Terror in Titus Canyon
After an amazing sunrise at Ageuerberry Point we ventured down into Stovepipe Wells. Our daughter's birthday was coming up and we had completely forgot to send her a birthday card. The Stovepipe Wells store has amazing things in it! The lady at the counter was very helpful. we had a card and a gift for Jess picked out and mailed in no time.
We decided that our goal for the day would be to take the ride through Titus Canyon. Needing fuel, we went ahead and went past the road for Titus Canyon and headed into Beatty, Nevada to get diesel. Good call. Way cheaper than in Death Valley! After getting fuel, we stopped at the ghost town Rhyolite.
Rhyolite sprang to life in 1904 when gold was discovered nearby. The town was part of the Bullfrog Mining District. The town sat in a small canyon near the regions biggest producer the Montgomery Shoshone Mine. The decline of Rhyolite was rapid after the 1906 earthquake and when the ore was exhausted from the mine. By 1920 the population was zero and the town had begun to be regarded as a tourist attraction and set for movies.
After visiting Rhyolite we headed into Titus Canyon. Now Titus Canyon is a 27 mile, one way drive. The description sounded awesome! You get some vistas with amazing views, another ghost town and then an amazing slot canyon. I was pretty excited! I had always passed up this drive because you needed 4WD to do it.
So when you first start out the road is super wide, like freeway wide. Then you start to take some curves and the cliffs begin to rise above. Now, you have to understand, I was somewhat traumatized by my father as a child when it came to off-roading. So much so, that if it isn't pretty much flat I'm grabbing the O-shit handle. So we start climbing, I mean really climbing. To top it, I'm on the cliff side. Did I mention that I'm afraid of heights?
So here we are, narrow road, climbing and I'm on the cliff side. The only thing missing was the slant in the road. Oh wait, there it is! Now we have the whole terror trifecta. Narrow road, climbing steeply, me on the cliff side with a much better view now because we are leaning towards the cliff. Life is complete. We finally escape Death Road and summit Red Peak (elev. 5250'). The view from here is absolutely amazing!
After you head down from Red Pass you come to the ghost town of Leadfield.
Leadfield's rise and fall happened so quickly. The town sprung to life in 1925. A post office opened in 1926. The population topped out at 300. In 1927 the post office closed and the town died.
We decided to have lunch at Leadfield. We had run into this really nice guy. His name escapes me. He had retired and decided that he wanted to travel the United States so he hooked his little car up to his motor home and hit the road. Really nice guy. We talked with him and had a couple of beers. After some time we decided to hit the trail.
So after Leadfield you start to head into the narrows. These slot canyons are amazing. Very photogenic. In some places it is only 20' wide. I was kind of bummed that we hit these canyons at the worst part of the day for photographs. That just ensures a return trip!
The Titus Canyon Narrows are the last 1.5 miles of the trip. It is feasible to start at the end of this trip and hike, not drive, to see the narrows. That is probably what I will do when I go back.
This was an interesting trip worthy of another visit on the Fall Canyon end!.
DIRECTIONS:
Take Nevada Highway 374 (Daylight Pass Road), 2 miles east of park boundary Road. There will be a sign for Titus Canyon. It will be a left turn. Just follow that. Remember tho, it's a one-way road!
If you want to hike into the narrows from the other end, just take Scotty's Castle Road and follow the signs. Both Fall Canyon and Titus Canyon may be accessed that way.