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It was quite windy as we prepared for the hike in the full parking lot. The lot provides a nice
view of the valley and the Panamint Range on the other side. The wind was visibly kicking up
dust and sand in the valley below. I figured the canyon hike would protect us from the wind.
It mostly would.
Death Valley dust storm
There are trail guides at the
trail head for 50 cents, as well as a bathroom. The trail guides refer to 10 numbered posts
which you'll find along the trail. We started off on the hike just after 11am under sunny (but
windy) skies.
The first thing you'll notice is pavement. Not right away, but a few minutes up the trail is
a chunk of pavement, remnants of the road that used to wind up the canyon. A flood back in February
1976 destroyed the road, and they never rebuilt it. Instead, you get to walk it.
Rock formation in Golden Canyon
Further up the trail you'll start to see interesting rock formations. It's quite barren, however,
devoid of almost any vegetation. Just rock and dirt everywhere. For some reason it reminded me of the
Star Trek scene where Kirk is battling the Gorn. Although that actually had some vegetation, if I
recall.
First glimpse of Red Cathedral
There are lots of small side canyons you can explore, but we just stayed on the main path.
Eventually we started to get our first views of Red Rock Cathedral, rising over the yellow canyons
in a contrasting red.
Closer look at Red Cathedral
Nathan underneath rock formations
We reached the last numbered sign, number 10. There's a trail intersection here, with the right fork
leading up to Zabriskie Point (which I'll mention in the trip report tomorrow). We continued
straight, all the way to the Red Cathedral wall. The path gets narrower and narrower until there's
nowhere else to go. We turned around and found some shade in a little slot near the big wall,
where we sat down for lunch for almost an hour. There's really not much in the way of shade, so take advantage of
any you can find.
Red Cathedral
Jean and Nathan heading toward Red Cathedral
After lunch we turned around and headed back downhill to the car. Along the way I saw a few small
bushes I hadn't noticed on the way in. I thought one of them was the only living plant in the
canyon, but as it turns out there were lots of them I hadn't noticed. Maybe I was too busy looking
up at all the barren walls. In all, it's not the most rewarding hike you'll ever do, to say the least.
But it's a decent hike to do, especially if the valley wind prevents you from doing other hikes
comfortably.
A look back from Red Cathedral
Golden Canyon
Jean and Nathan hiking down the canyon
Two hikers passing rock formations
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