roadtrip part 3

more pictures from the roadtrip we took last week..




we opted not to buy gas in death valley.


by accident, we happened to drive the entire route of the badwater ultramarathon, one of the most intense endurance events in the world.


the 135-mile course traverses three mountain ranges (this pic is looking back on the first range, from the second range), in july, when he temperatures are always at least 120º in the valley.


after starting in badwater, the lowest point in the western hemisphere, the third mountain range is the mighty sierra nevada - the race finally ends in high-elevation pine forests at the trailhead to mt whitney, the highest point in the contiguous US. So as if running 135 miles, starting in death valley, in the middle of summer, isn't bad enough, the course also includes about 13,000 feet of vertical gain, and 4700' of loss. nasty.


we both have had enough of the desert, so the next day we headed up the eastern sierras, making our first stop at the long valley caldera.


32 kilometers long and 17 km wide, it is one of the largest collapsed volcanoes in the world.


the area is geologically very interesting, especially since there is a lot of evidence at the surface of the volcanic activity going on thousands of meters below. these are hot springs - the water emerging from the ground right here is about 120ºF.


There are also faults (pictured here) and fumerols emitting sulfur gas that stinks like rotten eggs.

lowpoints & yasso 800s

here is an interesting article about yasso 800s:
http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/05/yasso-800s-training-tool-or-test/

different subject--

i talk so much about highpoints.. but many highpointers like to talk about "lowpoints." personally, i don't see the point of visiting the lowest point of every state, since most states have lowpoints like "the jersey shore" or "the south shore of long island" or "the southernmost point of the shoreline of the mississippi river." but there are exceptions - lowpoints that are actually interesting - and california's is one of them:



badwater, in death valley, is actually the lowest (dry) point in the western hemisphere. interesting place.



and, as the name implies, there actually is water there - not much - in fact, little more than a salty puddle fed from the area's water table..



10,000 years ago, the entire area was filled with an enourmous lake - called "manly", which was created by melting glaciers, mostly from the sierras, two mountain ranges to the west.



anticipating your next question, it topped out at about 110º the day we were there.



My camera's zoom was set to maximum in this photograph. fun representation of sea level, 282 feet above us.


and.. if pictures of death valley bore you to death, maybe you'll find this picture, taken in (relatively) nearby pahrump, nevada, interesting:



tomorrow - pictures from bodie. and maybe some yosemite pictures, too.

that was a big tree

more photos coming soon..