desert_trek_00

Desert / Ghost Town Trek #1

Death Valley, Western Nevada, Mohave, Joshua Tree, Salton Sea, Anza Borrego (in four days!), Spring 2000.
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08 Feb 2010 65
Inspired by Wester Lore Magazine and Tim White's enthusiastic tales of driving around in the desert, I invited friend Andrew Barron to go check it out. He was a geologist and cooked up a sprawling tour of four major parks and two states in a mere four days in June of 2000.
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07 Feb 2010 58
Foolishly stayed up until 2am watching Devo's Truth About Devolution video the night before in Mountain View, CA, and got up early for the trek around the closed snow passes. Took HWY 50 to SR 89 to HWY 395 and then here at Mono Lake went east on SR 120.
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08 Feb 2010 65
Looking back at the eastern Sierras from Mono Valley and the last group of pines we would see for days.
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07 Feb 2010 68
Now in the desert proper, the Benton range is ahead with the Whites behind them.
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08 Feb 2010 65
Just before Benton Hot Springs you pass this cool rock jumble.
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07 Feb 2010 55
At the time I didn't even know the name of the 14,000 foot White Mountain peak behind me, or that I would hike it in 2009, and propose to my wife at the base camp!
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08 Feb 2010 71
This was the first time I took notice of the giant alluvial fans that rise from the desert floor up to the mountains.
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08 Feb 2010 65
Took HWY 6 east to HWY 95 south and stopped at Goldfield, NV (a near-ghost town with some residents).
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07 Feb 2010 51
The Goldfield cemetery shows how large the mining town was in its glory days.
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07 Feb 2010 68
South to Scotty's Junction then south on SR 267 to Bonnie Claire Flat. The ghost town is barely visible above the car and possibly had one resident so we didn't snoop too close.
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07 Feb 2010 68
Behind us was an old gold or tungsten mine stamp mill site. It was time to start thinking about camp.
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07 Feb 2010 77
Old bunkhouse at the mill with the surreal mini ranges in the background that seems like caterpillars crawling along the playa.
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08 Feb 2010 71
We drove around looking for a spot and passed the classic desert blooms and shot up desert car.
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07 Feb 2010 67
It was a little freaky for me that first time having Andrew drive our rental car up a desert wash. Now it's old hat.
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07 Feb 2010 78
Here's a shot from our little beer hike up the ridge looking down on the tiny car. Death Valley National Park, with its established campgrounds, was only a few minutes away, but Andrew was teaching me the ways of BLM style camping.
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08 Feb 2010 73
Up early the next day, breakfast at Mesquite Spring camp in DV and checked out Ubehebe Crater.
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07 Feb 2010 71
We toured the northern part of the valley and I was completely blown away. The pictures can't begin to capture it.
42 items in total