Looking up at the mouth of Contact Canyon from near our parking spot on the Harry Wade Road:
After hiking downhill for the first portion, we have crossed the dry Amargosa River and started hiking uphill toward the Confidence Hills:
Looking back from the passage we took through the hills:
We found this old bottle which contained a crumbling mining claim form inside:
Emerging from the Confidence Hills and hiking the final stretch to Contact Canyon:
The early part of Contact Canyon with its high southern wall. In this picture you can faintly see the steep side canyon we would hike down at the end of the day to complete our loop:
Looking back out of the beginning part of Contact Canyon:
There is a long bend to round in the early part of the canyon and this is the view around the first major corner:
Finally hiking in Contact Canyon on March 9, 2011 after our first hike in the Owlsheads had been two years earlier on March 10, 2009:
A neat looking rock wall along the side of the canyon:
We hit the Owlsheads at the right time during this trip, as wildflowers were in full bloom:
The canyon wall in the distance gives way to a steep hillside:
A very scenic rock formation which was just above the canyon wash:
A hillside completely covered by unique decomposed granite Owlshead rock and boulders:
Heading into the middle part of Contact Canyon. Contact was not as wide as many of the other officially named Owlshead canyons:
But it did have towering walls and cliffs on both sides of the canyon the whole time:
Up ahead we are closing in on the colorful section that we call the 4-way Junction:
Looking back down Contact Canyon at the narrow bend we had just rounded:
Taking a closer look at some of the rock formations up on the hillside:
Contact Canyon had areas with wind caves, much like Wind Caves Canyon (which is located 8 2/3 air miles to the southeast):
As you can kind of tell in this picture, the 4-way Junction has several smaller canyons which head off into different directions:
Walking into the colorful section, which is the highlight of a visit to Contact Canyon:
The first thing that stands out in the colorful section is the gigantic red wall seen here:
Notice that I am posing here for scale so you can see how high this red wall is:
This high wall had various shades of white and light grey:
The mixture of colors creates a stunning visual within the 4-Way Junction:
A wall with shades of maroon and dark grey:
This rock wall was bulging out in all kinds of different directions:
This area features a narrow passageway that immerses you in the world of colors:
These colorful rocks are standing like sentinels as the canyon divides into two right here:
We checked out the right fork first and found this heart-shaped arch high above us. Die-hard Death Valley hikers might consider this spot for a marriage proposal:
This part of Contact Canyon is truly a paradise of rocks:
I decided to climb up in this area to try to get some better views. This was looking back down toward the colorful corridor:
An excellent view of the arch. However, it wasn't really safe to hike over and get too close to it:
This is the 1st dry fall of the main canyon, which is the left fork back at the split. It must be bypassed:
The next two pictures were taken as I backtracked from the base of the 1st dry fall to search for a bypass. Awesome scenery on display:
As you can see, the canyon was not so wide open any more:
We found this cave underneath some rocks. It looked like a Kit fox had been using it as a den:
Above the 1st dry fall and back in the main canyon:
The canyon narrowed down even more as we progressed a little bit farther:
Towering slabs of Owlshead rock above us:
We ended up running into another dead end at the 2nd dry fall. There was no safe way to climb it:
Interesting patch of smooth rock below the worn off decomposing granite surface:
We backtracked from the 2nd dry fall and headed up a bypass to our left. This was the view looking back down at the main canyon from the early stages of the bypass:
After quite a bit of effort, we reached the ridge of the bypass and could see over the other side as the main canyon continued through a volcanic area:
At this point, we turned south and followed this side canyon up toward the main ridge high above Contact Canyon:
Eventually, the landscape of our side canyon also turned volcanic:
Attaining the ridge and getting our first view of Con BM way off in the distance (bump at the far right corner):
View to the west of upper Contact Canyon. As you can see, the canyon basically dies out, so we had already seen the best of it. Contact Canyon was likely named because it makes easy contact with the basin at the other side of the range:
Following a volcanic section of the ridge for a short distance:
Looking directly toward the loop which connects Through Canyon and Granite Canyon:
Steve on a hot afternoon hiking along the Contact-Granite ridgeline:
Finding yet another outstanding viewpoint of Owl Lake:
Again looking down toward the upper basin part of Through Canyon:
Close-up view of Con BM from the peak to the west of it:
Keeping an eye on the varying views of Owl Lake as we made our way around the final part of the ridge to Con BM:
The final path to the summit of Con BM:
We found all three survey markers to be in place at Con BM and in good condition:
Looking out the mouth of Granite Canyon far below us:
We could see the southern end of the Confidence Hills as they began to take shape:
View of Owl Lake from the summit at Con BM:
Upper Granite Canyon is just below us and Upper Through Canyon can be seen in the distance:
We were the first group to summit Con BM since November 13, 2010:
Steve, Jordan, and Jeremy on Con BM with Owl Lake in the background:
A picture of Steve on Con BM with the mouth of Granite Canyon and the Confidence Hills in the background:
Getting a shot next to the benchmark before heading down:
View up Death Valley central as we crossed the ridge to head down:
Below you can see the ridge which sticks out to give the canyon beginning its unique design. We headed down a side canyon from this point which put us back into the lower canyon close to the mouth:
