Death Valley

Not only was I disappointed after Yosemite, I was worried that the National Park mystique had worn off. Maybe it was too many, too soon, and I was becoming jaded to the natural beauty and daily discoveries.

In addition, the post-Yosemite route I had drawn turned out to be impossible, as there is no (good) way to see King's Canyon, Sequoia, Joshua Tree, and Death Valley National Parks in one road trip. So I decided I might as well start the trek back east, starting by going through Death Valley.

I thought Death Valley was stunning. And aptly named! It was 110 degrees when I arrived in late morning, and getting hotter. I hiked the sand dunes for about 35 minutes, getting a massive suntan and probably approaching heat stroke. I've never felt heat like this before. Oddly enough, it feels like you don't sweat-- I didn't realize right away that that's because the sweat instantly evaporates in the dry wind. And speaking of wind, don't expect it to cool you off! At 110 degrees, the wind cools you off as well as a convection oven cools off a turkey.

A few hours later, I hiked the guided trail at Golden Canyon. This was only a 2 mile hike round trip, and I honestly had fears of succumbing to the sun and heat toward the end. The camera in my pocket was hot to the touch, and I could have brewed coffee with the water remaining in my water bottle. I find it so amazing that the early pioneers made it through this place at all, in horse drawn wagons, with no potable water for 100 miles. Maybe they traveled at night, when the summer temperature often drops to a frigid 100 degrees.



Beach volleyball, anyone???

Looks like Grand Canyon is next!