Alabama hills/ Whitney Portal

April 13, 2026

I heard that there are wildflowers in the Alabama hills- and it's true! Mostly it's the desert bloom- that is teeny tiny flowers largely dispersed. Beautiful and really fun to see, especially how small they are. But photographically obnoxious- unless you want to be documenting flowers like in a flower book, they're not really photogenic, except those few…..

There are a number of cactus, mostly beavertail that are blooming- they're wonderful. Today I discovered a swath of color in a wash as I drove towards Whitney Portal, then again near a hill of rocks- I had to return to these, but first, Whitney Portal! That is such a fantastic hike. I had hoped to reach Lone Pine Lake, which we visited in 2024 and it was frozen over. No luck today, even though the weather was awesome, the snowfields overtook the trail maybe a half mile from the lake. I didn't want to get lost or hurt, so I enjoyed the sun, and headed back down. The sounds of Mountain Grouse were causing a bit of concern- they have a weird sound (and Merlin couldn't ID it??) My mind turned the sounds into bears coming out to enjoy the sunshine- and a snack! A lone hummingbird was divebombing a tree snag along the way back. There must be another trail or something, as people were parked every which way and circling around. I didn't see that many people!

I stopped at a pullout coming down that grade to admire the view, and take advantage of cell service.

So what about those colors? When I returned to that place, I had to work my way down a steep embankment from the road into the wash. There were vast numbers of lupine growing thru the wash, some as tall as me! It was really fun to walk around these giants- so much for desert flowers being teeny tiny. Those near the hill were nearly as tall, with a different backdrop.

The spur road toward the hill got really rough, so I walked it, and came across a couple trying to dig their pickup out of the sand. I went back to get the shovel and recovery boards to help them out. It's the first time that I've used the recovery boards for that kind of stuck- and they worked! It's good to test your gear on others. The shovel was worth a lot as well.

Yesterday I rode my bike on the trails around camp, it's excellent and very challenging. Between the sand traps, and rock formations, I really had to pay attention. But you get away from all the campers and see the formations and even flowers up close.

Camping in the Alabama hills-( not my van, but a brilliant example)

2026 California sunshine

April 12, 2026

Here's a wonderful bloom from my venture into Death valley national park.

Is it possible to post from my phone? Hmmm, the possibilities! Well, that's a success!

Death Valley NP, Telescope Peak 4/7

April 9, 2026

Wildrose campground, Death Valley NP, gateway to Telescope peak. According to Dave :)

The campsites are in Wildrose canyon which was a base for CCC workers during the great depression. They did work in the national monument at the time. You can still see a few buildings left, and several sets of stairs that lead to nothing. Nature is taking the land back! There's a spring here so there are some trees, with birds. The Mourning doves keep zooming thru like they're in a race. It reminds me of the old air races- likely from a film, I never saw that in person. The wild burros are here also. They roam the entire valley towards Telescope peak, but the water is here, so I think it's home for them. We learned in 2024 when we were here, that the miners left the burros behind when the Borax mines pulled out. They didn't die off as expected and now roam the park as residents.

I was coerced by my fitbit to get in a bike ride, I need something obnoxious like 285 cardio load- maybe my "readiness level" is high because I've been slacking?- but I haven't been….. So I rode up the road toward the charcoal kilns. I thought I may be able to reach them, but the elevation was incessant, and it was hot for a ride. Anyway I wore myself out with a 12 mile ride. Since I'm out of cell range- I don't even know if I met my cardio load goal! Drat.

The drive to the Telescope peak trailhead is a 4WD adventure, narrow one lane with a few pullouts. It's a wonder that it works.

There are two more campgrounds along that route- excellent! Wildrose is nice, on the paved road, and sunny- totally great at his time when the temps are upper 70s. The sun in intense though. The flies seem to enjoy the climate here too.

I didn't make it to Telescope peak, as it's a 7 mile one way with a lot of elevation, but the 4 miles out and return was a fantastic hike. A few wildflowers were eking out an existence, but the pinon juniper forest giving way to bristlecone pines was great. The trail makes its way around a peak, then follows the ridgeline with incredible views of both the Panamint valley to the west, and Sierras as a backdrop, and Death Valley (and Badwater basin) to the east- incredible! I didn't make it to nearly 11000 foot summit, but form 9,612 feet looking into the lowest elevation in the US (-286 ft.) is amazing. It actually brings into some perspective the superlatives of Death Valley NP.

There's a row of Charcoal kilns along the way that were built to reduce the Pinion pines to charcoal. They were only in use for 3 years. I'm thankful it was short lived and they didn't decimate the Pinion pines! It's also a testimate of something- that they would build such infrastructure for such a short lifespan.

I totally enjoyed the vast night sky last night- a trillion stars overhead! (or more- I didn't count)

A lone Hummingbird flashed in to say hello, then vanished. There was one hummer near my camp yesterday too, but she was claiming her territory in a tree snag kind of nearby. Maybe has a nest there?