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Fall and Lower Titus Canyons - Death
Valley National Park
| Summary: |
Two canyons which sit
side-by-side in the Grapevine Mountains. Both
offer good hiking opportunities and feature some
decent narrows. |
| Directions: |
Fall and Titus Canyons are
located between Grapevine and CA 190 on Scotty's
Castle Road. Turn east at the signed dirt road
for Titus Canyon and drive 2.6 miles to the
bathroom and parking area (do not proceed beyond
this point, the road is one way only). |
| Road Conditions: |
Passenger Car |
| Navigation: |
Easy |
| Length: |
4 hours or more, turn around
when you want |
| Date Hiked: |
November 2004 |
| Weather Conditions: |
Overcast and extremely windy |
|
Required Skills: |
None |
| Hike Description: |
Fall Canyon
From the parking area, the path begins behind
the bathroom and heads north along the edge of
the Grapevine foothills. It passes up and across
the rocky debris of several alluvial fans before
reaching the large main drainage of Fall Canyon
about 20 minutes later. Once in this wash, turn
right, and begin slogging your way up the
deep gravel of the rocky streambed. The canyon
is moderately wide at first and the walking is a
bit tedious. After about an hour of steady
trudging you'll see a prominent side canyon
which enters from the left (facing up canyon).
You can walk up this drainage, but will be
stopped shortly thereafter by a 25 foot dry
fall. Continuing up the main wash for another 30
minutes, the canyon forms some nice gray rock
narrows which soon end in a 20 foot dry fall. To
proceed, retrace your steps ~100 feet and look
for a cairned route around on the south side (left facing
down canyon). Above the dry fall
you may find a small amount of running water as
you walk through two nice, if short, sets of
smooth, gray, polished narrows before the canyon
widens out. You can continue up canyon for
several more miles, but the route is less
interesting. The author turned around 2.5 hours
after leaving the trail head.
Titus Canyon
Though cars are allowed to drive through Titus
Canyon from the top, there are some short,
decent narrows that start just beyond the
parking lot that are worth a look. From the
trail head, simply walk right up the canyon. The
best narrows occur in the first mile. When
ready, return the way you came. |
| Rating (1-5 stars): |
- Fall Canyon
- Titus Canyon
The author and his wife hiked up Fall Canyon
through the narrows and back in 4.5 hours. We
then walked up through the narrows of Titus
Canyon and back in another 2 hours. The road in
Titus was closed due to wash outs when the
author was here, so we didn't have to share it
with vehicles. |
|
Maps: |
Trails Illustrated - Death
Valley National Park |
| Photos: |
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