Hiking in Death Valley National Park

In Dec 2009, I hiked in Death Valley National Park with three friends. We stayed at Stovepipe Wells. There was no cell phone coverage but pay phones were available. An excellent book that I highly recommend is Hiking Death Valley — A Guide to Its Natural Wonders and Mining Past by Michel Digonnet (2004, 542 pages). Most hikes in Death Valley are along natural pathways like canyon floors. At many places, there are side routes or bypasses marked by cairns (piles of stones). All of these are amply described in the book.

Badwater Basin (Photo Album) At 282 ft below sea level, Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America. One can walk for several miles away from the parking lot, on flat ground.

Golden Canyon (Photo Album) A short gorge carved through sandstone, very bright in the sun. About 1.25 miles into the gorge lie red hued sandstone cliffs called “Red Cathedral”. Along the main route, there are several side canyons that you may explore.

Sand Dunes (Photo Album) We walked about 2 miles on sand dunes, barefoot. Sliding down the steep dunes is a lot of fun. Plenty of kids around the dunes.

Mosaic Canyon (Photo Album) Within half a mile of Stovepipe Wells lodging area, Mosaic Canyon is an exceptionally beautiful hike. The canyon is full of dolomite and marble. We returned from the 1.7 mile mark, which is almost 1000 ft above the starting point.
At the 1.4 mile mark, there is a 18-ft slanted wall, which may be climbed. However, there is a bypass. If you go back several feet, it is possible to climb up the right side of the canyon. Look for cairns for guidance.
At the 1.7 mile mark, there is a 25-ft vertical fall. Dichel Digonnet describes a bypass route in his book Hiking Death Valley. Had we familiarized ourselves with the bypass before starting the hike, we might have attempted it.
Inside the canyon, you get to see a wide variety of rock formations:

Corkscrew Peak (Photo Album) A sign on Daylight Pass Road, just past Hell’s Gate, points to Corkscrew Peak, which lies 4.5 miles away. A park ranger told us that there are no marked trails to the peak. So we just marched straight on!
Progress became increasingly difficult, especially during the last one mile in a canyon. We started scrambling, holding on to rocks and crags with our hands. There was plenty of loose gravel, especially on higher elevation, slowing us down. Cairns guided us intermittently. We turned back at 3pm, around 30 minutes away from the top. We hiked the last half hour using flashlights. During this hike, I slipped and fell two times. Luckily, on both occasions, I was not hurt seriously. Overall, I had a fair number of bruises and cuts on both arms and legs. Gloves and flashlight with spare batteries recommended.

Four Triangular Prisms by Daniel Kwan

Two views of the same model:

Number of Units: Four prisms of different colors. Each prism is made of three 2×1 pieces and six 1×1 pieces.

Instructions: Part I — Part II — Part III — Part IV.

Notes: The model is very sturdy. Assembling the last the units of every prism was a little challenging. I modified the folds slightly for easier fitting. Daniel Kwan has published Diagrams and Notes for other models designed by him. You may visit his Flickr collections of Tessellations and Modular Origami models for some excellent pictures! You may also want to check out the article How To Make Intersecting Wireframe Models.

All models: here.

Kusudama of Flowers by Makoto Yamaguchi

Number of Units: 60 — each flower has 5 units.

Instructions: In Kusudama: Ball Origami (amazon) (76 pages, 1990) by Makoto Yamaguchi. Paper that is colored on both sides is recommended for this model. Otherwise, individual flowers look very pretty but the whiteness that shows in the kusudama is jarring (as in the picture above).

All models: here.

Spiked Pentakis Dodecahedron from Sonobe Units

Here are two different projections of the same model:

Number of Units: 60

Instructions: Sonobe units by Dave Mitchell: Part I and Part II. To assemble 60 such units, see Instructions for Assembly with Sonobe units (PDF) — this is a free chapter from Meenakshi Mukerji’s book: Marvelous Modular Origami (amazon) (2007, 92 pages). I had to spend some time figuring out what the instructions meant.

All Models: Here

Hiking in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

On 27 November 2009, I hiked 13+ miles with Anurup and Prasad in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The park is about nine miles east of Crescent City, CA. It has quite a few hiking trails next to creeks and amid tall redwoods.

Information: Park Website — Trail Map — Google Map

Weather: 10-day forecast for Crescent City, CA.

Nearby Parks: Dave Baselt maintains an excellent website RedwoodHikes.com for hiking in various Redwood parks in California. Check out a map of Redwood Forest Locations for other Redwood parks nearby. During Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, we visited Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (trip report) and Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park (trip report), both of which are excellent Redwood parks close to Jedediah Smith.

Pictures: The entire album for our hikes in Jedediah Smith is here.

Stout Grove (Details — Trail Map) A short 0.6 mile hike on level ground — trailhead on Howland Hill Rd — river access — has some large redwood trees — connects to River Trail.

