To wrap up my Winter 2010 trip, I was looking for something which was interesting and off the grid to do in Death Valley. On my trips, I try to spend an equal amount of time visiting well known canyons and peaks, and unknown locations which fall within the park boundaries. To find these off the grid locations, I use a number of different methods. I talk with friends who work and live in the park, talk to regular Death Valley hikers, study climbers reports, search the internet for little known trip reports, and study Death Valley terrain through Google Earth. In the case of Kaleidoscope Canyon, a good friend of mine who works in Death Valley informed me about its location earlier this year. Moving ahead to this trip, we happened to be hiking in the area the day before and that gave me a chance to inquire of further details regarding the canyon and what was found there. What I was told intrigued me, so I made plans to head out to the canyon to see it for myself. If you are curious about this place, here are a few details. Kaleidoscope Canyon is a very pretty canyon which is in the southern Black Mountains, somewhere west of Virgin Spring Canyon. The canyon was informally named Kaleidoscope because the definition gives a perfect description of what can be found there-- "a continually changing pattern of shapes and colors." I hiked about 3 miles into the canyon and stopped at an elevation of around 2,200 feet. My half day solo hike was very enjoyable and Kaleidoscope Canyon truly is a wonderful place to visit if you would like to become immersed in a world of colors. Since first publishing this report, I have heard back from many hikers who have figured out where this canyon is and taken some outstanding pictures on their own trips. Professional photographers seem have taken a special interest in Kal Canyon because of the outstanding potential for beautiful photos.
The pictures in this Trip Report are also available for viewing in a slideshow format. Click the button on the left to watch the slideshow. This allows for viewing larger images with an autoplay option and a full screen option. The pictures may also be viewed in the standard Trip Report format by scrolling down below.
Parking along the road at the southern end of the Black Mountains:
We had to hike up and around this small hill which is seen towards the front right of the picture:
A closer look at the hill we had to hike around. We went around it to the left, although cutting in between these two small hills would have worked out as well:
Into the main wash on the other side of the hills:
To reach Kaleidoscope Canyon, the key is to always head towards the white topped hillside in the distance which is seen in the middle of this picture:
The canyon begins to take shape after a good amount of walking:
It was a long walk up this wash, but progress was fast because the terrain was very hiker friendly:
Zooming in on Contact Canyon far in the distance. Contact Canyon is the final officially named Owlshead Canyon that I need to hike as of the time of this writing:
After enjoying the view of the Owlsheads and taking a break, it was back to hiking:
Notice the white hillside is visible in the distance once again. It was my guide to staying on the right path, since there are several forks in the canyon:
One final view of the Owlsheads before getting fully immersed in Kaleidoscope Canyon:
The next four pictures show you some examples of the scenery in between the canyon beginning and first junction. Notice that colors are starting to assert themselves in a small way:
A panoramic view of the first major junction in Kaleidoscope Canyon. Turn right at this junction (click to enlarge):
The wash begins to narrow considerably after turning right at the first junction:
The next three pictures show how the colors begin standing out even more in this second section of the canyon:
At the second major junction, the key is to once again turn right:
And this is where the awesome part of Kaleidoscope Canyon really begins:
Right at the start of this third section of canyon, orange and purple stand out and begin to dominate the spectrum:
Notice in the next two pictures how the colors change dramatically even within a single section of canyon wall:
Steve really impressed with the colors as they came to life in Kaleidoscope Canyon:
In the next three pictures, you can see how the color variations continued high up onto the peaks and walls above the canyon floor:
This the Kaleidoscope Spire, one of the stand-out features of the canyon. Notice that a purple rock rests on the top of it:
Brilliant and beautifully colored wall at this spot in the canyon. The Kaleidoscope Spire can be seen here in the upper right corner:
Another picture of the same area, showing more of the surrounding mountains above the canyon. What an amazing place to behold:
Steve with the Kaleidoscope Spire above him to the right:
Check out the insanely high canyon walls painted in different colors in the next two pictures. This is like walking through a life sized art gallery:
Up ahead the colors (especially the orange) turned absolutely vivid:
Take a look at these strikingly bright orange and red walls:
And just across on the opposite canyon wall was a mixture of purple and blue:
A uniquely shaped rock sticking out of the canyon wall:
The canyon walls and cliffs above continued to remain quite high. Notice here the texture and shape of the rock surface of the walls:
Something on the upper right caught my eye here, so I went in for a closer look:
And it turned out to be a polished slab with a chalky white substance covering it:
More uniquely shaped rocks rising out of the canyon:
What?!? I was stunned to walk around a corner and come across the most beautiful and bright color combination I had ever seen in a Death Valley canyon:
Pieces of rock had fallen off of the bright orange wall creating a slide area:
It was almost as if the walls were glowing because the colors were so strong:
Looking at the surrounding canyon in the next two pictures:
Steve getting a picture next to the extremely vivid orange wall:
Passing by some huge purple boulders in the wash in the next two pictures:
If you study this picture long enough, you can find at least six different colors:
Finally reaching a spot below that white topped hillside which we had seen in the distance much earlier in the hike:
In the next three pictures, I have moved on past the colorful section of the canyon into some steep narrows:
And then I arrived at this 8 foot dry fall, which was a perfect place to end the hike:
I briefly climbed the dry fall and surrounding hillside to get this picture looking further up canyon:
Heading back down canyon after a half day visit to Kaleidoscope Canyon. This is the last of my pictures for the day:
