Panamint Valley Area.....24th & 25th March...

We have 2 full days at Panamint....first stop Darwin Falls, the turn off is fairly near our campsite then 2 miles along a dirt road to the trailhead....... this was a nice easy mile long hike to the falls....the water for the campsite is piped down from here...

From Darwin Falls we drive 30 miles up and over the Panamint Mountains through Towne Pass at 5000ft down to sea level at Stovepipe Wells turning off along another 2 mile dirt road to Mosaic Canyon....

The 2 mile hike up to the top of the canyon begins with a 1/4 mile narrow section of marble...most visitors only walk to the end of the narrow marble section but not of course us, we hike to the top !!

Needless to say it was very hot, close on 100 degrees....

It's a popular walk through the narrow polished marble-walled canyon  highly polished in places not only by the natural elements but also from visitors touching and brushing past......  

The top of Mosaic Canyon....a long hot hike but worth it.....

Next day and back over the mountain to a turn off and a pleasant 27 mile drive along Emigrant Canyon Road to Wildrose and the Charcoal Kilns near Wildrose Point....  

It was a steady winding climb through the hilly countryside bringing us nearer to the snow line and in a cooler and more fertile area......

Not many other folk venture out this way.......

6 miles of dirt road bring us to the Charcoal Kilns, built in 1887 to provide charcoal for 2 silver mines 25 miles away but were only used for 3 years....  

This and next few pics are some of the fabulous flowers blooming in the desert......

Tomorrow we once again hitch up and move on back across the mountain to Furnace Creek our stay for the next 4 nights....