Hike to a canyon in Death Valley National Park

For one of our hikes we decided to head west out of our spot in the Mesquite Springs campground and travel up to a small opening we could (barely) see in the hills.  It appeared that we might discover an interesting canyon there.

Like most hikes in Death Valley, they are more difficult than they seem they should be.  What looks to be flat desert is usually an illusion.  Instead, there are washes to climb into and out of that appear seemingly out of nowhere.  This means you are not walking in a straight line toward your goal, but are moving around a lot, and sometimes even backtracking.

We were heading for a spot in the middle of the next photo.  

 

Specifically, this spot:

 

Three and a half miles, with a lot more elevation gain than it looks like it would be. 

   

And what we found is an large opening between the hills.

 

Beyond the opening to the canyon was another valley.  We could have explored it too, but knew we had 3 1/2 miles back over rocky terrain.  It was a fun.

 

Back we went: