There seem to be endless gravel roads that head up canyons in Death Valley though some are longer than others. We rode up Goler Canyon one day to Barker Ranch and back. Our ride was 15 miles with 2530’ of climbing.
Goler Canyon
To get to Goler Canyon we drove out a gravel road that passed by DV Natural Resources which appeared to be a defunct gold mining operation, though pretty recent. After bumping along for 14 miles we parked and hopped on our mountain bikes. The gravel road climbs right away though it isn’t as steep as Pleasant Canyon that we rode last week. About a mile in we entered the canyon, once again being treated to multi colored rock walls, streams running down the middle of the road, and plenty of twists and turns.
Besides all the interesting geological marvels, we stopped to look at an old mining camp, and then Barker Ranch. Well, that was after a wrong turn that added a mile to our planned route. Barker Ranch is famously known as the place Charles Manson hid out at.
Manson
The Barker Ranch was built in the 1930’s by Butch and Helen Thomason. Sometime in the 1950’s they sold the ranch to Arlene Barker. Mrs. Barker rented her ranch to the Manson family who she believed were a group of musicians who needed space to practice. Little did she know. The Manson followers conducted raids in Death Valley stealing dune buggies and vandalizing park property. These petty crimes were what led to the capture, not the murders. When officers raided and drug the crazed swastika tattooed man out from under a bathroom vanity they thought they were nabbing a group of local troublemakers, Soon it became clear that they were so much more.
Someday it would be fun to keep going on this road. Maps show it goes up and over to the other side of the mountain range and dumps you out on West Side Road . Intriguing.
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s really really quiet at camp. The total absence of any sound is almost eerie. Death Valley is a dark sky park but the moon the past few nights has been spotlighting the entire valley we’re camped in. Check out the full moon picture Derek took.
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