<DIV>Lost between the rugged High Sierras and sun-baked Death Valley, bypassed by most visitors on their way somewhere else, this sumptuous alignment of low desert valleys trapped between mountains reaching over 11,000 feet is a largely unexplored paradise waiting to be discovered. This is Death Valley one hundred years ago, a hiker¹s mecca filled with salt flats and sand dunes, old mines and ghost towns, awesome canyons, breathtaking summits, delightful springs and unexpected streams, and more miles of unspoiled desert than one can explore in a lifetime.<BR></DIV>