March 24, 2016 Marble Canyon, Death Valley, California

 

We went with Jeff and Jen to Marble Canyon. The 13 mile dirt road drive up was very colorful. We parked by these big rocks and started into Marble canyon.

The first narrows were studded with black chert nodules. Jeff is getting ready to try skiing down. The canyon walls are made up of massive strata that shoot at awkward angles - from the book Hiking in Death Valley.

Jeff, Jen and John at the end of the first narrows under the giant quartz monzonite chockstone. John is holding it up. They ducked out and Jeff shouldered the giant stone, then ran out when it started to move. . . Ha!

We climbed around the end of  the first narrows and hiked to the second narrows which were phenomenal. From Hiking in Death Valley-The leaning walls, polished high above the wash, fold and unfold into a smooth contorted passage.

The book says it is dolomite, but it was lots of different colors and looked like more than one kind of rock.

There are petroglyphs in here, but they are mostly covered with grafitti. When I rounded the corner John, Jeff and Jen were taking a photo of me.

Me waving back. We hiked a ways up the canyon, into a side canyon and then came back and had lunch in the cool shade.

Then headed back down. Some of the massive stata at awkward angles.

There were tons of wild flowers. Gila, pincushion, nettle, bitter bush, pink flowers, evening primrose, mallow, chia.

This tiny red bush looks dead but has flowers on it. A close up of the branches. Mohave aster, red flowering bush, yellow flower, yellow spider and flowers from a vine.

The floor of the side canyon past the second narrows was yellow with flowers. Mostly tiny desert poppies, primrose and rock daisies.  Gravel ghost, desert tobaco, poppy and poppies, yellow rock daisies, yellow primrose and crypanthia.

Gila, single phacilia blossom, and yellow flower. The cool colors and patterns on the rocks were fun. The last one is one of the petroglyphs we found.

There was this big area of white designs. Some of the black chert nodules and a round rock Jen found.

The nodules were all kinds of facinating shapes. Colors in the rocks.

Nodules, contorted strata, and a couple cool rocks.