Germar's Monthly Updater

Death Valley, Thanksgiving Weekend 2001 Our destination for the Thanksgiving weekend was the "Striped Butte", a colorful mountain protruding a vast valley in the south-western part of Death Valley National Park. The peak is primarily made out Paleozoic limestones, which comes in many colors. Move your mouse over the picture to see a close-up of the Butte's colorful stripes! Below is our campsite. It was located at the foot of a pile of rocks, 2 miles west of the Butte (the base of the Butte is visible at the very right of the photo). We had an awesome view of the whole valley. Equally fascinating were the nights. The valley is so remote that there is almost no indication that humans are populating planet Earth. Even planes do not fly over this part of the park. The only exception is a faint glow at the eastern horizon from Las Vegas. I was walking a couple of hundred meters away from the camp to experience complete quietness. There were absolutely no sound, no cars, no aircrafts, and no animal noises. The only thing I could hear was the blood flowing through my veins. I only can remember one location where I had experienced the same solitude before, and that was at the South Pole. Needless to say that the view of the Milky Way was awesome, and, to make it perfect, we even saw some shooting stars (one turned green shortly before its doom), remnants of the Leonid meteor shower. I got up early the next day and was rewarded by a gorgeous sunrise. The Mountains around me were glowing! Later in the morning, we hiked up the Butte. The picture below shows the view from the summit toward our campsite. The Mountain in the background is Manly Peak. Move your mouse over the picture to see the location of our camp. Then click, to see a close-up! For many people, the desert looks dead. But that's not true. There are plants, like this cactus, which can be equally colorful as species growing in a more moist climate. And there are also animals, like this jack rabbit that we encountered on our way back. Other residents of the desert include burros (wild horses), bighorn sheep, coyotes, and many smaller critters. During the afternoon of our second day, we checked out the historic huts and mines that can be found in Butte Valley. It's allowed to stay in these cabins overnight on a first come, first served basis. The tree below grows next to a small well. It's the only tree within miles. Below is Russell Camp, built in the 1930s. Some people had chosen it to be their home for the weekend. On the next day, we hiked Manly Peak. The weather became more and more windy. And when I was on top, it started raining. I was completely soaked by the time I was back in the camp. As the forecast for the next day was not good either, we broke camp, and drove back to San Diego. I've found a web site of someone who was in Butte Valley just one week before us. Check it out!

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