Boy Scout Trail (Details — Trail Map) Length: 5.3 miles. Elevation gain: 750 ft. A scenic trail amid old-growth redwoods. Clearly marked trailhead on Howlands Hill Rd, a single-lane unpaved road. There is a short unmarked side-trail (see map) leads to Boy Scout Tree, a giant double tree (picture below). The trail terminates in Fern Falls.
We decided to clamber up along what appeared to be an unmaintained trail, right next to the falls. And we reached another fall about 0.1 miles away.
On the way back, we walked on a fallen 100+ ft tall tree. The return through redwoods was pleasant:

Mill Creek Trail (Details — Trail Map)
Length: 7.4 miles. Elevation gain: 250 ft. We hiked the southern section of Mill Creek Trail along Howlands Hill Road in the morning. There was a sign informing us that a bridge was missing. Upon reaching the creek without the bridge, we crossed by walking through some bushes and over a fallen redwood tree.
The hike after the bridge was particularly scenic.
Just before Nickerson Ranch Trail reached Howlands Hill Rd, we had to cross a small rivulet barefoot.
We hiked the northern section of Mill Creek Trail between Howlands Hill Road and Smith River in the evening. The trail is particularly beautiful, taking you through tall redwoods and through flat sections next to Mill Creek.
Mill Creek Trail terminates at Smith River. In summers, a bridge over the river connects the trail to Park HQ. Earlier in the day, we had made the mistake of starting the hike at Park HQ, only to discover that the bridge had been pulled off!

List of Trails: See Dave Baselt’s web page for Jedediah Smith. We did the first three hikes listed below:

Distance	Elevation	Trail
0.6 miles	40 ft	Stout Grove — Trail Map
5.3 miles	750 ft	Boy Scout Trail — Trail Map
7.4 miles	250 ft	Mill Creek Trail — Trail Map
4.3 miles	360 ft	Hatton Trail — Trail Map
0.9 miles	20 ft	Simpson Reed Trail — Trail Map
2.0 miles	330 ft	The Leiffer and Ellsworth Loops — Trail Map
4.4 miles	420 ft	Hiouchi Trail — Trail Map

Six Intersecting Squares by Robert Lang

Number of Units: 24

Instructions: Free diagrams by Jorge C Lucero. An article for assembly of other intersecting wireframe models.

Video Instructions: at WonderHowTo.com and at OrigamiNut.com.

All models: Here

Hiking in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

On 28 November 2009, I hiked with Anurup and Prasad in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County. Prairie Creek has an extensive network of hiking trails.

Park Information: Website — Google Map — List of Hikes

Trail Information: Details and Trail Map. Length: 11.6 miles. Elevation gain: 1350 ft. Route: James Irvine Trail (0.6 miles) / Miners Ridge Trail (1.6 + 2.0 miles) / Coastal Trail (Gold Bluffs Beach Section) (1.2 + 0.2 miles) / Fern Canyon Loop Trail (0.6 miles) / James Irvine Trail (1.4 + 2.5 + 0.6 miles).

Weather: 10-day forecast for Orick, CA.

Dining: We discovered two good restaurants in and around Eureka, which is about 30 miles south of Prairie Creek.

	Renata’s Creperies, 1030 G St, Arcata, CA 95521. Yelp reviews — excellent crepes!
	Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe, 617 4th St, Eureka, CA 95501. Tel: (707) 445-4480. Yelp reviews.

Nearby Parks: Dave Baselt maintains an excellent website RedwoodHikes.com for hiking in various Redwood parks in California. Check out a map of Redwood Forest Locations for other Redwood parks nearby. During Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, we visited Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (trip report) and Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park (trip report), both of which are excellent Redwood parks close to Jedediah Smith.

Pictures: The entire album is here.

Park HQ & Miners Creek Trail We started at around 8:30. It was quite cold in the morning. Tall redwoods are seen throughout this trail.
(Click on any picture to see the entire album)

Two-mile Walk on the Beach We had the entire beach to ourselves. There are campgrounds next to the beach. Mid-way, one of my friends had a bright idea: we walked backwards for some distance.
(Click on any picture to see the entire album)

From Beach to Fern Trail To get back to Fern Trail, we had to do some bush-whacking and cross a bluff without getting our shoes wet. Finally, there was a steep muddy trail that led us into a canyon — we negotiated this section by holding on to branches available to us.
(Click on any picture to see the entire album)

Inside the Canyon — Fern Trail We walked about a quarter of a mile inside a canyon. Fern grew all over its steep walls. We ambled over fallen trees and over branches that had been laid out for crossing.
(Click on any picture to see the entire album)

Park HQ & Miners Creek Trail This portion of the hike was cooler with a carpet of lush green ferns everywhere. We came across a bridge with two wooden chairs facing each other.
(Click on any picture to see the entire album)
Along James Irvine Trail, we came across a wooden dragon, naturally carved out of wood!

Hiking in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park

On 29 November 2009, I hiked with two friends (Anurup and Prasad) along the Damnation Creek Trail in Del Norte Redwoods State Park. This is a strenuous 4-mile hike that descends 1100 ft through old-growth redwoods into a small rocky beach. This hike is said to be the most scenic in Del Norte. Winters are excellent for hiking in Redwoods because the forest is lush green after rains and you are likely to find very few people on trails.

Park Information: Website — Google Map — List of Hikes

Trail Information: Details and Trail Map. Length: 4.0 miles. Elevation drop: 1170 ft.

Weather: 10-day forecast for Crescent City, CA.

Nearby Parks: Dave Baselt maintains an excellent website RedwoodHikes.com for hiking in various Redwood parks in California. Check out a map of Redwood Forest Locations for other Redwood parks nearby. During Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, we visited Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (trip report) and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (trip report), both of which are excellent Redwood parks close to Jedediah Smith.

Pictures: The entire album is here.

We lose 1170 ft amid tall redwoods and green ferns everywhere. The hike culminates in a small beach that offers excellent views:

Rhombicuboctahedron from Square Module Flat Units

Number of Units: 14

Instructions: In the book 3-D Geometric Origami: Modular Polyhedra (80 pages, 1996) by Rona Gurkewitz and Bennett Arnstein.

All models: here.

Dodecahedron from Penultimate Modules

Number of Units: 30

Instructions: Jim Plank’s Penultimate Modules.

All models: here