Telescope Peak Hike Guide (Death Valley)
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- čas přidán 5. 07. 2024
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Offering dramatic views into some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world, the beauty of the Telescope Peak hike will leave you breathless. You’ll hike up a well-maintained trail to Death Valley’s highest point, Telescope Peak, towering eleven-thousand feet over the lowest point in the USA, Badwater Basin. The trail passes through alpine meadows, amongst ancient bristlecone pines, along rocky ridges, and ends at an epic panoramic peak. Add Telescope Peak to your bucket list if you haven’t done it already.
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You're right: Telescope Peak is worthy to be in any hiker's Top 5 list. One thing I don't think you mentioned is that Telescope Peak sports the greatest visual vertical drop in the U.S.: from the summit at 11,043 feet you can see Bad Water, at 282 feet below sea level, so the drop is 11,325 feet. This is greater even than from Mt. Whitney, the deepest view from which is into Owens Valley, which is around 4,000 feet above sea level.
Yea, it's incredible, and I touch on it in the guide on the web page. It's got the 22nd highest prominence in the lower 48. Thinking about doing a guide on how topographic prominence in measured, it's a bit confusing when you have a 11325 foot drop here but it's not the most prominent. And hoping to attempt the hike up from Shorty's Well next year, which starts from the bottom - 30 miles R/T. Stay tuned...
My friend and his daughter tried to hike it years ago in I believe December-January era. Lower gate was closed and locked. Hiked up to mahogany flat and just was too cold. Had to turn around. About half way down my buddy turned around and he gasped and grabbed me pretty violently, pretty much turning me around on a 180 degree, there was a pretty big mountain lion about 50 yards away just sniffing the tracks we left in the snow. We just stood there terrified, then it looked up and saw us and kid you not jumped 20’ into the woods.
I think my buddy was using me as a shield. To this day he denies it 🤣
Our first ascent to the top of Telescope Peak was February, 1972. We used 12 point salewa adjustable Crampons and a aluminum Ice axe. No need for rope. Very icy and windy on the final trek up to the summit. Steep slopes on both sides up the final leg. Then the proverbial signing of the climbers log on the summit. It was windy and cold. Our thermostat read minus -10 F with the wind chill factoring in. So cold that one of our polaroid cameras froze up the shutter mechanism. Great views of Death Valley Below. Subsequently through the years we climbed Telescope Peak three more times, twice in the winter and one in the spring. Back in those days the Wildrose Ranger station was still occupied, but closed during the heavy winter period. I remember also signing in at the Wildrose Station as a courtesy for the Ranger that we were heading up the road to hike up to Telescope Peak.
That's epic... I can't imagine doing it in the winter but I can imagine how beautiful it must be. I usually aim for the late Spring when the snow is gone and temps are nice and cool. In my younger years I hiked the Adirondacks and Whites on the east coast in the winter. Now I'm soft...
My favorite hike. I did this hike 10 years ago in July when I was 46 years old. For being a sea level person I was surprised it wasn't a difficult hike. The hardest part was walking to the trail head. I parked below at the first campground to avoid risking a flat tire since the road was very rocky.
I appreciate that you show us the parking lot and where we can park.
👍 Also FYI - the website guide has very detailed info on parking etc. that should give you all you need to know as well...
From a safety perspective this is pure gold - it is so much safer and easier to hike if the harder/sketchier trail sections are discussed and explained before. Thank you for making this video.
Thank you 🙏
I did this hike back in the '80s when I was a younger man. I was driving a Ford Pinto at the time and made it up to Mahogany Flat without any trouble although I grew up driving mountain dirt roads in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah. As I got to the final summit ridge there were a couple of guys camping right on the trail about 50 feet from the summit. I had to step over their campfire and go off trail around their tent. Exceptionally rude behavior to say the least. And they gave ME the dirty look. But the view from the top was utterly incredible. I took an '80s version of a selfie (camera propped on a rock with a timer). I still use that photo looking into Badwater behind me as my intro photo for the college courses I teach. Take lots of water, don't be "thrifty" with it. Thanks for this video. It really reminded me of my "Death Valley Days" when I was spending a lot of time in the area working with the Timbisha language.
How hot is it? I heard Death Valley is freaking hot af and dry
@@alexyu1236 The valley bottom is over 100 F in the summer, but the hike up from Wildrose to the top of Telescope will be in the '70s or '80s, like most mountain hikes in the summer--quite pleasant, usually with a fair amount of wind
@@taivo55 haha ok would love to do the hike someday 100F still pretty hot for a Canadian lol
@@alexyu1236 Back in the '80s I spent a lot of time there for my PhD research. One day in early September I got a flat tire in the Furnace Creek visitor's center parking lot at 106 F. The ranger who came over to ask if I needed help changing the tire said I was lucky because they were having a "cold spell" that week after a week of 120 F.
@@taivo55 geez 120F would probably feel like hell on earth lol
One of the most beautiful places on earth. I did this hike about 40years ago .
Thanks as always!! I love your vids!!
Great video as always - thank you.
Awesome hike will def check it out! Thanks for the vid
A top rated video if I ever seen one ! Thank You
spectacular video thanks for all the info and views
Woohoo!!! My favorite peak on my bucket list. Thankful you made a guide for it
what a beautiful view
Excellent vid Cris. On my short list.
Thank you for the video and being very descriptive. Will check it out when the snow melts. I live east of Carson City, NV and am a big hiker.
So excited, I have this planned for November! Perfect timing.😄
You might have some snow - fingers crossed that conditions are good - expect it to be chilly
Loved this hike will definitely be doing again when I’m back!
