Sagenite Canyon was literally sitting in the Top Five of my Death Valley To-Do list for almost 2 full years before I finally had the chance to visit in the Spring of 2010. What held me back was the remoteness of the area, as well as a lack of reliable information about the road conditions to get there. I do not have a 4wd vehicle, which in the end didn't really matter. To reach Sagenite Canyon, I continued driving past Owl Hole Springs on the main road (not taking the side road up to the mines). Once I reached the junction with the military base, I turned right onto Owlshead Mountains Road and drove that for approximately 5 miles. Upon parking at the base of Sagenite Hill, we first got out and explored the side canyons and diggings which were located in Sagenite Canyon. Sagenite Canyon is a very wide, open canyon which some people have used as a campground. It looks like it would be a good place to camp, however if the wind were to pick up at night, then one of two things would happen. (1) A person camping might be fully protected from the wind, or (2) the canyon might turn into a wind tunnel and blow your tent to shreds. After exploring Sagenite Canyon fully, we climbed up Sagenite Hill and were rewarded with an absolutely amazing view of the entire area, including a nice view of Owl Lake. We then checked out some of the upper diggings and that is where we found some of our best rock specimens. Of course, something to keep in mind is that rock collecting is no longer allowed in Sagenite Canyon, as it is now a part of Death Valley National Park. To put some of the sagenite agate (or other pretty rocks) into your pocket and take them home with you would be committing a crime. Thus, after taking some pictures of the rocks which we found, we returned them to the ground and left them for the next visitor to discover. We did split a few rocks but mostly just looked for specimens that had cracked naturally or were nice looking on the outside. I would also like to give a special thanks to Niki and Jamie (The Dzrtgrls). They are well known in the Death Valley community of hikers and it was their report on Sagenite Canyon which brought this place to my attention. And I would also like to point out that Sagenite Canyon is an officially named canyon which was established a long time ago. I'm not sure why it does not appear on modern maps, but the name is recognized and legitimate. If you're wondering what Sagenite is, read my photo captions down below to learn more.
Old map revealing the location of Sagenite Canyon and the trail up Sagenite Hill which was originally posted in a 1976 issue of Desert Magazine. Please note that this map shows an old road actually going into Sagenite Canyon. However, that road has long since been closed. Please park outside of Sagenite Canyon and walk in:
Here is the turn-off onto Owlshead Mountains Road from the main road. There are warning signs on this gate which talk about the use of dangerous lasers. Definitely a good idea to avoid the military land:
After driving a short distance on Owlshead Mountains Road, you officially cross back over into Death Valley National Park:
The road crosses over a pass and then heads back down towards Sagenite Canyon:
The reddish tinted hills off in the distance are part of Sagenite Hill:
Parking at the base of Sagenite Hill. There is a nice place to park here off of the road:
Looking back up the road we had just driven down a few minutes earlier:
First view into the very wide Sagenite Canyon:
And view further down the road which leads to the starting point for the hike out to Owl Lake:
This is the first side canyon in Sagenite Canyon where diggings once took place. Not much left to find in here:
View from the first side canyon out towards Sagenite Hill:
Heading further up Sagenite Canyon to look for more remnants of past diggings:
Looking back at Sagenite Hill once again. The red arrow in this picture marks the spot where Desert Magazine recommends hiking up to for the best specimens. We actually found great specimens all across the ridgeline, not just isolated in one location:
Here we spotted a location which had clear evidence of past diggings into the hillside:
Typical hillside formation that would be broken up in a search for sagenite.
Steve searching for sagenite agate. Sagenite is not a uniquely named mineral, but rather an agate which had a void that was filled by a spray pattern of crystals:
In the next two pictures, you can see small examples of the acicular or needle-like mineral growths (which as seen here are often arranged in the shape of a fan or sunburst). The inclusions also come in a wide array of colors, so every rock was a potential find:
Looking down Sagenite Canyon from this digging area:
Steve getting a picture with Sagenite Hill in the background:
Heading up Sagenite Hill with the hopes that better specimens can be found up there:
Looking back down on the vehicles from halfway up the hill:
Final stretch to reach the summit of Sagenite Hill (the left peak as seen from the bottom):
Looking across the ridgeline towards the other diggings from the summit:
Looking down on the road which brought us into Sagenite Canyon:
This is the view directly down into Sagenite Canyon from Sagenite Hill:
Zooming in down below to see the parking area and main drainages of Sagenite Canyon:
The road continues through here, passing between these two hillsides:
Here you can see the road continuing to the west, past the parking area for the hike to Owl Lake:
Zooming in on Owl Lake. What an awesome view from this summit:
Some of the surrounding hills which run southeast from Owl Lake towards Sagenite Hill:
Picture of Steve with Owl Lake in the background:
And picture of Steve looking down into Sagenite Canyon:
Four pictures of pretty rocks discovered while searching for sagenite specimens:
Definite needle-like inclusions visible in this sagenite specimen:
Heading over to the spot marked in Desert Magazine to see if better sagenite could be found:
This rock definitely had a lot of potential, but we would have had to split it open to know what was inside:
Four more pictures of pretty rocks uncovered during our search of the old diggings. There were just too many rocks, sagenite and otherwise, to get pictures of all of them. But these were some of my personal favorites:
Looking back across the ridgeline as we prepared to end our interesting and successful visit. This was like being on a half day treasure hunt:
Following remnants of the old trail down Sagenite Hill. Sagenite Canyon and Hill are both well worth visiting and spending a day searching through the rocks on your own treasure hunt. Just remember, you can't take the treasure home with you: