Death Valley

People here complain about the temperature. Reminds me of home :-)

From Bishop I headed south on the 395. I hiked around the Schulman Grove, home of the Bristlecone pines: at 4000 years old they're the oldest known living trees.

I set up my camp at the base of Mount Whitney at about 7300 feet where it doesn't get so hot. In the morning I got on the road by 10. I drove apprehensively over the Paramint range and then downhill.

Death Valley - good name for it. There are places called Dante's View, Stovepipe Wells, Devil's Golf Course and Funeral Peak. I even drove past the Devil's Cornfield! 

By the time I completed the loop it was 4:30 and it hit 53C (!) in Furnace Creek. At that temperature, not even speed cools you down. At 120 I would feel waves of heat on my fingers, the only part of me that was exposed. It was impossible to keep my faceshield open - imagine a hairdryer pointed at your face.

Did I mention it was hot?