Telescope Peak is the highest point in Death Valley National Park and hiking it is naturally our choice of activity. Although it is located in Death Valley with its high temperatures it is comfortable to hike in the summer because the peak is at 3366 m above sea level. Actually it is snow covered in the winter so summer would be the best time to go.
The hike starts at Mahogany Flats Campground and is totally 14 miles (23 km) round trip. It climbs steadily during the 7 miles to the peak which makes it a fairly easy hike in that perspective. The trail is nice all the way with a few switchbacks at a couple of places. But it is very long and will take most people a full day. We climbed it in 3 hours, spent about an hour on the top enjoying the view and then went down in a bit more than 2 hours. A suggestion is though to start early because at the start of the hike it is quite warm.
On the way up to the peak, which is the one in the left part of the picture. It is one of those peaks where you never really see the peak itself. You end up passing a number of “false” peaks before you actually make it to the real one. Can be very annoying after a long hike.
On the top which featured an American flag, a register, a first aid kit and a flask of some content we did not dare to taste. 🙂
From the peak looking down the ridge from where we came.
This was a nice warm up hike for what is yet to come…
Det ser helt fantastiskt ut!!! Jag förstår att ni har det superbra. Stor kram