With the likelihood of storms having passed overnight, we headed from Panamint Springs over the pass into Death Valley National Park. Roads were clear, even though there had obviously been snowfall overnight down to about 4500 feet. The sunny skies and possibility of a hike in the snow drew us upward, so we turned down a side road before dropping into the main valley. Plus, there was an intriguing label of "charcoal kilns" on my map, which seemed like a good destination for the day.
The road out to the kilns headed up over another small pass, which was quite scenic in the crisp late fall air, led past a high-elevation campground that we figured we would end up at later in the day since it was convenient and free, and eventually turned to dirt for the last few miles. Thankfully, it was good dirt with none of the washboard horror of the previous day.
The open part of the road ended right at the row of 25' tall charcoal kilns. These were built starting in 1877 to make charcoal to be used in the refining of ore from the mines along the edges of the Panamint Valley, including the one that we were at in Revenue Canyon the previous day. Apparently 25 miles down one mountain, across a valley, and up another was the closest source of enough wood. The kilns are still in remarkably good shape, likely aided by the fact that they were only in use for a couple of years. They were built in 1877, with the last recorded use in 1879.
The view of the row of structures with a dusting of snow on the shady side looks remarkably like the photo in the guidebook that led us here. The author must have visited in the winter also.
Naturally, we had to poke around inside them, to observe the layer of soot covering the walls and hoot at the echos inside. A shape designed to reflect heat back at the fire reflects sound just as well!
We admired the view of the high Sierras to the west, with their fresh coating of snow.
Poking around the kilns on its own wasn't enough recreation for the day. Fortunately, there was a trailhead at the edge of the parking lot, and while we didn't want to climb all the way to the top of Wildrose Peak on our legs still tired from yesterday's long hike, there did look to be a saddle about halfway up from which one could peer into Death Valley proper. Plus it would get us up into more snow!
As we hiked, we noted the lack of large trees in the area. None of the trees close to the kilns are all that old, as the old trees were used to make charcoal back around 1878. Everything left is younger than that.
Cactus in the snow. I used to see this now and again in AZ, but still find it funny.
After climbing a couple of miles on the steep trail through occasionally slippery snow, we could peer through the trees down at the valley below. At this point, we were at about 8000 feet, so the bottom of the valley, which is below sea level, looked to be quite a long way down. A photograph doesn't do the scale of the terrain justice.
Happy Chad post snack.
After hiking and skidding our way back down the trail, we again enjoyed the views as we drove back down to the campground we saw earlier.
A fine, but cold-in-November campground. The high peak is Telescope Peak, which at something like 11,000 feet is the highest point in the park.
As you might imagine, it got chilly after the sun went down. At this time of year, that is at 4:30! We ate dinner early and crawled into our cozy pod to read and sleep, and discovered the next morning that it must have been below freezing for most of the night -- the water in our big water jug we had left out was supercooled to the point that it instantly turned to slush when Chad picked it up.
Thank goodness for all the insulation that Chad put in the van... and for the down comforter... and for the thick quilt made out of old ski jacket scraps that my mom made some years back... and for warm fleecy pants... (we haven't put in a heater for nighttime use yet).
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