Hiking to Panamint City and Sentinel Peak in Death Valley
Notes by piero scaruffi | Back to California hikes|
Get on the paved road between Trona and Panamint Springs (highway 178) and go east at the junction with Ballarat Rd towards Ballarat on an unpaved but decent road. Ballarat is really just one store (still in operation). Go left towards Surprise Canyon. Don't miss the right turn a few kms later (about 9 kms after leaving 178) or you'll return to highway 178.
The road dead-ends at Chris Wicht's Camp (also known as Novak Camp). The very last section might be hard on a low-clearance car after a big rain.
The road ends approximately 15 kms after you left 178.
There used to be a road going all the way to Panamint City, so it is not terribly difficult to follow the route, and this is a popular hike (you are likely to meet someone going up or coming down every day of the week). The only difficulty is the first hour, when the trail criss-crosses the creek and one has to walk around the deeper pools. Unless it has rained a lot, this is usually trivial. The canyon is idiot-proof: the direction is obvious. The "trail" branches out many times but they all go to the same place (or they dead end). The "falls" mentioned in the route are not really waterfalls. They are just one or two meters high. Don't get scared. It takes very little "trial and error" to get to the Limekiln Spring. The most watery part of the hike is now behind you. When water resumes, you are approaching Brewery Spring (no brewery was ever here so don't look for ruins). This is the only point of the route that can be a little confusing. In 2017 there was a bench to mark the place where the trail enters a sort of canopy and literally overlaps with a branch of the creek. If you get to the bench, look to your left into the vegetation. If you miss that turn, you'll start climbing the hill in front of you and end up on dangerous terrain (besides wasting a lot of time). Beyond that point, the trail "is" the old road and the hike gets a little tedious (and very hot) but also very quick. You can see the tall chimney of Panamint City from very far. The total elevation gain is 1,120 meters. All in all, i would rank it as a beginner's hike, except for the very first section. My guess is that a Chinese firm could easily restore the road to Panamint City in a couple of months but of course this would make Panamint City less attractive. Watch out for rattlesnakes, like in most of Death Valley. Panamint City is a popular overnight destination because there are cabins, but you can hike there and back in one morning if you don't have a heavy backpack. Exploring the various canyons and mines requires a few extra hours. Most of the ancient roads are still there, but of course vegetation is slowly taking over.
Nearby attractions: Panamint Pass 36.10700,-117.07030 Sentinel Peak (2,927m) 36.09664, -117.07764 From Panamint City you can then climb to nearby Panamint Pass (on the Frenchman Canyon) and Sentinel Peak (straight up on a rocky slope for a 1,000 meter elevation gain) and return via Marvel Canyon. From Panamint City follow the road that ascends the canyon from the first cabin and leave it when it bends too much to the right. Sentinel Peak is right on top of you and you just have to scramble up a rocky slope. Alas, what you see is not what you get: it's a false summit. When you get there, you will see another summit on top of it. And, alas, that's a false summit too. When you get there, you will finally see the real summit, about 1 km away, connected via a saddle. The last section looks scary from afar, but when you get there you realize that the right side is very safe. |
