Ubehebe in August

I am planning a trip to DV this August. Due to the expected heat, I plan to only do the short walks like from the car to Dante%26#39;s View and from the car to Zabriskie and so forth. I would, however, like to do the 1.5 mile walk around Ubehebe Crater and maybe into the crater. Is this a bad idea in August? Will the heat be too de-hydrating to do this short hike?

Ubehebe in August

It will be Hot! Whether or not it will be TOO hot depends on you and what you are used to. I have done the hike, very slowly and with pleanty of water, wide brimmed hat, long sleeve loose shirt and long loose pants. Of course, what I did really has no bearing on what you can do. You seem to know the environmental factors, so you need to make a decision of what%26#39;s good for you. Chuck...

Ubehebe in August

Hey Utah,

I agree with Chuck. I too have walked around Ubehebe, and it is not difficult at all. You surely should be able to do that, just follow the advice that Frisco gives down below on summer hiking.

Be in good shape for the crater! I just did it, and it is so much fun going down...piece of cake, you can run down, glide down, let gravity almost pull you down. The footing is extremely gravelly, you really sink into the fine gravel, and that is just fine going down. But going up, in the heat you will have, well, it might not be as much fun! It is pretty neat from the bottom.

ZB

Ubehebe Crater is a little over 2000%26#39; in elevation. As a general rule, every 1000%26#39; in elevation change means about 5潞F temperature change. So if it%26#39;s 122潞 or so at Badwater, it will be a positively arctic 110-112潞 at the crater.

The humidity in DV is much lower than you%26#39;re accustomed to, so you might not feel the heat as much as you would in, say, the Amazon rain foresy.

The walk around the lip of the crater is fairly flat. As ZB said, the crater itself is a challenge. Going down is pretty easy; coming up, you may feel you%26#39;re losing a step for every 2-3 you take. Ubehebe is a volcanic crater, so it%26#39;s full of loose, sandy pumice soil and gravel.

Here are some pictures so you can see what it looks like.

鈥ikipedia.org/wiki/鈥behebe_Crater

As you can see, there is no vegetation of any size, so you won%26#39;t have a speck of shade. If you do decide to go, remember your hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water. A gallon or more would not be overkill; in the hottest part of the day, a person AT REST in the desert can lose 1 quart of body moisture in an hour just from natural evaporation.

* ';Amazon rain foresy'; *

Never heard of it. Must be the rain forest. :)

Take lots of pictures and as always, wear good shoes!

Have fun

Thanks for the information and advice! I do have the proper clothing and will bring plenty of water. You have answered my question very well!

lip chap