Death Valley - Kit Fox Hills & Mesquite Dunes

Hi Blog!

We just finished up a week on the west side of Death Valley. The Panamint Springs Resort did not have phone or internet, so we are little behind in our blog posts. On February 20, 2016, we drove from Panamint Springs to Stovepipe Wells. We planned two different hikes before overnighting at the Stovepipe Wells Resort. Our first stop was the Kit Fox Hills.

The Kit Fox Hills cover approximately 25 square miles along Scotty's Castle Road. The low rising hills of loose dark gravel are cut by several large washes that provide natural passages to open bajadas beneath the Death Valley Buttes and Grapevine Mountains.

There are no maintained trails or marked routes through the Kit Fox Hills. The National Geographic Topo Map of Death Valley showed the trailhead. There once was an old mining road through a large wash. Our Garman Hiker GPS still showed the old dirt road. As we hiked up the wash ,we could turn around and see exactly where the old road use to go. The sandy area at the bottom of the road is the location of the original Stovepipe Wells townsite.

As we turned the corner, we left Scotty's Castle Road behind us. The loose gravel of the wash made a perfect home for spring wildflowers.

The gentle easy slope left plenty of time for looking around and rock hounding. This little guy sparked an interesting conversation. What do you think?

Kathy's first impression - Not The Mama!

There is no end to the hiking opportunities in Death Valley. Where one wash ends, another one begins. As we hiked higher into the Kit Fox Hills, the Grapevine Mountains began to appear. We'll save those mountains for another day. We have a date with some sand dunes!

Since Death Valley is a National Park, rock collecting is not permitted. Take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints!

Our next stop, Mesquite Flat Dunes. These dunes are the best known and easiest to visit. Although the highest dune rises only about 100 feet, the dunes actually cover a large area. This dune field includes three types of dunes: crescent, linear, and star shaped. Mesquite trees have created large hummocks that provide stable habitats for wildlife. They also make great subjects for photographers!

We left the trees behind and began hiking up and down the dunes. Each dune was a little higher than the next.

We could begin to see out across Death Valley. There are low spots where rain water collects and little oases have formed.

Looking back, it is hard to find the parking lot in the shadow of Tucki Mountain.

The easiest way to hike across a dune is to get up on the ridge line. The tricky part is to make sure you are on the correct ridge line to reach the highest point.

If you pick wrong, then you have to climb all the way to the bottom and hike up the next dune.

Sand just invites you to play in it. Here Kathy, with Dave's help, stomps out a giant Peace symbol. However, the glare from the harsh desert sun made it really hard to see.

Having 360 degree views makes for great panoramic photos. Hiking in the hot desert sun also conjures up song lyrics: "I've been through a desert on a horse with no name." Or perhaps desert movie quotes: "He who controls the spice controls the Universe!"

Looking down from the top of a dune we could see the polygon-cracked clay of the ancient lake bed that forms the floor of the valley. It feels very strange to walk across the hard-packed clay surface after sloshing through the sand.

Here we reached the highest point of the highest dune. Time for our selfie!

Click the video link to see 360-degree view from atop the highest dune in Mesquite Dunes.

Hiking in sand builds up a powerful thirst. Lucky for us the bar at Stovepipe Wells Resort was open for business. After wetting our whistle, we checked in, got some grub and turned in early. We want to get up for the sunrise and beat the crowds into Mosaic Canyon.

The adventure continues.....