Ref: Hiking Guy
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Badwater Basin, 86 meters below sea level, as seen from Dante's View.
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Hike:
RT 4.5; 2 up. Returning from our side trip to Las Vegas, we planned to
stay in
Furnace Creek before slowly making our way out of Death Valley. We
drove to Dante's View, a popular destination by itself; the fabulous
viewpoint climbs to 1,699 meters above Badwater Basin. An
interesting fact about Dante's View is that it is the location
in the original Star Wars movie where Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi
overlook the fictional desert town of Mos Eisley. On clear days, you
can simultaneously see Mount Whitney and Badwater Basin, the highest
and
lowest points in the contiguous USA. There is more to this place than
meets the eye! After finding a
parking spot, we left the crowd behind and headed towards Dante's Ridge
Trail. The treeless ridgeline grands unimpeded views in all directions.
We were fortunate to see water in Badwater Basin; it is typically dry.
On
August 20th, hurricane Hilary made landfall in the region; a weather
station recorded 56 millimeters of rain, breaking Death Valley’s
previous single-day rainfall record. Across the basin towers Telescope
Peak, likely the
most coveted summit in the area. Mount Perry should also be on a
hiker's bucket list; it offers great enjoyment from start to end. The
well-trodden
trail meanders over numerous knolls; however, their minor
height gain is ideal for running. The 15-kilometer round trip requires
moderate effort; I highly
recommend this objective.
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Across the basin to the west is Telescope Peak, 3,368 meters.
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Looking north, the valley leads to Stovepipe Wells. |
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Southern view.
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Dante's Ridge Trail is well defined.
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Starting our fast hike under blue sky.
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The long undulating ridge to Mount Perry.
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Another dip precedes the summit block.
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Ascending to the summit ridge.
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The summit ridge.
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The terrain is rockier.
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Getting closer.
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Echinocactus polycephalus grows in the most extreme arid environments.
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At the summit with the ridge we travelled, the trail begins at the high point on the left. |
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Telescope Peak is the highest point of the Panamint Range.
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The former mining community of Ryan with Pyramid Peak in the background.
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Beyond the desert floor, north of us, are the Grapevine Mountains.
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Mount Charleston to the east, near Las Vegas.
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Looking back at Mount Perry as the sun sets.
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