…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 🙂
-
- I was here
Death Valley National Park
5 weekends of running, time for a hike – maybe even 2 hikes. After Thursday’s ‘first snow’, nothing but mountains & snow camping on the brain. Temps plummeted to the 20’s…so settled on glamping & 2 RMNP alpine hikes (making the most of my 2016 Parks pass).
Woke to sunshine Saturday. Beaver Meadows Entrance, quick left to Bear Lake. 20 minute ride, trailhead-parked at Glacier Gorge (last pull-off before Bear). Winds blew, BIG smile. Initial hike goal: 5 Lakes (Loch Vale, Haiyaha, Dream, Nymph & Bear)
Just under a mile to Alberta Falls, another 2+ to Loch Vale. Most tourists can make the Falls hike; super thankful for winter & open trails. Forgot how beautiful Alberta Falls can be…even frozen solid. Tested the ice; crampon spikes a good gauge for weakness. Must’ve flash-froze over the past couple days, thin ice covered in snow. Snapped a pic, hiked on.
Last trekked Loch Vale 4 years ago, mid-November. That day, hiked in heavy snow – white-out conditions limited our group’s day goal. Winter precip accumulated 3” inches an hour, awesome memory making snow angels. hike LOVE.
Today’s path vacillated between ice (sunshine melt/refreeze) & shin-deep snow (tree cover shade). Both lodgepole & Ponderosa [pine] lined the Park’s well-maintained trail system. Crazy beautiful, sunshine & solitude.
Left to Mills, right to Haiyaha, Loch Vale straight ahead. Tested out trail conditions to Haiyaha…deep snow, no visible trek tenth-mile out. Not happening today. Turned back, Loch Vale < half-mile away. Pushed thru a grove of trees, saw the Loch. Frozen alpine lake blocked in by the some of the Park’s highest peaks. Outdoor WOW moment. Opened armed, let the cold wind blow, envelope me.
Snow whipped off the rock heights above. Crampons scratched the Loch’s surface but no cracks. Breezy, strong numbing wind. Footsteps crunched over the thick ice. No words. Just WOW! Wind-retreated after 15 minutes. Sheltered behind two boulders, downed half a turkey wrap. Only one Lake today…but absolutely no regrets.
Sunset. Headed into Estes Park for a pricey dinner & the city’s tree lighting ceremony. ‘Cowboy Brad’ welcomed visitors with a mix of John Denver & Colorado Christmas carols. No better way to usher in the season. FUN night!
Home? Heck no. Not before a Sunday a.m. hike — only 3 miles roundtrip. Felt small under tall lodgepole pine, switch-backed UP 1,000ft, followed signs for ‘Trail Around Lake’, dropped off trail to snap shots of slushy Bierstadt Lake.
BEST vacation from a vacation – I choose mountain hike over Disney World every time 🙂
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- Glacier Gorge Trailhead
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- [frozen] Alberta Falls
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- conditions vacillated between icy trail & shin-deep snow
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- Welcome to the Loch!
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- footsteps crunched the Loch’s icy surface — WOW, no words.
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- Tree Lighting Ceremony 2016
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- Day 2 hike
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- towering lodgepole pine
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- switch backed UP 1,000ft
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- I choose mountain hike over Disney World every time 🙂
alpine hikes & holiday lights (Estes Park CO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFPtcdnD0sM
Woke an hour before my alarm, puked…’slow start’ day. Pushed thru a tough run 3 days ago in Narragansett RI. Yesterday, my second round of ‘chemo-lite’. Mind, not as dark as last Tuesday night – but still struggling to Pollyanna my present situation.
4:30am, 42°F, dark. Shorts, long-sleeve tech shirt. Started walking. Legs woke, stomach settled. Started to jog. Last 5 miles ran comfortable, 9:14/min pace. 7 miles total. Today again I chose life. Moving forward.
We all have dreams. Paul’s dream was to hike the Appalachian Trail.
Last year, Paul passed away before he could make his dream reality. But that’s not the end of this story – it’s the beginning. He left behind three pairs of polished hiking boots and a backpack packed for his dream hike: the 2,189-mile Appalachian Trail. Paul’s wife, M’Lynn, had an idea for a final gift for her husband. “How good would it be,” she asked, “for his boots to make the journey even if Paul could not?”
M’Lynn’s simple plea launched an incredible journey. The hiking community responded and carried the boots the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. Paul’s Boots follows the boots and tells the stories of the people who carried them. This is the story of how we all help each other achieve dreams.
https://www.ducttapethenbeer.com/paulsboots/
Hiking documentaries, niche audience (at best) – for me however, these are some of the best in film. This flic features a trek, high on my bucket list – thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Georgia to Maine.
Watch the first 2 minutes & the last 5. You will start the day INSPIRED!
