Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:35 pm Post subject: Telescope Peak from Shorty's Well in Death Valley 10/24/09
Got to Shorty's Well (250' below sea level) around 5:30pm on Friday. Did a little exploring before sunset, but couldn't find the well, if one even exists.
Started hiking at 3:50am the next morning. While I was hiking in the darkness, I saw about a dozen shooting stars. By sunrise, I was well into Hanaupah Canyon. The first 7-8 miles are on a gravel road that eventually disappears before you reach the waters from Hanaupah Spring. I cut up to an East-West ridge right about at the point I saw Shorty's Mine on the other side of the canyon.
Getting to the ridge was tough. There's no trail and the slope was steep and at times loose. Once I got onto the ridge, I thought the hard part was over, but the ridge itself is pretty nasty. At times, I could follow a faint use trail, but more often than not, I was picking my own path up the ridge. Lots of steep slopes, sometimes with loose terrain like scree or dirt. Traversing the ridge took longer than I expected, due to time spent dealing with the steep slopes and meandering through the trees and brush. The ridge intersects the Mahogany Flats trail to Telescope Peak at around 9900' right next to a large, dead Ancient Bristlecone Pine.
Here's a look down the ridge.
I was so happy to get on a real trail. Made good time after that, and reached Telescope peak by 2:30pm.
Got to Mahogany Flats at 4:45pm, where Kathy Wing generously shuttled me back to my car. I thought the hike was much harder than Cactus to Clouds, due to the 7-8 mile cross country portion of the hike.
Edited to add: 23-24 miles with over 11,500' gain/3500' loss. About 13 hours.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:47 am Post subject: Telescope Peak
Telescope Peak the hard way. What a monster hike! Congratulations!! _________________ "It is our task in our time and in our generation, to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours."
Thanks! I ran into another guy at the summit who also hiked up from Shorty's Well, but we left at different times, so we both ended up soloing it. He said he left around 1am, several hours before I did. He must have ascended the East-West ridge in the dark, which probably slowed him down a lot. I think a good goal is to reach Shorty's mine, which is where you can head up to the ridge, a little after sunrise so that you can visually pick your route up to the ridge.
I saw him parked at the Well the night before, but didn't think to ask him if he was hiking up to Telescope Peak. When I bumped into him at the top, I found out that he was hiking back down. I mentioned that he could hitch a ride with me, but he had left his bivy down at 5500 ft, so he had to go back down. Now that's hardcore.
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