beautiful flowers at the top of telescope peak. |
Telescope peak is the highest peak in Death Valley national Park. The towering ridge provides a beautiful 360 degree view of Death Valley and other surrounding ranges.
Heather rocking out the trail. |
From Maghoney Flats, you start off by passing by pinyon pines and climbs through the forest into a grassy meadow with great views of the valley floor.
beautiful morning. |
After the first mile, the trail rises to Rodgers peak and continues to follow the ridge.
Heather topping out on the ridge |
The ridge flattens out and continues to meander around the ridge passing by limber pines and providing sections of great camping for backpacking trips on the ridge.
Approaching the top of telescope peak. |
About half way up the trail we pass by some Bristlecone pines which have been documented to live in excess of over 1000 years old.
trail to telescope peak. |
These incredibly solid trees have stunted growth so they are a bit thicker in size than height, given their life expectancy.
Heather on the trail for telescope peak. |
Once we approached the ridge, the trail narrows a bit and steadily climbed to the final ridge and the top of telescope peak.
Such a beautiful place! |
We had some fantastic 360 panoramic views of Death Valley, Mt. Charleston, and the Eastern Sierras.
Heather hiking on the ridge of telescope peak. |
We hung out at the top of the peak for an hour to take in the wonderful views and hang out with the other hikers that made it to the top.
Heather passing by a bristlecone tree which might be around 1000 years old. |
There was a guy that started at -260 feet belwo sea level in Badwater basin and hiked up to the
summit, he started at midnight and had a long day ahead of him with the heat rising to 115 degrees.
Heather at the top of Telescope peak. |
There was another guy that was communicating with a mobile radio tower and he was able to communicate with people over 100 miles away.
Another guy named Adam setting up a radio antenna at the top of Telescope peak. |
Heather taking in the great views in telescope peak. |
We could only imagine what the temps were in the basin but the cool breeze and the great conditions made this a fantastic day!
We made it!!!! |
It took us a casual 4 hours to get to the summit and another three hours moving at a casual pace to get back down to the camp site.
heather next to a bristlecone tree |
We stopped for a bit to enjoy the beautiful bristle cone trees and the flowers that were blooming on the meadow ridge.
bristlecone forest on telescope peak. |
The hike back down was very straightforward and the trail to the peak was really easy to follow.
Heather hiking down with a beautiful view. |
I was surprised to see so many people at the campsite and on the trail but I can understand why this peak is sought after due to the relative ease of access to the trail head and to the peak.
bristle cone forest on telescope peak. |
We enjoyed the meadow hike and the trail overall had a lot of variety as we meandered around Rodgers peak and up tot he ridge of telescope peak.
Heather hiking back on the traditional trail of telescope peak. |
There were also a lot of people that brought their camping kits to the ridge to camp at the top for the night which looked like a very nice option and something that I would like to experience in the future.
the meadow ridge of telescope peak. |
We got back pretty early so we had a bit of a relaxing afternoon and took off the following morning.
Heather hiking down through the meadow on the ridge. |
Viewing the sierras ignited our deep interest to visit the snow capped peaks in the summer and we are looking forward to making our way out west.
telescope peak. |