Five of us hiked to the top of Telescope Peak in Death Valley National Park, the highest point in the park. From the top, you can see Mt. Whitney to the north, and Charleston Peak near Las Vegas, to the east. Telescope Peak is also notable for having one of the greatest vertical rises above local terrain of any mountain in the contiguous United States. Its summit rises 11,331 feet above the lowest point in Death Valley, Badwater Basin at −282 feet, in about 15 miles (a route we decided not to take).
The Charcoal Kilns in Death Valley. These ten beehive shaped masonry structures, about 25 feet high, were completed in 1877 by the Modock Consolidated Mining Company to provide a source of fuel suitable for use in two smelters about 25 miles from the kilns.Carol, Loren, Tito and Dave at Telescope Peak trailhead on Mahogany Flats (8,200′). The trail to the summit is seven miles long one-way, and tops out at 11,043, the highest point in Death Valley.Everyone armed with a camera in a Columbian Standoff.It had snowed two days before our ascent to Telescope – the dusting was mostly gone, except for the top of the mountain.Professional hiking slippers.Badwater Basin, the lowest spot in Death Valley and the Western Hemisphere (-282′), seen from near the top of Telescope.Resting at the summit.Jim, Carol and Dave, snapping a photo at the top of Telescope while holding the El Segundo Herald (Carol refused to touch the paper). The photo would later be published in the paper – of course they first ran it through their filter which softens the focus, and washes out colors.Our campground at Wildrose.
