EISPIRATEN

We spent Thanksgiving in Death Valley hiking the Furnace (or Funeral) Slot Canyon. Put this one on your bucket list. It's a super hike. Guidebook type descriptions can be found here and here.

This embankment serves as a handrail to the canyon mouth.



Water made a big undercut of the canyon wall here.



The canyon is wide at first, but before long it starts to narrow and the walls get higher.



Fantastical rock shapes abound.



About a mile in, the canyon splits. We went up the right fork first.



Rock towers guard the walls.



The canyon is a riot of shapes and colors.



Don't walk by this opening. You want to look inside.







The right fork ends at this 8 foot dryfall for those without scrambling/climbing skills.



Returning to the left fork, we saw this boulder defy gravity. We did not linger underneath.



The left fork also has some interesting parts.









Happy hikers deep in rock walls.



We finished the day sitting on the patio of the Furnace Creek Inn with a glass of wine watching this sunset.

Very nice report. Thanks for sharing.

I love everything about Death Valley. Can't wait to go back.

fantastic...nice color!

Nice Richard. What a way to spend Thanksgiving!

That is a very good day. Nice pics although I bet it's even better in person.

Gotta ask - How consolidated is the material in the walls of those slots? Granted the pictures don't show how well the rock/sand has been cemeted together over time, but from the pictures it looks really loose to the point of possilby falling apart at any moment. That overhang in one of your pics would scare the crap out of me in this situation.

atomicoyote wrote: Gotta ask - How consolidated is the material in the walls of those slots? Granted the pictures don't show how well the rock/sand has been cemeted together over time, but from the pictures it looks really loose to the point of possilby falling apart at any moment. That overhang in one of your pics would scare the crap out of me in this situation.

The walls are conglomerates of dirt and rocks that have solidified. Some of the embedded rocks seemed pretty solid. Others were crumbly and would break off in your hand. I don't know how safe it would be to try climbing this stuff. We made a point of moving by the big overhanging boulder quickly.

Love the canyons in Death Valley. Love Death Valley

I've generally found the rocks to look a lot more crumbly than they are. In my experience, they were less loose and crumbly than in most parts of Angeles. But Death Valley is really big and I haven't been everywhere