of dirt & boulders – felt like home. Runner ahead, I’d lock him/her in, match pace, speed up, barrel by. Began passing tens of runners.
Refueled at mile 15. Popped 2 anti-nausea pills & quickly re-tagged 3 runners who caught me at the water stop.
At mile 17, passed my first Halfer. Entered the most memorable stretch of course in many a month. Trail no more than 20 feet wide, path’d thru high rock 6 continuous miles. Canyon exited at 23; met rangers equipped with water & a porta-john (first all race).
Stopped, regrouped. Restarted slow, last 2 miles re-upped my pace. Caught sight of the Finish & kept pushing. Marathon #77, just under 5 hours – my 2nd best trail time. Hour later, back in Furnace Creek: shower, dunes & dinner.
One more Nat’l Park day & maybe Hoover Dam 🙂 #noregretlife
2016 Death Valley Trail Start List
Saturday, December 3, 2016 8:29 AM (GMT-8) – Final results
Bib Racer name Finish time
204 K R HAGA, Louisville CO 4:56:28.3
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- pre-race JOY
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- cap, gloves & hydration pack — ready, ready to run!
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- Titus Canyon
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- STRONG 2nd Half FINISH
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- marathon #77, 3rd in California
Death Valley (Race Director quip)
…so empty, so vast, so simple, so quiet.
Friday a.m. flight to Vegas — airport closest to Death Valley Nat’l Park, 2 hours further ‘cross the Nevada desert by car. Entered the Park from the south. 2-night stay, 30 minutes away in Furnace Creek — trail marathon’s host hotel & THE ONLY DIGS inside this Park’s expansive parameters.
Panorama like no other National Park I’ve visited. Massive canyon walls mined 80 years ago for Borax, America’s first commercial laundry detergent. Passed 2 ghost towns; sprung up here/gone during that boom period. Pulled off at Zabriskie Point, leg stretch & first landscape soak. Maize shades & earth-baked reds, enveloped by a 5000ft mountain range to the West.
Hotel check-in, snacked on grocery store apples. 2 hours of afternoon sun remaining, my ‘gotta/hafta/wanna‘ trip destination: Badwater Basin, 282 feet BELOW sea level. Whenever folks think of Death Valley, THIS is the place. Sand? Snow? Nope, salt. Salt flat, 5-foot thick…an ancient sea floor trapped/eroded between 2 volcanic mountain ranges.
Trekked a half-mile ‘cross the crunchy salt-crystal terrain. Put my tongue to its surface — salt, no joke. Sea salt trapped hundreds of miles inland, WOW — just WOW! Tens of minutes stood & stared across the blank landscape. I was here.
Returned to Furnace Creek via Artist’s Point, a pastel-coloured mineral display sandwiched within borax-rounded boulders. Early dinner, early sleeps, early a.m. marathon.
Fast forward 12 hours (marathon day). Resumed my all-tourist schedule at Mesquite Flat Dunes. Short hike over dense desert sand. Kicked back behind a large dune; watched the sun set pink on craggy mountains opposite my body-plant.
Isolated from man, black skies touched by stars. Dark, empty. Beauty magnified.
Early to rise, early to hike. Sunday. 30 minutes off the beaten path, followed park roads UP UP UP to Dante’s View…well, about a mile from Dante’s View — that’s where the hike comes in 🙂
High in the mountains. Peered across the vast valley expanse, Badwater Basin below. Magic.
she became to me,
what the Constellations
are to sailors lost at sea
A map of the way Home.
when your heart has
given up and is too
terrified to roam.
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- Zabriskie Point
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- there’s BORAX in them hills!
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- BELOW sea level
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- 4x saltier than the ocean
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- five-foot layer of salt
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- the Black Mountains
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- WOW, WOW, WOW!
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- guide book says: ‘shimmering expanse of nearly pure white table salt’ — did I taste? Heck yeah.
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- Artist’s Palette
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- Mesquite Flat Dunes
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- kicked back in the sand & watched the sun set #noregretlife
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- Dante’s View
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- post-marathon hike — it’s what all the cool kids do 🙂
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- I was here
Death Valley National Park
