Elizabeth Miller and Tex Houston, Warm Spring Canyon

"Descent" Warm Springs Canyon, Death Valley

Warm Springs Canyon in southern Death Valley was the hottest and lowest place we camped, one drainage over from the water spillway that connected the Panamint Valley Lake to Pleistocene Lake Manly in Death Valley. At seven am it was already hot. Layers of blinding white talc between ancient black basaltic lava flows, a chemical reaction left in stone to be dug up and sold. Cavernous mine shaft openings breathed chilled air out from the ground. I went to the mouth and sat in the cool breeze. Right there were white rocks and black rocks. I just arranged them. From high to low, the black rocks followed the topographically driven flow of water from the high Sierra to Death Valley.

 

The circles show the lakes. It started as maybe just a linear track of black rocks to represent the previous day hike that we tried to go on but never did, and I would have liked that, to go on this hike, so this was the ode to the unfinished hike. The lakes were added as the project went along and then there were more lakes representing the giant Pleistocene intermontane lakes on the flat level in front of the mine, that Dave made after I left everyone else to crisp up in the heat of the day....