Up and out of the tent at 7am. There was already a procession of weekend campers looking for available sites – slim pickings. After breakfast we drove from our campsite at sea level to Dante’s View at 5,476ft and had views of snowcovered peaks across the valley that stood over 11,000ft. We’d hoped to see Telescope peak and perhaps Whitney but the clouds kept them hidden. Staggering scenery yet again. It was cold at Dante’s Peak, 32 degrees and windy. Yet again we had left our warmer layers back in the tent, we really don’t seem to have it together for this trip. Still, we got out and walked to the peak bundled up as best we could and warming ourselves with laughter. Flurries of snow came and went and the light on the surrounding mountains kept changing. Beautiful.
Leaving Dante behind we headed over to Zabriskie Point for a quick peak before making our way to another 4wd road hoping to get to Marble Canyon for a hike. We got 3/4 of the way to the trailhead and just weren’t comfortable continuing on the rough washed out road. We feel like we’d used up our 9 lives yesterday and didn’t want to push our luck so we parked the car and decided to walk the remainder. After walking for 30 mins we could see the trailhead parking lot in the distance and decided to turn back. It was just a little too far and we knew we’d be knackered by the time we got there before even starting the official hike. In hindsight the Subaru probably would have been fine going all the way but why risk it.
Mike had been cautious heading in on the road to Marble Canyon, driving slowly over the washboard surface. He decided to try a different technique for the return trip, 30mph glide speed. I have to say, it worked. A little sketchy at times but generally quicker and less painful.
Next stop Mosaic Canyon. A family friendly hike to a point, but if you want to do the whole trail you have to scramble and do some rock bouldering which wasn’t particularly hardcore but added enough excitement to make it memorable. It was 3 pm when we started and most people were heading out of the canyon so it was very quiet which was nice.
By the time we finished at Mosaic Canyon it was too late to do the sand dunes hike so we just headed back to camp.
We cooked up a yummy chilli with all the fixings and guess what? Just as we were about to serve up it started chucking it down with rain. We put our waterproofs on and waited it out and were able to enjoy a fabulous hearty meal in between showers.
We’d hoped to sit out under the stars with a hot chocolate after dinner but more rain came in so we just retired to bed for the night. Seems to have been a theme on this trip. Out of 6 nights camping we had 3 nights that were clear, 1 that was bitterly cold, 1 where it rained and 1 where we had to take shelter in the tent. Desert camping at its finest.