#tubercanyon

[halfwayanywhere]

Lowest to Highest Day 3: Last night I got an enormous puncture in my sleeping pad; I did not have a great night of sleep. I have no puncture repair kit (didn’t think I would need it on this trip), but I do have a lot of duct tape. . I start hiking in the dark down the first defined trail that I’ve been for the entire route. Very exciting. Very exciting until the route calls for me to leave the trail and head down a featureless mountainside. Then, VERY exciting. My water froze last night and I have nearly all my layers on to keep myself from freezing in the cold morning air. It’s nice. . The way down isn’t too difficult to navigate and as I make it deeper into Tuber Canyon I find water at a couple of locations. In addition to water, I slowly start to find pieces of desert history - an old rusty can, a rusty pipe, a rusty car - exciting stuff. . I make it out into the valley and descend back down to near sea level. Much of the hiking today is flat (after the long downhill this morning), and when I make it to my second water cache I still have a lot to drink. Pouring out water in the desert feels wrong, but so does carrying it. . Panamint Springs is a small outpost in Death Valley with a gas station, general store, restaurant, and campground; it’s also where I’ve left a resupply for myself and where I hope to reach today. It’s after dark by the time I arrive. Fortunately, the gas station where I left my resupply is still open. Unfortunately, I still have a decent amount of food from when I began the hike and will now be carrying both too much food and too much water. Huzzah! The burger at the restaurant is as disappointing as the wifi. The wifi, I can live without, the burger is upsetting. . I continue a couple of miles past Panamint Springs and camp as soon as I finish up the road walk out. Tomorrow I’ll be taking an alternate route past Darwin Falls. A waterfall in the desert. Sounds magical. . Day: Ridge below Telescope Peak to Panamint Springs Day’s distance: 32.31 mi / 52 km Day’s elevation gain: 1,053 ft / 321 m #LowToHighRoute #DeathValleyNationalPark