From Death Valley

Day 45: I sleep fairly well in the tent cabin, but wake up a little after 5 as it starts to get light outside. I spend most of the next hour trying and failing to get some more rest after the long day yesterday.

I give up a little before 6 and shave, eat some breakfast, etc. until Sam wakes up. He doesn’t take long to get ready and we are able to drive over to the trailhead and start our hike around 8:15.

We are doing a variation of the Old Pinnacles Loop, which takes us through most of the highlights in the park over 11 miles. The first is the Balconies which is a set of rock formations shooting up into the sky.

From there we did an out and back into the Balconies Caves, which were pretty short.

By the time we left the caves and hiked up to the High Peaks section of the trail I was starting to feel pretty sleepy after not getting enough sleep the past couple days. We stopped for a few minutes so I could close my eyes, but realistically I wasn’t going to get any sleep sitting on the side of the trail and we continued on.

I never fully woke up the rest of the hike and the rest went by in a bit of a blur.

We stopped briefly at Bear Gulch Reservoir and Sam, ever the amphibian enthusiast, looked for a frog that was local to the area while I did my best job of sleeping standing up.

At this point we were on the last quadrant of the loop which was a pretty flat section allowing me to sleepwalk through it on the way back to the car, which we reached around 12:30 about four hours after we started.

Our drive today was down to Ojai, CA which is about 5.5 hours from Pinnacles. We got started around 1 following a quick dip in the campground pool and making some sandwiches.

I tried to nap the first couple hours with limited success, but some rest is better than none and I’m happy to have gotten at least a few minutes.

We are staying with Sam’s friends from residency – Lindsey and Margaret – and get to their house just before 7.

For dinner we picked up some pizza from a local shop and ate on the front porch. I was particularly fond of the goat cheese.

With a boat trip to Channel Islands National Park planned for the next day we got to bed pretty soon after eating.

Day 46: Despite the comfortable bed I fail to catch up on sleep and am up before 5:30.

Sam moved to the couch at some point in the night, apparently my leg was shaking while I was sleeping.

After eating some oatmeal and drinking a smoothie Sam and I headed out for the drive down to the marina in Ventura. Channel Islands National Park is a group of islands off the coast and the only way to get there is by boat. Today we are specifically headed for Santa Cruz Island which is the largest and one of the closest to the mainland.

We spent the ride out at the front of the boat enjoying the cool sea air and looking for wildlife. We lucked out and got to see a pod of dolphins who followed the boat for several minutes playing in the wake.

The boat is fighting the wind and current on the way out and the trip takes about 1.5 hours to get to the island.

In addition to the ferry passage we also rented kayaks and the crew brought them to the beach for us.

Once we were on the beach we hopped in the yaks and started paddling to the south. The winds typically pick up around late morning to midday and blow north to south, so we wanted to get this portion of the way first.

It takes an hour to paddle through this section before we start heading north to check out other caves.

Each one is unique and we decided to eat lunch in one of the larger caves that had less chop, and plenty of light to see.

From there we continue north and are encouraged to keep going out by a group of Purdue students we met on the ferry.

It’s close to 1:30 when we reach our designated turn around point and we stop so I can eat some snacks. While I was eating we hear the bark of either a seal or sea lion behind us and paddle over to investigate. There are a couple sea lions sun bathing on a group of rocks. I’ve seen them from shore before but this is the first time from the water and it is undoubtedly a cooler experience.

I’m pretty tired on the way back and mostly take the tangent while Sam hugs the coast looking for any wildlife. He’s pretty successful finding a sea star at the bottom of the water.

When we were about 20 minutes from returning to the pier we passed a tour group and the guide told to look out for a sea lion up ahead. With eyes fixed on the rocks I am completely surprised when the sea lion pops out of the water about 5 yards from me. Fortunately he was more concerned with finding a meal and let us pass without issue.

After finishing with the kayak trip around 3 we stop by the visitor center then go for a short hike to Cavern Point.

When the time comes to get back on the ferry Sam and I grab a spot at the front of the top deck for the ride back. It’s a great view of the water and potentially any wildlife.

On the way back to Ventura the ferry takes a sudden turn to the south where there is a large pod that of dolphin. We saw some on the way out, so I’m surprised that we diverted to see them again. However, as we approached the pod one of the deck hands gets on the PA system to inform us that large cetaceans had been sighted ahead. As he finishes the statement water spouts into the air and then again. We were not headed for dolphin, but for a couple humpback whales.

Sam and I have a great view, but not the best cameras, so after attempting to take videos we put the phones in our respective pockets, and take in the majestic creatures with our own eyes instead of staring at them through a screen.

The boat follows the whales for about 30 minutes and we get to see their tails exit then renter the water numerous times as they dove deeper into the water. The tail is unique to each whale similar to fingerprints for humans, so it’s cool that we got to see the identifying characteristic of each.

After returning to the marina Sam and I head over to the Ventura Pier to meet Lindsey and, Margaret, as well as Noah and Andrew for dinner. Andrew is from Tallahassee and it’s the first time I’ve seen him in six years. It was really good to catch up. Sam is close with the entire group and they try to persuade him to move to Southern California, while I lobby for the east coast. Through all the conversation we close the restaurant down before heading back to the house and getting to bed.

Day 47: Sam and I’s last day together. I wish he could come on the rest of the trip, but he has to go back to work and my journey now turns east.

Relative to the last couple weeks I’m able to sleep in and wake up around 5:45. After a quick shower I head out to the living room and everyone else is already up and drinking coffee.

Sam and I make it out of the house around 7 and drive up to Bakersfield for me to pick up my rental car. It’s about 2 hours and we reminisce on how special the last two weeks were and start brainstorming the next trip.

After getting the car and transferring all my stuff we say our goodbyes and head our separate ways.

The turn eastward to Death Valley feels like I’ve now entered the homestretch, and it’s starting to sink in that the trip can’t last forever.

After a few hours of driving I’ve definitely entered the desert and reach Death Valley National Park. The car thermometer is over 100 in the early part of the afternoon. I will have to settle for seeing the park from the car along with some short hikes.

My first stop is the Mesquite Sand Dunes. There is no clear trail and wanting to avoid hot sand in my shoes I settle for the seeing them from just off the parking lot.

After that I stop by the Furnace Creek campground to scope out a spot. It’s first come first serve in the summer and I’m nervous driving in whether any good spots will be available. I feel both foolish and worried when there is not only no ranger at the entrance, but no other campers. Maybe camping below sea level is not the best call. I decide to wait on grabbing a spot and head out to see other parts of the park.

First is Badwater Basin. It’s a salt flat that sits at 282 feet below sea level. It is the lowest point in the western hemisphere. There is a sign high in the mountains above that is barely discernible: “Sea Level”. A stark reminder of how much 282 feet is.

Despite the now 110+ temps I can’t resist walking out for a little over a 1/2 mile then back. It was farther than anyone else, but still felt relatively safe.

Following Badwater, I take the loop to Artists Palette. It’s a windy one way road to parking lot and once there I head for a trail before stopping to take a picture.

It takes me to the backside of the palette, but I’m wearing regular tennis shoes, as opposed to hiking sneakers, and don’t have the grip to continue in the steeper sections of the trail and decide to take the dried river bed back.

It’s a little over a mile round trip and still over 100 even though the sun is getting lower. I finally take in the view of the palette before getting back in the car to head back to Furnace Creek.

It’s after 7 at this point and I’m ready to set up camp, eat dinner, and go to bed. When I get back to the campground there is still no one there. I expected to at least see a RV, and one oven does a loop as I’m setting up my tent, but continues on presumably to a cooler spot.

After setting up the tent I eat my dinner in the car and enjoy the air conditioning until the sun sets behind me.

The stars come out quickly and there are a lot of them in this area with so little light pollution.

I get in my tent a little after 9. I left the rain fly off to allow for greater circulation and can see the Milky Way galaxy as I gaze up from my sleeping pad. No sleeping bag or even a blanket tonight as it is still a little over 90. I think as many cool thoughts as I can and am able to drift to sleep relatively quickly, if not comfortably.