The deserts of southeastern California
and Nevada
are expansive, and their large size is driven home by the maze of valleys,
canyons, and mountain ranges that add complexity to the landscape. The Panamint
Range runs from north to south at the western end of Death
Valley. It is a relatively high range, with several peaks over
9000 ft, but it becomes even more prominent in consideration of its position
between two low desert valleys to the east (Death Valley) and west (Panamint Valley). In fact, the highest peak of
the range is Telescope Peak at over 11,000 ft, which is just miles from the
lowest point in North America: Badwater
Basin in Death
Valley at nearly 300 ft below sea-level.
I set out to Death
Valley National Park
in late February for a photography project, with just a general concept in
mind, and few set destinations. After a first night in the backcountry in
northern Panamint Valley and an easy hike to Darwin
Falls the following morning, I decided
to travel down Emigrant Valley
Road, find a campsite at Wildrose campground if
available, and continue the drive up Wildrose
Canyon. By mid-afternoon
I was far up the canyon past the start of the juniper and pinyon pine tree
line, and at the start of the trail to Wildrose Peak.
I grabbed several cameras and started the hike.
Unfortunately I started too late in the day to make it very
far along the trail, but I returned the next morning arriving at the trail head
by 7:30. It was cold: 22°F according to
my car! Starting up the trail again I passed junipers, pines, and patches of
snow. The sun was rising in the east and broke through for a moment, providing
some welcome warmth. I climbed towards the east and at an elevation of just
under 8000 feet I arrived at a ridge that provided an expansive view of Death Valley to the east. Sunshine was now a regular
companion on the trail, and though the air was still cold, it make the hike
more enjoyable.
The trail continued to the north and then back to the west,
ascending a bit more than another 1000 ft before it would end at Wildrose Peak. Snow patches were common, but in
most places they were a thin crust on the cold ground, unlikely to provide much
water at all once they melted. The snow may have fallen earlier in the week
when California
finally – after a remarkably dry January and February – had a winter storm pass
through the state. On my drive from Davis
through the Central Valley I caught a bit of the storm in Tehachapi Pass
where rain, hail, and snow were falling.
The top of Wildrose
Peak afforded incredible
views of the southwest desert landscape. To the east Death Valley and the Amargosa Range
were visible, and Nevada
could also be seen including a distant peak with some snow to the east. The
lower elevation Panamints were to the north. To the south, Telescope Peak, the
highest point of the Panamint range,
dominated. Though that mountain was also dotted with dark green evergreens
(presumably also junipers and pines), it seemed to have a thicker blanket of
snow. To the west was the Panamint Valley and then other mountain ranges, including I’m
almost sure, a distant ridge of jagged snow-covered mountains that must have
been the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada.
 |
| Death Valley to the east |
The mountain top at Wildrose Peak
had a rock cairn, USGS benchmark, and a metal box with a logbook. A raven was perched
at the top of the cairn for sometime before flying off. The mountain top was
rather rounded, like the other nearby peaks in the Panamint
range. The smoother summit topography perhaps indicates a more
ancient origin, with millions of years of erosive forces mellowing the mountains
in their old age. While evergreens reached to about the summit of Wildrose, the
vegetation was rather low lying and sparse, the species most catching my eye
was a prickly pear cactus with long spines, the clusters of stems lying close
to the ground and mixed in with snow patches and rocks.
 |
| Crest of the Sierra Nevada range to the west |
 |
| Wheeler Peak to the south |
 |
| Cairn at the summit of Wildrose Peak |
