Telescope Peak 2001
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Why
Summary
On Wednesday, 09-Aug-2001, I drove to Death Valley to climb Telescope
Peak. I started the ascent around 2:00am by moonlight @ 8133 ft and
reached the summit of 11,049 ft moments before sunrise. I drove back the
same day. The entire trip took just under 26 hours.
| Overall Trip Duration | 25 3/4 hours |
| Hike Duration | 6 hours 8 minutes |
| Hike Distance | 14 miles rountrip |
| Peak Elevation | 11,049 feet |
| Trail Head Elevation | 8,133 feet |
| Elevation Gain | 2916 feet |
Detail
08 Aug 2001
12:45pm trip start. The drive was mostly uneventful. I drove
through L.A. into the desert. Air conditioning is really handy.
I brought a 3-gallon container of water and 4-one liter bottles.
The desert air is very dry and having water handy is really
worthwhile.
Closer to the trailhead the road ascends fairly rapidly.
I watched the temperature gauge and realized I was about
to overheat. I stopped the car and waited for the engine
to cool. This happened about six times total. This is
sort of scary considering that I was many miles from anyone,
or so I had thought.
As I was ascending towards the trailhead, I came upon a car
sitting in the middle of the road with two men and a woman.
Turns out they were Germans traveling around from San Francisco.
They had gotten lost. I pulled out my maps and showed them they
were headed in the wrong direction.
The first point of interest was the beehive-shaped Charcoal Kilns.
I'm not sure what the
history on these are, but they are big and sort of cool to see.
The road at this point was gravel and dust. My 93' Saturn took
it well enough except for the overheating. It sure did get
dirty though.
At 7:30pm I arrived at the Mahogany Flats Campground 8133 ft.
Although the trip took 295 miles to get to the trailhead, the
distance as the crow flies is only 198 miles, and Telescope
Peak is only 195 miles from my home.
I was the only one at the campground. I walked around to check
things out. About an hour later another vehicle arrived. In a
way this was freaky, but then I realized that there would be no
crazy people around here because even crazy people aren't crazy
enough to be in the desert. By this time the altitude and fatigue
from driving started getting to me. I decided to bed down in the
car and get some sleep. I didn't sleep well. I woke up every
hour or so. I noticed the expanse of stars which was quite breathtaking.
Eventually I saw this bright light in the sky and turned to see
what it was. It was the moon and it was as bright as you please.
Since I wasn't sleeping well, I figured I would just go and do
the hike. It was fairly cool so I put on pants and a sweatshirt.
09 Aug 2001
2:10am Started hiking from car. I brought along four liters of
and six Energy Bars. I carried one bottle of water in my hand at all times.
The moon was about 3/4 full and since I was under the impression that
the trail was pretty well marked, I decided to embark. As I started hiking
I realized the need to change to shorts and T-shirt. For the most part the
moonlight was enough to navigate, but occasional trees and clouds obscuring
the moon required the use of my little Maglight. It was exactly the right size
and power for this trip. During the ascent, I lost the trail once because I
didn't see the rocks and stick blocking the trail, and I erroneously
thought I was finished early. Fortunately I found the trail again and was able
to make it to the top.
5:20am Reached Telescope Peak summit! Telescope Peak overlooks Badwater
at -280 ft which is the lowest point in the contiguous United States.
The highest point, Mt. Whitney, is also visible from this point. There
is a metal shell box at the top with a sign-in book. It was very windy
and cold at the summit, and I had awhile to wait for the sunrise. This
is a stark contrast to the temperatures in the valley below reaching lows
of 91°F and highs of 122°F that day. The horizon was getting brighter with the
twilight. There is a little nook right below the peak where I sat to wait
for the sun. There's a US Geological Survey Marker in this nook pointing up
to the peak. As I sat waiting for the sun I was overwhelmed by the smell
of Rosemary from my sweatshirt. Eventually the sun rose and I took some
photos. I then began the descent back to Mahogony Flats. It was interesting
heading back in the daylight and seeing all the desert flowers and trees that
I didn't really see when hiking by moonlight. I didn't really notice any ticks,
but when passing certain trees I would hear a popping sound and be covered with
little bugs.
8:18am Back to the car. Total hiking duration: 6 hours 8 minutes. I took
a brief nap in the car, then decided to high tail it home.
8:45am Started heading home. The drive back was hot and fairly uneventful.
It was really quite glorious to get North of L.A. and hit the cool ocean
air.
2:30pm Trip end - 590.1 miles total - 25 3/4 hours
GPS Coordinates:
| Label | Description | Elevation | Coordinates |
| TSCPTH | Telescope Trailhead | 8133ft | N 36°13.783' W117°04.104' |
| TSCOPE | Telescope Peak | 11049ft | N 36°10.189' W 117°05.350' |
| KILNS | Kilns | ? | N 36°14.825' W 117°04.602' |
104577 odometer. +224 mi Ridgecrest end +261 mi First picture out of Trona, 20 mi before right turn for mountain. +285 mi First pause to let engine cool +286 mi Wild Rose Campground +291 mi Second pause to let engine cool +293 mi Charcoal Kilns +295 mi Mahogany Flats Campground - 8133 ft Trailhead to Telescope Peak to the right 7:30pm stop
Why
The trip was by no means what I would consider comfortable.
The six hour trip, searing desert heat, fear of the car overheating,
sinus headache, lack of sleep, altitude sickness, and overall
fatigue while climbing might be enough to deter anyone.
But I made it!
Life is just a series of events until you die. I will
always retain memories of what I did in this 26 hour trip.
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