Death Valley
Keane Wonder Mine
Directions: Driving North on Highway 190 from Furnace Creek, take the Beatty Cutoff. About half way to Highway 374 there will be a dirt road off to the right that goes over to the parking lot up against the hills.
Parking Fee: None, though there is the $20 entrance fee for Death Valley National Park.
Facilities: None, well, rocks.
The Trail head
Starting up
Old tram structures
HDR shot on the way up
Looking back down
Looking up the hill
Water tank up there
Tram structures further up
Water pipe along the trail
The 3 trams again
Looking down at the parking lot
Old water pipe
Steep trail up
Wind blown dust out in the Valley
Those trams again
I quit here
Open mine along the trail
Stay out!
Heading back down
Old water pipe along the trail
Back at the first trams
The first trams
Driving back, calling it a day
On Monday, 4-Feb-2008, I attempted a hike up to the Keane Wonder Mine
National Geographic TOPO! software website:
Death Valley – Keane Wonder Mine 04-Feb-2008 total hike: 2.5 miles, 1350 feet
The last time I visited Death Valley, back in March of 2006, I tried to hike up to the Keane Wonder Mine on the same day I did the Gower Gulch Loop. Given this hike is little more than 2 miles round trip it would have been very doable except that I didn’t start it until after 5 PM, I was very out of shape, and the weather started to go bad on me. That was the worst problem as after I had climbed up maybe 300 feet or so, lightening started striking the ground on the next hill over and I thought better of it and decided to head back down before I became toast.
But I decided then and there that the next time I came back to Death Valley I would try it again.
Well, I finally got that opportunity in February 2008 as I joined in with a photography workshop given by John Barclay and Dan Sniffin, two of my favorite photographers in the whole world.
The workshop was scheduled for Feb 5 – 9 and so I decided to arrive a day early and use that day to climb this hill up to the Keane Wonder Mine where I understand there is an old abandoned gold mine with many of its structures still intact. To get there though, you have to climb up about 1600 feet in around 1.5 miles.
I have certainly done enough hiking now that I fully understand that climb as I have done tougher ones before. Still, that climb is nothing to sneeze at and I knew it would be tough, especially since I planned to carry two cameras, three lenses, and my tripod up there to do both digital and B&W film photography. I expected the old abandoned structures would be great for B&W.
And as luck would have it, the day before on February 3rd, when I drove to Death Valley, I traveled through some pretty good weather, hitting a windy snow storm in Tehachapi and it was still very windy on the this day in Death Valley as I tried to do my hike. I don’t know what the wind gusts reached but I wouldn’t be surprised if they hit 60 mph or more. But other than the dust in the air, it was a clear day and more importantly to me, there wasn’t any lightening striking the ground.
So I geared up with my Lowepro front camera belt pack, my Camelbak pack on my back with 3 liters of water in it and with my tripod in my hand, I hit the hill.
And the trail was steep as expected but I had all day to do it and I took my time and stopped a lot to take pictures and talk to other hikers.
But as I mentioned, the wind was sure gusting as I climbed the hill and whenever I stepped from behind a protective mound it would blast me so hard as to nearly knock me over. I was constantly off balance and crouching with my feet spread and tripod down to try and keep stability.
And I pretty much made it to the top of the hill, with probably less than half a mile and 200 feet elevation to go, before I came to a narrow spot in the trail that just scared me. There was a bush up against the hill side of the trail that forced you close to the edge where there was a significant and steep drop off. If you fell off it, I don’t think you would survive.
And with all the gear I was carrying along with the strong gusty winds, I just could not get the nerve to pass that spot. Mind you, I am afraid of heights. Terrified really. I don’t do rock climbing or anything else like that and this spot just scared me silly.
So after staring at it for the longest time, I turned around and went back down, defeated again in my quest and yet determined that the next time I go, I am going to conquer this hike and make it all the way. Next time, I’ll carry less camera gear, have my tripod strapped to my pack and leave my hands free for my trekking poles. If I had my trekking poles to give me stability and balance, then I could have done it. As it was, I just felt too off balance. Arrgggh! Oh well, let’s see the pictures.
