Home / Let's see more of the Saline Range in Death Valley Park, April 2017 / Day 7: A hike down Waucoba Wash and around Orange Spot Valley [102]
I've been seeing "The Orange Spot" of the Saline Range when I drive out of Saline Valley—and wanting to hike down there one day. Roughly 13 miles round-trip hiking today.
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It's a beautiful clear morning here in lower Lead Canyon -
I see a few indigo bushes flowering -
And I catch a few desert chicory flowers near my campsite -
I look more closely and see some cryptantha flowers near my campsite -
This old can points to the road rising up into the mountains -
I look down into Saline Valley as I cross Waucoba Saline Road -
Indigo bushes flower in the washed-out old alignment of Waucoba Saline Road -
I almost missed this mushroom at my feet! -
A hummingbird flits about in some indigo bush flowers -
I look back and see a distant vehicle up near Lead Canyon -
Another indigo bush on the way down Lead Canyon into the Saline Range foothills -
A tiny cottontop cactus sprouts at my feet -
Steep eroded canyon walls -
A cottontop cactus stays afloat in lower Lead Canyon's sea of rocks -
A blooming beavertail cactus welcomes me to Waucoba Wash -
No trees grow nearby, yet an old log rests on the shelf here -
Sandbars -
Here's another log washed down into Waucoba Wash from the Inyo Mountains -
Fun rock contrasts in Waucoba Wash -
I marvel at the pools of dried-up water -
This boulder made it here -
I've arrived at the Waucoba Wash narrows -
I catch a few phacelia and broad-leaved gilia in the rocks -
A puffy yellow-flowered bush that I've seen before -
I enter the Waucoba Wash narrows -
I see some orange dodder, and a little rock bench -
I walk over to that rock bench -
Subtle patterns on the rocks above my head -
Another beavertail cactus and more twig debris from the Inyo Mountains above -
This beavertail cactus is hiding in a creosote bush -
Another big log washed down from the Inyo Mountains -
I'm fascinated by these occasional beavertail cacti -
Yet another log washed down into the desert from the Inyo Mountains above -
I pass a patch of desert marigold flowers -
The walls of Waucoba Wash are built in layers -
I walk on, and am suddenly facing the Saline Range's "Orange Spot" -
I decide to hike the perimeter of Orange Spot Valley -
Here's a nice flat of desert pavement to hike across -
Rocks roll down from the adjacent hills, of course -
A creosote bush blooms against a snow-capped Inyo Mountains backdrop -
I walk on up Orange Spot Valley -
I spy crypantha flowers and desert snapdragon growing in the rocks -
Maybe I could climb up this hillside? Not yet -
Here's another pink broad-leaved gilia -
I think those green, grassy patches on the hillside are more crypantha plants -
Cryptantha flowers can be so small -
I'm following this drainage for smoother hiking -
I stop for a look back at the Orange Spot -
The drainage I'm hiking is becoming more rocky -
Here's a nicely cemented bypass around the rocky area -
Infinite black and olive green -
This pink beavertail cactus shocks the earth-tone landscape -
Gravel swirls, with the orange spot off in the distance -
I follow the flat sandy drainage toward the Saline Range -
My feet are starting to have a few more rocks to contend with -
A desert snapdragon grows in front of a creosote bush -
Follow the sand and gravel wherever possible -
I don't know why I like hiking over small rocks so much -
I look across a low rock wall toward Saline Valley and the Inyo Mountains -
I could use this drainage here as a way to climb up the hill... -
Here's a rock field for me to cross -
I could easily not notice these phacelia and desert snapdragon flowers -
I walk around this rock wall formed by flash floods -
Yes, this looks like a good hill to climb up -
I'd also like to hike further up the canyon down there -
It's extremely windy up here; I'll pause to enjoy that before turning back -
I start my way down the other side of Orange Spot Valley -
These natural rock walls... -
A slight downhill -
Another desert snapdragon -
I take a look back up into the Saline Range and see some cloud shadow -
Clingy orange dodder plants -
I begin my approach to the Orange Spot -
Purple mat grows here -
I'll make footprints in this quiet sand to get to the Orange Spot -
A look across the gravelly expanse of Orange Spot Valley toward the Inyo Mountains -
Ants! -
Here comes the Orange Spot! -
Here's more purple mat blooming between the volcanic rocks -
Here's a suncup desert primrose of some sort, I think -
I see rocks on the hillside just before the Orange Spot -
Approaching the Orange Spot -
Here's the Saline Range Orange Spot up close -
I follow the drainage past the Orange Spot, toward Saline Valley -
I take a good look across upper Saline Valley toward the Inyo Mountains -
I walk around a few bricks -
I start heading back up Waucoba Wash, passing these phacelia flowers -
Rocks sometimes fall down from these walls -
I'm looking for the easiest hiking route over these small rocks -
Desert marigolds in Waucoba Wash at sunset -
I pass another of those logs washed down to here from the Inyo Mountains -
Looking back, I see that Saline Valley is already in the sunset shadow -
The Waucoba Wash narrows are striking at sunset -
I saw this orange dodder earlier today in full daylight -
Behind me is sunset glow over Saline Valley -
Broken sand layer -
Waucoba Wash rises slowly -
I start my way up Lead Canyon past desert marigolds as the sun sets -
This indigo bush can't see the sunset -
The Orange Spot is clearly visible in sunset light as Lead Canyon rises
