TRIP REPORT PHOTOS
There isn't a lot of space for passing vehicles at the parking area along the Harry Wade Road:
The hike begins by heading east with McLain BM (left) visible on the background range:
The wash soon becomes entrenched with soft mud walls on each side:
A rock formation rising up from the mud:
A huge overhanging rock which might soon join the others visible by falling down into the wash:
The miniature canyon portion of the hike soon comes to an end:
Panoramic of the downstream portion of the Amargosa River where we turned south (click to enlarge):
This wooden marker had been placed in the ground for some unknown reason:
Despite being the end of the long dry season in Death Valley, there was an abundance of water in the Amargosa River:
The river's source is Valley Spring, the beginning of which is 2 miles upstream from this spot:
We soon noticed that the water's surface appeared to have some type of "pond scum" on it anywhere that water was not moving swiftly:
Looking across at the small foothills we had passed through in order to reach the Amargosa River:
While passing through this area, we stayed to the left in order to have a walking route clear of brush:
Tall rocky cliffs rose up on the left side of the riverbank:
A scenic portion of the river with sunlight reflecting off the water:
Apparently, the "pond scum" is algae or cyanobacteria, which can be hazardous to humans and animals but provides a source of food for the pupfish:
The narrow river weaves between grassy areas on the left and the rock walls on the right:
The next two pictures show rock formations above the riverbank:
Dead brush has been stacked up in this location, either from high river flow or non-native species removal:
With the "pond scum" on the surface, this may not be the best source for drinking water in the park:
Cracked mud both above and below the surface of the water:
Looking downstream at the extensive cracked mud patterns visible underwater:
More unique patterns of cracked mud along the riverbank:
Animal tracks were clearly visible in the mud. These are most likely mountain lion or bobcat tracks:
Notice there are no claw marks visible, so these are not coyote tracks. They must be from a mountain lion or bobcat:
The first large pond that we found in the Valley Spring area:
A wider view showing more of the first large pond:
We were able to scramble on top of a mud hillside and get an overview of the first large pond. This shows the upstream end:
The downstream end of the first large pond. Notice that the pond looks fairly deep in the center:
The pond releases water as the Amargosa River flows downstream:
Panoramic showing the first large pond of Valley Spring (click to enlarge):
Looking upstream from our vantage point above the first large pond:
Notice how the river winds close to the walls of the hillside we were standing on. So the only way to continue is to hike along the hilltops:
Panoramic showing the second large pond of Valley Spring (click to enlarge):
Looking down into the deep portion of the second large pond:
Greenery stretching on for as far as the eye can see. None of this area is visible from the road when driving through the Owlsheads:
Looking down into the third large pond as we continued along the edge of the hillsides:
Panoramic showing the third large pond of Valley Spring (click to enlarge):
View showing the upstream end of the third large pond:
A shallow channel flows into a deeper channel at this spot:
Several tiny waterfalls were pouring over in this channel:
This pond was covered with a thick layer of cyanobacteria and "pond scum":
I found this small gap in the riverbank which allowed water to flow out of the pond and down a small stream:
Panoramic of a blue-green cyanobacteria-covered pond (click to enlarge):
Rather than being a circular large pond, some of the ponds had small forks which extended out in several directions:
The first place where we spotted the Amargosa River pupfish. Hundreds of pupfish are visible here:
Zooming in on the pupfish was tricky because they were very skittish and fast swimmers:
The pupfish also blended in well with the bottom of the river:
Many sections of the Amargosa River through this area had water that was very slow moving:
Looking down at a thick layer of "pond scum":
Two close-ups of "pond scum" on the surface of the water. The pupfish might enjoy feeding on this stuff, but we definitely didn't rinse off our hands in it:
Panoramic showing the second major river fork as marked on our map (click to enlarge):
Near this fork, we found many pupfish swimming back and forth between the main river and side stream:
A lone pupfish swimming by and casting a shadow under the water:
We reached the edge of a wide grassy area which extended far into the distance:
Getting a picture at a very scenic area of Valley Spring:
A long, narrow pond (or possibly stream) with heavy greenery on both sides:
It looked like there were some taller grasses out in the middle of the green field:
Two pictures taken in each direction as we crossed the green field. Underneath, there were water channels we had to carefully step over:
A closer look at the taller grasses in the next two pictures:
There were a few larger trees visible as we hiked in between the second river fork and first river fork:
Beyond the first river fork (as marked on our map), we found one more channel filled with surface water:
This view shows the exact spot where Valley Spring is marked on topo maps:
After 2 miles following the Amargosa River, we reached the spot where surface water begins. Past this spot, all channels were dry:
A picture of Jordan standing at the spot where Valley Spring's surface water begins:
We then crossed over to the southwest toward a minor fork and found more surface water:
Dried cracked mud with deeper indentations that were several inches thick:
Following along the bank of a river fork that contained heavy brush:
Two pictures of a bare (or possibly dead) Mesquite tree at Valley Spring:
We found these interesting salt formations along a dry riverbed seen in the next two pictures:
Spotting a Common snipe foraging through the mud and water for insects and worms to eat:
Common snipes have the longest bills of all snipes:
In the foreground, you can see how the NPS has come through here and cut down the Tamarisk which was growing:
As we followed a section of the second major river fork we had missed earlier, a long channel of water could be seen:
The next two pictures show Mesquite trees that have definitely died off:
Notice how the river channel would dry up in between sections of ponds in this fork:
We came across one more larger pond, which we hadn't seen in a while:
Panoramic of the final larger pond of Valley Spring that we ended up finding (click to enlarge):
One final smaller pond before we turned away from Valley Spring and the Amargosa River and hiked back toward our vehicle:
On the way back, we spotted a couple of these rusting barrels embedded in the soil:
The inside of the barrel had been filled up with soil:
As with every hike in the Owlsheads, we found bullet shells scattered across the ground:
We found quite a few colonies of fire ants hard at work as we neared the vehicle:
