Golden Canyon and Badwater

Wednesday 6th November

As planned we were awake very early again to take advantage of daylight hours. We packed the tent up as quickly and quietly as we could and made the short drive out on the Badwater road to Golden Canyon. We had a quick brew of coffee whilst we watched the Panamint mountains across the valley turn golden as the sun reached them and then we began our hike up the canyon.

It was still only 6.45am so we had it to ourselves which was excellent as it really is one of those places which needs to be appreciated quietly without strident voices and screaming kids. It's an amazing place (crib crib) with lots of little side canyons, a few of which we climbed up for a closer look. At one point there was actually a road built so that lazy people could drive up to the Red Cathedral (a geological formation composed of red coloured oxidised rocks) at the head of the canyon but fortunately flash floods destroyed it and it's really hard now to imagine cars being able to access it. We, of course, could not take the easy route, and instead of following the canyon floor, we followed footsteps which climbed a peak at the side. This was very exhilarating as the ridge narrowed and the drop either side steepened. I reassured myself that many people had followed this alternative route before us but I must admit that going back down was extremely nerve wracking and I did most of it on my bum!

We continued up to the end of the canyon and then duly admired the Red Cathedral rocks before retracing our steps. There was another side canyon, Gower Gulch, which leads to Zabriskie Point and a loop trail of about 3 miles but we had another mission ahead of us so we went back down the same way. There were already a few people at the mouth of the canyon and we were so glad that we had got there early.

Next stop was the Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America and also the start line of the Badwater Ultra marathon. As it was still so early there was no one else there and we walked out onto the salt flats in glorious solitude. The sun was rising really quickly now and we amused ourselves by standing with our backs to the mountain watching our shadows appear in front of us in just a matter of minutes. The tourist hordes (we are not tourists!) were starting to arrive so we drove a few miles further down the road for a very belated picnic breakfast.

We headed on down the Badwater road which proved to be a little used and very scenic route out of Death Valley. Our plan had been to stop off for a cycle ride but we decided instead to press on and see if we could reach Zion today. Any biking we did in Death Valley was going to be on paved or gravel roads open to traffic and involve an out and back route which didn't really appeal. It was already getting hot and after our ultra early start to the day we were both feeling a bit lazy.

We continued east on 178 crossing Salisbury Pass and dropping down to Shoshone, leaving California behind us and entering Nevada, then onto Pahrump, a town which appeared to consist only of school buses, churches and countless billboards advertising fireworks! Basically it was a total dump consisting mainly of trailer parks.....but it was quite amusing to drive through,quickly!

A bit further on we noted a trail head on our left and decided to stop and get the bikes out of the car. It proved to be a really good decision and we did a really great 9 mile ride. The trail head was called the Late Night Trail, coincidentally in Red Rock Canyon and the paths were excellent for mountain biking, narrow, not too hilly, a nice mix of rock and sand, mostly lined by cactus and sage brush. I figured if I fell off it might be a bit prickly but at least I wouldn't crack my head open! I really enjoyed bombing along and even got quite confident about hurtling into dips without using my brakes......and I didn't fall off!

Back at the car we broke the world record for dismantling the bikes, redistributing the luggage and getting everything back in the car. We were like a Grand Prix pit crew, it was amazing!

The day had been really great so far but it was about to deteriorate rapidly....we were ready for lunch but we decided to hold out until we got to Las Vegas where we figured we'd be able to pick up a nice salad. Forget it! Unless you want a Big Mac or Burger King you are going to be very hungry! A first it was pretty exciting driving into Vegas but the traffic was awful and it was getting later and later. A couple of times we got off the main road and searched some malls for healthy meat free food but to no avail. We were on interstate 15 the fourth longest north-south interstate in the US.......and it seemed endless. It passed through a few small towns (salad free) and continued on.....and on......and on. By now we were really hungry and in my case also extremely grumpy!

Eventually as darkness fell we crossed the border into Utah and approached St George. What a nightmare of driving in circles fruitlessly looking for a supermarket or somewhere we could get wifi! At last we found a Starbucks that we could park outside and connect to their wireless Internet. We found a super market and some cheap motels, drove round in a few more circles, bought some salad, checked into the Knight's Inn and collapsed in a heap.

After the camping, running, sand surfing and biking - all without access to a shower or even hot water for most of the time and a day without lunch we really didn't know what to do first, shower or eat, so we compromised with a snack, then a shower, then proper food.

One more unpleasant surprise - after gaining an hour on Sunday when the clocks went back we discovered that we had travelled far enough east to cross a time zone and lose it again - it was not 7.30pm as we had thought but 8.30pm!