After returning to Ridgecrest on Friday night, we decided to head somewhere in the eastern Sierras since we were two hours closer to those destinations than if we’d started from home, yet, after waking up early, we decided to make the return trip to Death Valley instead – there were simply too many things that we still wanted to see. Since we were getting ready well before sunrise, Jane suggested we drive the long way around, out to Barstow, then up Interstate 15 to Baker, then north up Hwy 127 to Death Valley’s east entrance.  It meant four hours in the car instead of two, but we decided to go for it – neither of us had ever been through that part of the desert before, so off we went. Leaving Ridgecrest about 6am, we made it to Baker by about 8 – it was cool and windy here as Chris fueled up the Jeep again. The dusty town and weekend traffic were less than appealing, but that quickly changed as we found the road leading north up the Silurian Valley – there were very few cars on the highway, and the desert scenery became dreamlike in a hurry. Everything was so green, and we actually passed running streams where we expected dry washes. About 45 minutes out of Baker, we crossed the Amargosa River and ascended the low saddle at Ibex Pass, dropping into a broad valley known as McClain Park. Save the lone powerline 1/4-mile west of the road and the road itself, there were virtually no signs of civilization as far as the eye could see. We stopped to take some pictures, and Jane announced flatly that she was going to hike over to the powerline and beyond – she was 200 yards ahead by the time Chris turned around from his survey of the east side of the valley. The views from the western side of the valley were just beautiful – the green hills, deep blue skies filled with streaky cirrus clouds, and the variegated soil and sagebrush made for a gorgeous scene. We could probably have spent the day just roaming around here, but we eventually made our way back to the Jeep and continued northward through the town of Shoshone, then further north to Death Valley Junction and Hwy 190. We followed the latter then westward into Death Valley, stopping again at the top of the grade for some more photos. As we began our descent toward Furnace Creek, we decided to stop at Zabriskie Point, a popular overlook we had passed on our way to and from Dante’s View the previous evening. Here, a loop trail winds its way westward into the badlands below the point, and the loop is also connected by lateral trails to Golden Canyon, another well-visited attraction adjacent to the north – the hiking here could total upwards of seven miles, depending on the chosen route. We found a very full parking lot when we arrived at Zabriskie Point around 10:30am, mostly drive-by tourists who were strolling up the paved switchbacks to the observation area at the top of the hill – we made the obligatory visit here also, and again, the views were fabulous. We retreated back to car after a short time, got our boots and packs, and headed out across a dry wash, over a low ridge, and down a broad trail into Gower Gulch. We expected the washes in Death Valley to be full of sand, but, like at Natural Bridge the day before, the canyon bottoms were surprisingly easy to walk in – the first mile passed quickly as we meandered down the shallow canyons, and we were soon hiking north on the lateral trail to Golden Canyon that runs across the base of Manly Beacon, a distinctive rock formation that dominates the surrounding terrain. Once past Manly Beacon, the trail drops steeply to the northwest, and we met several hikers coming uphill who were clearly winded, even this close to sea level (on our return, we calculated that this stretch gains about 1,000′ per mile, so it is indeed quite steep). Going down wasn’t so bad, however, and we met the main channel of Golden Canyon soon thereafter. This canyon is principally served from a trailhead a mile west on the Badwater Road, and we immediately encountered others who had come up from that direction – all were headed, like us, further northeast from this junction to the beautiful cliffs of Red Cathedral, a semicircular canyon that abuts the back side of Manly Beacon to the north. The canyon floor is very twisty here, the ravines deep and narrow, but the main path was easy to follow. At several points, we had to step up, lean over, or stoop low to get through the tighter spots, but, after maybe 20 minutes in Golden Canyon, we reached a wide wash at the very base of the red cliffs. Others appeared to be heading northward (to the highest of the accessible overlooks, as it turned out), but we found an alternate path leading south up the cliff face – here, we reached the end of the trail where the cliffs met the network of rounded ridgetops below – it was a marvelous view out west over the canyon to the salt flats in the main valley. We retraced our steps to Zabriskie Point in reverse order, opting not to walk further west through Golden Canyon – the high clouds had become more of a constant overcast, and we didn’t want to get caught in any downpour that might be imminent (as it turned out, the whole day was dry as the rain stayed away until Saturday night). Our hike totaled just under five miles, but it felt like twice that – the varied terrain and ever-changing views served to make us feel we had traveled great distances. The parking lot was even busier when we got back to the Jeep, and we were quickly on our way to find more lunch options (we ended up at the Furnace Creek Golf Course grill, which we highly recommend).