Archive for September, 2010
nothin’ but the dead and dying
Welcome to (the very aptly-named) Death Valley. At 45ºC +, you have to be careful on the salt pan. The surface temperature — close to the salt — is described to be something in the vicinity of 40% higher than the recorded air temperature. I’m guessing that this is why my legs felt physical pain from the heat being reflected from the valley floor in the Badwater Basin. It’s a perfect storm of wind, sun, and salt at 85 meters below sea level, and it pays to be prepared when you decide to go out there.
just a stone’s throw away
Turns out that Yosemite is pretty nice at this time of year … although I wish I had been granted the gift of more interesting skies.