DATE 1/21/2017
IDS 7515 7517
GROUP zinc_bm_1 peak_4,285ft_1
PARTY Brian_French
Continued...
Zinc BM is one of three P1Ks found in the Saline Range of Death Valley.
Brian and I had tackled another, Eureka Peak, a few days earlier and were
now focused on the second (Saline Peak is the third).
Because the previous day had been marked by some
strong weather, we hadn't gotten to the afternoon plans for unnamed Peak
4,285ft, a P900. I suggested we could combine it with Zinc BM for a grand
tour of the northwestern Saline Range, taking in famed Marble Canyon in the
process. This latter feature was mentioned in Brian's Western Death Valley
guidebook, though we didn't really read up on it to see what was special about
it. The storm passing through the previous day had left several inches of snow
at elevations above 5,000ft, slowing us down some, but overall it was a fine
outing covering more than 20mi over the course of nine hours. Ours was not the
easiest route to Zinc BM, btw - the summit can be far more easily reached from
the west via a road in Jackass Flat, but that would be closed for the time
being due to heavy snowdrifts from the recent storms over the past week.
We had gotten up early today, around 5:30a, so that we could pack up, drive to
the TH and get started by 7a. There is a dirt road forking west off the
Eureka Dunes Rd, leading to a dry well about two miles in. From here, Zinc BM
lies about 8mi to the southwest, hidden at the moment behind clouds
lurking in
that direction. We started off heading SSW over the desert flats for about
2.5mi on easy terrain. Low clouds hung over the mouth of the wash we were
heading to, sunrise
over Eureka Valley delayed as the sun struggled to climb
above the obstruction. Some live 50mm shells
from some past military exercise
were found in a cluster on the ground at one point. Though there was probably
little danger in picking them up, we didn't know enough about old ammunition
to make any bets with our lives and left them untouched where we found them. We
walked into the fogbank as we entered the mouth of the broad wash, but it was
already slowly dissipating and would be gone before we had gotten another mile.
With the disappearing clouds would come our first view of
snow-capped Zinc BM,
still some miles off. The unnamed wash we hiked up wasn't the sandy-bottom
delight we might have hoped for, more a jumble of uneven drainages with
scattered volcanic rocks and short sections of unconnected gravel walking.
We were happy to get out of the wash and start up a ridge to
the left of the southwest canyon fork that heads towards the summit.
The first hour was fairly easy over dry ground with no real
difficulties. The second hour took more effort thanks to increasing
snow coverage as we gained elevation and some
non-trivial class 2-3 scrambling on our chosen ridgeline. Once on the summit
ridge, the slope lessened considerably and we spent the last 15min walking
though about 2in of snow across treeless terrain populated by low brush we
weaved around. Reaching the summit
just after 11a, we found a green ammo box
(courtesy Greg Vernon, no doubt) lying among some rocks next to the copper
colored benchmark
(or was it zinc colored?). Like the one we'd found on Marble
BM a few days earlier, the register had been left by Wes Shelberg
in 1979. Lots
of entries on this one, some 19 pages worth, more than I might have guessed
(before I realized there was a much shorter approach from the west).
The sun was shining brightly now, reflecting strongly off the snow cover, the
first day in months that I've used sunscreen. Eureka Peak, Saline Peak and
the Last Chance Range could be seen overlapping to the southeast,
the eastern escarpment of the Inyos with yet more snow to the west.
Looking northwest
towards Marble Canyon, I was surveying the surprising amount of snow in that
direction when Brian asked if maybe we shouldn't head back the way we came.
Apparently he wasn't as determined as I to make a grand loop of the outing, but
was soon on board with the vision I had for the second half of the day. We
found the west side
of Zinc BM a moderately steep slope characterized by
limestone talus covered in snow, a loose, wet and messy descent for some 600ft
before the slope relented. We then crossed a flatish area
and up a slight rise
before descending another 600ft into a major side wash
of Marble Canyon. We
descended this for 2.5mi over the next hour, pausing at one point to allow
Brian to change his socks once we'd finished with the snow. Though
neither of us had boots that were waterproof, his approach shoes were much more
easily compromised and his feet had been soaked for hours now while mine were
merely damp. His new socks would absorb water from the still-wet shoes, but at
least he wasn't swimming in them any longer.
Finally reaching Marble Canyon
around 1p, we found it mostly a disappointment.
It had little easy walking on sand or gravel and little to distinguish it from
any other wash or canyon. To be fair, we only hiked the last mile of this
10mi+ canyon, so interesting parts may very easily be found up-canyon. Our
second peak was obvious to the northeast
when near the mouth of the canyon, across a set of hidden dunes
tucked into this western corner of Eureka Valley. The west side of
the peak looks steep and cliffy from a distance, but becomes tamer (but still
steep!) closer up. In fact, the west side seems to have a
considerable amount of sand mixed in with the metamorphic rock, leading to some
tedium in the 900ft of climbing to the top. It was just before 3p by the time
we got to the summit of Peak 4,285ft, with fine late afternoon
lighting conditions with which to take in the views. No
register on this one. The east side ridge we descended had a somewhat
easier
gradient with little of the sand found on the west side. The air grew chilly as
we descended into the shadow
of the mountain, improving again when we started
across the valley floor and returned to the sunshine. It would be after 4p
before we had finished those last two miles across the desert to the dry well
where we'd started
early in the morning. Brian, bless his soul, produced two
cold beers (much like he'd been doing the past four days) to enjoy on the drive
back out to the van on Eureka Valley Rd. Rarely has a beer tasted so good.
Back at the van, we retrieved warm shower water from the dash and made plans
to reconvene at the Eureka Valley/Death Valley Rd junction after cleaning up.
We had planned for one more day before heading home, but that didn't quite
work out. A truck driving out from Saline Valley had stopped to talk to Brian,
describing a good deal of snow on the Waucoba/Saline Valley Rd and information
on a new storm coming in. I had noticed high clouds in the afternoon that
portended of just such a weather system so it seemed likely more rain and snow
were on their way. Brian had little
appetite for more hiking if was going to snow again and preferred to hightail
it back to Big Pine and home before the snow started on the Waucoba Rd. We
didn't know if the road had been plowed from the storm a day earlier so I had
my doubts whether the van could follow him over to Big Pine. We decided to part
ways, Brian heading home while I drove south on Death Valley Rd.
The pass in
that direction is just over 5,000ft, so there was little snow to contend with
but an additional 30mi of dirt road driving that would take me a couple of
hours. Ugh. I ended up spending the night parked off the pavement at the
entrance to Titus Canyon. The rain came pattering down lightly on the roof of
the van even before I'd had a chance to drift off to sleep. It would be
interesting to see what the following day would bring...
Continued...