Menu

Category: Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park Wildrose Charcoal kilns

 

Highway 190 and the Panamint Range Death Valley National Park CaliforniaHighway 190 and the Panamint Range
After hiking Mosaic Canyon we drove out of the valley floor into Emigrant Canyon in Death Valley National Park.
Emigrant Canyon Death Valley National Park CaliforniaEmigrant Canyon
Didn’t explore many rough looking gravel side roads because of traveling in a friends overloaded Subaru.  Yet the road was paved into much of Wildrose Canyon where trails begin up to Wildrose Peak at 9064 feet (2762.7 meters) and Telescope Peak the highest peak in the park at 11049 feet (3367.7 meters).  We hiked to neither and instead explored the charcoal kilns.
Wildrose Charcoal kilns Death Valley National Park CaliforniaWildrose Charcoal Kilns
Ten perfectly-aligned stone charcoal kilns each standing 25 feet high with an average diameter of about 31 feet.
Wildrose Charcoal kiln Death Valley National Park CaliforniaCharcoal Kiln
Designed by Swiss engineers and built by Chinese laborers in 1879, these kilns produced charcoal for Modoc Mine smelter, about 30 miles west of here.  The kilns closed after only three years of use.
Inside Wildrose Charcoal kiln Death Valley National Park CaliforniaCharcoal on inside of kiln
Workers filled the air-tight kilns with pinyon pine logs and fired them.  Stumps can still be seen on the hillsides.  The burning, which reduced the wood to charcoal, took 6-8 days.  Cooling took another 5 days.
View northwest from Wildrose Charcoal kilns Death Valley National Park CaliforniaView NW from kilns toward the Sierra Nevada Range
Heading back from Wildrose and Emigrant Canyons a mine distracted us.
California, Death Valley National Park, National Parks and Monuments 28 Comments

Death Valley National Park Mosaic Canyon hike

Sunrise from Stovepipe Wells campground Death Valley National Park CaliforniaSunrise from Stovepipe Wells campground
Being in California put me in a different time zone so I awoke early enough to greet the day at Death Valley National Park.
View north from Stovepipe Wells campground Death Valley National Park CaliforniaView north of camp
Although the campground itself is just a big desert gravel parking lot the views from the valley floor are breathtaking at $12/night.
Ranger Glenn at Stovepipe Wells campground Death Valley National Park CaliforniaRanger Glenn
First thing, we attended a Ranger talk about adaptation for survival by animals in the extremes of Death Valley, like living without water and hiding underground or in shade from the scorching sun.
Jeremy at the mouth of Mosaic Canyon Death Valley National Park CaliforniaJeremy at the mouth of Mosaic Canyon
Only a few miles away, we next explored Mosaic Canyon with a short hike.
Conglomerate rocks Mosaic Canyon Death Valley National Park CaliforniaConglomerate
Eroded basement rock transported by water has been re-cemented together.
Marble rock Mosaic Canyon Death Valley National Park CaliforniaMarble
Old limestone from ancient lake bottoms metamorphosed into banded marble worthy of nature’s sculpture.
Gaelyn in Mosaic Canyon Death Valley National Park CaliforniaGaelyn in Mosaic Canyon
I could have hiked here all day enjoying the narrow canyon with new sights around every bend.
View at mouth of Mosaic Canyon Death Valley National Park CaliforniaLeaving Mosaic Canyon
But we had more to see in this vast place of outstanding beauty and the next stop was the Wildrose Charcoal kilns.
California, Death Valley National Park, National Parks and Monuments , 29 Comments

Road trip to Death Valley National Park

 What could be better than a road trip to Death Valley National Park?

Joshua trees Hwy 93 ArizonaJoshua Trees along Hwy 93
It was chilly as I headed north on Highway 93 for Death Valley National Park Thursday morning at 9:30.
Sign for Nothing ArizonaNothing, AZ
As always, a gorgeous journey through the Arizona desert.
Highway 93 bridge over Hoover Dam NevadaHighway 93 bridge over Hoover Dam
If the construction going on here for the last four years ever gets done then there should be no reason to have a security check point to drive on Hoover Dam. I carried no scary things in my camper so was allowed over.
Hoover Dam NevadaHoover Dam
Completed in 1936 and built for flood control, agricultural water and hydroelectric energy.
Lake Mead NevadaLake Mead
The by-product of the dam is a gigantic reservoir for recreation. Yet I had no time to play in the water.
Highway 160 west of Las Vegas NevadaHighway 160 west of Las Vegas
I tried to stay out of the traffic mess by skirting south of “Sin City”, and it took me seven hours to get this far.
Sundog over Panamint Range Death Valley National Park CaliforniaSundog
As I approached the park boundary the sun quickly dropped behind…
Sunset over Panamint Range Death Valley National Park CaliforniaSunset over the Panamint Range
…the western mountains.
Sunset over Death Valley National Park CaliforniaSunset over Death Valley
It took me nine hours to drive the 350 miles on this road trip to Death Valley. But no problem finding Jeremy’s chosen camp in the far back corner of the relatively empty Stovepipe Wells campground.
Sunset over Death Valley National Park California
Sunset near Stovepipe Wells campground
We made a plan for Friday including a Ranger program, Mosaic Canyon hike, Charcoal Kilns and whatever else we found along the way.
California, Death Valley National Park, National Parks and Monuments , , , 14 Comments

Lijit

© Copyright 2008-2024. Geogypsytraveler.com