From the coast, to the desert, and back again

mojave sub2

Monday: Los Osos to Mojave to Red Rock Canyon State Park. Arrive in afternoon, 3:00ish. Hike ridge for photo ops. Morning Joshua Man on ridge from back park ridge. Cold with storm coming in.

Tuesday: RRC to DV via Ridgecrest and Hwy 190. Forgoing an overnight stay at Mahogany Flat due to photo opportunities farther East. Drive to Chloride Cliff on long side of trail past Monarch Canyon. Storm hitting mountains West of DV. Photos from cliffs of sunset in cloud dance on mountains. Decide not to camp in Marble Canyon due to dark stormy night on mountains above - not to risk flash flood in canyon. Stayed at mouth of canyon to avoid surprises. Slight sprinkles overnight - no flooding.

Wednesday: Hike to nearby Oasis (Kean Spring) just outside Marble Canyon mouth. Create photos of morning on the range and storm clouds. Make way to Furnace Creek and check out FC camps for an overnight stay. FC Ranch is blech - too many motorhomes & flys. Make way south to hike Natural Bridges - nice hike to falls. Head back to Monarch Canyon.

Thursday: Bug out by 7:30am for Stovepipe Wells and Marble Canyon. Arrive MC and on trail by 10am. Very nice 250'/mile grade hike up the slot canyon for four hours, ~6 miles. Sights: 50 year old modern graffiti, upturned swimming pool, volcanic spew embedded in polished rock, signs of both Coyote and Big Horn Sheep. Did not reach springs - missed by ~1/2 mile. 3hrs walk back and found ancient graffiti drawings on rock face. 

Friday: Out of camp by 10am, and arrive Cottonwood Canyon end of road by noon. CC is all about the drive to the end of the road at the springs. Short 1hr hike to effectively 'end of the trail' due to marsh overgrowth. Make photos of Disney Meadow just past the stopping point. Both Thursday & Friday were clear days.

Saturday: Drive out of canyon and up to Ubehebe crater for hike into the pit. Nice hike down, lots of loose lava sand and a wonderful hot clear day. Very nasty hike back out. Driving day to Hidden Valley & The Racetrack. Found head of Marble Canyon and decided it is not worth hiking from top to bottom w/ transportation top and bottom - the road to Hidden Valley is just not a thing you want to do as a chore to pick up a vehicle. Best of Marble Canyon is bottom up with its lovely slot canyons. Drive time from Ubehebe: 1.25 hours of nasty washboard to Teakettle Junction, 1.0 hours to the head of Marble Canyon, 1.0 hours back to TKJ, then 1.0 hours to Homestake Dry Camp past The Racetrack...arriving at 4:30pm. Just missed the sunset on Racetrack playa - could not drive fast enough.

Sunday: Up early to catch sunrise on Racetrack playa. Morning grew over the Cottonwood Mountains at camp, good for photo making. Had 30 minutes of photos on the playa, leaving the area at 8:30am. Enough time to catch the sunrise, but not so much time to allow for pre-sunrise scouting for 'The Perfect Shot'. Need to come out here again....except for the painful drive...keeps the masses away. Back to Monarch Canyon for an overnight, with an afternoon excursion onto the Death Valley Dunes, the large dune field outside of Stovepipe Wells. Spent the afternoon on the dunes with sun shadow play with the clouds. Afterwards, make way to Zabriskie Point for a sunset cloud light show.

Monday: Made way to Eureka Dunes, via Death Valley / Big Pine road. First stop at Little Hebe for a 1 mile round trip hike and photo session. Down pressure Jeep tires to 25lbs, and make the 45 mile trek to Eureka Dunes. On a scale of 1 to 3, Death Valley / Big Pine road is a 2, where Racetrack is a 3+ on the nasty scale. Nice drive, be careful of washouts - don't hit them at speed - 10mph is fine. They come up quick; mind the signposts. Road becomes paved partway up mountain at 7k feet. Dirt again at Eureka Dunes exit due to large expanse of open wash in the valley. Eureka Dunes road is a 3- on the nasty washboard scale. Great locale to photograph. However, must camp without shade, area has harsh winds and talc-fine dust storms  - bad for camera, Jeep, and body. Destined to make photos only this day. Did crawl little way up back mountain  - would be good ride up and down someday with more vehicles. Map says 'deep sand', and yes, there is indeed deep sand. Four-wheel and take it slow to not dig in...down pressure is a Really Good Idea. 10lb CO2 tank is a Really Good Idea to re-pressure later. Great Dune with snow topped Eastern Sierras in the background is wonderful contrast for photos. Drive from 1pm out of Eureka Dunes camp to Big Pine for gas and powerwash (10 gallons, 164 miles from Stovepipe Wells). Arrive Red Rock Canyon at 5:30pm for overnight stay. 

Tuesday: Nice 6am dawn sunrise photos on Eastern RRC mountains. Homeward bound to Los Osos. 161 miles from Big Pine to Mojave. 215 miles Mojave to Los Osos. @ 4 hrs.


Copyright © 1988-2012, Eric Anderson Photography - Images may not be reproduced without prior written permission