Death Valley and the Alabama Hills
It was a fall afternoon when a day of wandering and driving ended up in Lone Pine, a beautiful California town with views of the steep granite face of Mount Whitney. Western movies loved the steep slopes and the tawny Alabama Hills that lead up to the trails into the southern Sierra. Light is kind to these rock formations. Sharp shadows are cut in morning sun offering a dramatic backdrop. Lone Pine is still a movie festival destination, celebrated as the location for dozens of Westerns. I’m heading east, from Olancha into the vast badlands that precede the Panamint Range and then Death Valley, if I make it that far. Traveling to Death Valley in the late afternoon by automobile isn’t a particularly dangerous adventure. But it feels that way as I pull up the grade, chugging the Jeep into steep ravines of black rock and glimpses of the upper Panamint Valley that stretch dozens of miles. Panamint Springs is an outpost. A café and General Store, gas station and