Some Additional Adventure

Uh….well, okay. Some additional adventure. Secondary road closures.

An atmospheric river added to Death Valley National Park’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Hilary. The park’s primary roads have reopened. But secondary roads remain closed, at least the ones I planned on using.

I’m sticking with the route but may be walking a lot. Woody must be sending this as punishment for Arrowhead 24. Walk, I will!

Death Valley is the driest place in North America, typically receiving about 2 inches of rain per year. The official weather gauge at Furnace Creek has measured 4.9 inches in the past six months, with most of that happening in just two events: the remnants of Hurricane Hilary (2.2 inches on August 20) and the recent atmospheric river (1.5 inches from February 4-7).

There is a vast salt flat at Badwater Basin. Heavy rain in August filled the valley floor with a vast, shallow lake. At its largest, it was about 7 miles long, 4 miles wide, and two feet deep. By late January it had shrunk to about half that size, and now what remains is inches deep.

Flowers are off the chart! A superbloom occurred, so I’m seeing flowers that haven’t appeared in decades.

I foresee a good bit of hike-a-bike now, so am shooting to make it as far up Echo Canyon as I can today. But the ranger thought 40 miles a day would be a very long day with secondary road conditions.

Honestly, the 113 temp in Furnace Creek yesterday did not feel dangerous . It’s so dry relative to Iowa.

Uh….This is the way!