It's a classic!
I'm bummed I'm going in February, likely snow covered
These last few months, you've really been racking up many epic hikes. That's why your channel is top notch!
Ha thank you! 👍👍👍👍 I love getting out there and documenting the trails - happy that you're enjoying them, and stay tuned, hopefully many more to come...
It was very nice meeting you out there! We actually camped the night before at Mahogany Flats and it was definitely a cool experience. Thank you so much for the tips and the help from our convo on the trail and your Mt. Whitney video/blog! With it, we were able to successfully summit Mt. Whitney that Sunday as well! Looking forward to more of your videos and climbs!
Ha nice meeting you too! Glad the guides came in handy and big congrats on Whitney. Must have been chilly up there. Hopefully more trips out west are in the cards for you.
Love your videos.
Thank you!! 👍👍
wow! was unaware, been trying to make that (long) trip for some time, got a camper in may for our older bodies, will spend at least a week there, i'll make that hike thank you!
Ah that sounds great, you can easily do a week in western Death Valley, find some BLM land and set up camp for free. It's spectacular there, you'll love it.
You should do a top 10 SoCal hikes video. People love top 10 lists.
Good idea, thank you!
Awesome
Back in the early 90s a friend of mine and I climbed up the telescope Peak kept going cross-country down sourdough Canyon to Panama City Janelle surprise Canyon fun walk. 3 days it took us 70 80 pounds on our back. Did that on Labor Day weekend
That's awesome! Yea, hoping to hike up from Shorty's Well this spring when there's still some snow around to melt for water. Such a beautiful area.
I liked the vid. Wish you had photo or vid of that camp 4, so I could be sure to locate it.
there is a photo - hikingguy.com/hiking-trails/hikes-around-mt-whitney/telescope-peak-hike-death-valley/
for some reason this hike was extremely exhausting for me, i had to dump my day pack to finish the summit push. maybe because i did it in july
Love the channel, and all the terrific advice on particular trails! My wife and I are visiting Death Valley in early February, and hope to summit Telescope Peak during our visit. Couple quick questions: 1) Is it likely we will be able to get to the trailhead in a compact SUV? 2) Do we need any additional equipment to deal with potential snow on the trail other than our crampons & microspikes?
Thank you 👍 And I'm pretty sure Telescope Peak will be clobbered and more of a mountaineering expedition then. I would definitely call the ranger station and get their take before you go. You might want to just focus on the lower altitude adventures (and cool weather).
You were dead right! We attempted the hike yesterday, having to start at the charcoal kilns. Just getting to the trailhead was brutal, but we managed to get up to Arcane Meadows for a beautiful lunch, before the trail got to snowy & dangerous to proceed. Your video was still very helpful, and we will be back for another attempt in better weather! The rest of the park is incredible in February!
Mt Whitney Winter version? That would be an awesome vid
Ha maybe sometime, I'm not that much of a masochist anymore...
It's maybe worth to mention that to get to the trailhead you need a high clearance 4x4. I drove up to Charcoal Kilns (1.6mi before the trailhead) with my sedan back in fall of 2019 since NPS recommended to park there for low clearance vehicles. I wouldn't do it again and park where the pavement ends. The dirt road was literally a riverbed with 10 inch potholes back then and Jeeps were deflating tires when driving back down.
End of pavement to trailhead is 3.7mi each way, but time loss isn't to big since you have to drive super slow anyway
Yea, that road can be tough. I talk about it in depth in the guide on the website. The road has improved from previous years - it's just washboarded now (past the kilns) and you can do it in a sedan if you go slow. When I shot this I saw a Prius and Passat up there. But yea, if you want to be safe, park lower down and just hike up. Thanks for sharing that 👍
I did the climb last July, and the road past the kilns wasn't too bad. It appeared to have been graded a year or so earlier, and a sedan could easily handle it when driven carefully.
Are San Gorgonio Mountain and Mount San Antonio ⛰️ also visible from the Telescope Peak summit if they can be seen from Mount Whitney?
on a clear day yes
Hello :) Thank you so much for your videos!!! One of them for sure helped me to climb North Dome! About Telescope peak - how would this hike look in December?
Usually snowy but in today's climate hard to say. You might want to monitor satellite imagery (try CalTopo.com) to keep an eye on it.
@@Hikingguy Thank you! I was wondering about the last part of the trail , the ridge - if it is covered with snow and the trail is broken, would that turn into no fall zone?
@@nataliyasundina6693 yea I would not do it in winter unless I felt very comfortable in a situation like that and had crampons, etc
the link to the hike map for this hike on your website gives the gpx file for some reason
Thanks for catching that - should be fixed - hikingguy.com/hiking-trails/death-valley-hikes/telescope-peak-hike-death-valley/?update
Headed here in a week and a half! How is it in winter? I have snowshoes and poles! How bad is the road usually
By that I mean in the winter. I’ll be driving a 4X4 suv
Usually the road is closed in winter. I'd call the park rangers
Do you get cell service on the route up telescope peak?
I did not
Why didn't you bag Roger's Peak and Benett Peak?
It's easy to scramble up them if you want to bag, otherwise just want to stick to the trail for the guide
Is there a hot spring spot up there?
I don't think there's one along the hike but I know that you can find spots around DVNP
Can you stay a night up there, and if so should you bring a tent
Yes and yes - see the guide on the website where I talk about camping
Great hike do you have your Amateur Radio licence you could try some Summits On The Air SOTA on your summit hikes. Regards vk5cz ..
Sometimes I consider it - I used to listen to shortwave / HF and send for QSLs from stations around the world when I was a kid - might get a license at some point...