Death Valley, Towne Peak, and the Mystery of the SA-16 Albatross (Part 2)

Moving On Up

We continued along the ridgeline. There were various hills we had to cover. It was still early in the morning. Being in Death Valley one is always concerned about how hot it will get. I knew early in the morning that would not be a problem, but the trip back to the car will be.
I noticed some interesting rock formations as we went along.
This protruding rock seemed like the most interesting thing.
This is leading into one of the more steeper parts of the hike. It was actually easier just to follow the ridgeline to get to the base of the steep part than to walk more directly at it.

This is more looking to the southwest.

The day was a bit hazy looking in each direction. It always seems it is on the days I hike.

Before ending this part of the series I thought I would show a picture of our final destination from where we were at this point of the hike. After you get past the first ridge you can see the SA-16. In the following picture you can barely see it. There is also Olancha Peak in the distance to the right.

It is obvious to the naked eye right as you get up to the ridgeline at the beginning of the hike. However, to get there we still had to get up to Towne Peak first. So, it is time to climb one of the steep spots of the hike.

(Edit: I did this hike again in 2014. I took a video of it which can be found here: Hunting a Bird in Death Valley)