Death Valley

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In March of 2002 Kate and I had a bit of a winter break in the American Southwest. We flew into Las Vegas (it's always easy to get there) where we rented a car and spent several days in Death Valley (to the west over the California border), then some more of our vacation time in Zion (to the north east in Utah). Both are National Parks, scenic spots and much more interesting than Las Vegas itself. This blog note covers the Death Valley portion of our adventures.

We have some advice for travelling to Death Valley. First book your accommodation -- either Stove Pipe Wells, the Furnace Creek Inn or the Furnace Creek Ranch -- then your flight. You can always get there, you can't always get a room. And you really want a room in the valley so you can experience sunrise and sunset. 

We've been to Death Valley before and this time decided on a novel entry even though it was late in the day. The Titus Canyon road is a one way gravel road that leads off the main road near Rhyolite and crosses the Grapevine Range to follow the Titus Canyon down into the valley. Along the way there's the Leadfield ghost town (August 1926 to February 1927 -- how's that for brief!) but not much else. The road is very narrow and very rough in spots. It's barely maintained and definitely a dodgy route at best. The canyon itself can be worn by flash floods -- there's a big alluvial fan where it comes out into the valley. Later during our visit we were talking to a park ranger who told us that we shouldn't have taken a rental car on that route, the car rental would have explicitly forbidden it, and if we had any trouble we would have been entirely liable for all damages. I'm writing this in 2021, some 19 years later, so I guess the statute of limitations applies. We visited again, some years later, and that time rented a 4-wheel drive to explore some of the more off-road locations.

We stayed at Stove Pipe Wells near the sand dunes and the Emigrant Pass out to the west from the valley. We like it here, it's much cheaper than the ritzy accommodation at the Furnace Creek Inn and the Furnace Creek Ranch which are more central to the valley. The rooms are fine, the restaurant is good enough. There's not many alternatives in the valley. They even have a salt water pool to swim in and Kate likes that. I like exploring the nearby sand dunes. In the album there's lots of pictures at sunrise and sunset of the dunes.

First thing next morning we're up early and down the road for sunrise at Zabriskie Point. There's Manly Beacon in front of you, the badlands of the wash, the valley and salt flats in the distance and the Panamint Range with Telescope Peak in the far distance. The sun rises behind you and you get to enjoy the changing view as the sunrise exposes the badlands in front of you. We've been here for sunrise many times and will always come back for more.

You can hike from Zabriskie point down into the valley through an area called the Golden Canyon. On another day we hiked up the Golden Canyon from the valley to the foot of the Manly Beacon and the Red Cathedral. At this time of year it's a pleasant hike. In the summer time it's to be avoided or taken with care -- people have gotten lost, taken a wrong turn, run out of water and died.

From Zabriskie we continue east and upwards out of the valley on the Furnace Creek Rd (No. 190) and take the side trail/road (the Furnace Creek Wash Road) for about 15 miles up to Dante's View, a high point on the east side of the valley.  Along the way, near the main road, there's a bit of an active mining town called Ryan on Amargosa Range on the east side of this valley. Dante's View is a scenic viewing area at 5,476' on the  crest of the Black Mountains (the easterly range), overlooking Death Valley with Badwater directly below. There's great views of the extensive salt flats below, the alluvial fans on the Panamint Range in the distance. Up the valley to the north you can just make out the oasis at the Furnace Creek Ranch (there's even a golf course at the ranch!) and the single paved road along the valley floor. Stove Pipe Wells is in the far distance to the north but not visible. At the end of the day it can be quite cool at this elevation and it's often quite windy. So you need to dress accordingly.

From this viewpoint you get the impression that the salt flats are fed by water coming from the north end of the valley (but I understand the major water flow is coming in from the south end).

There is some surface water at the Saltwater Marsh north of Furnace Creek (which always has water deep under ground) before Stove Pipe Wells. We saw a coyote when we visited the marsh -- you wonder what they live on. There's a tiny fish that lives in the salt water of the valley but it's so tiny as to be hardly visible. Stove Pipe Wells, as they name implies, relies on deep wells for water. There is some surface water at the Furnace Creek Ranch and a lot underground that they must pump to keep those golf greens going. And of course, there's surface water at Badwater but you wouldn't want to drink that! 

Badwater is the lowest point in North America some 280' below sea level (with Dante's View directly above). At Badwater you can walk out onto the extensive salt flats. It's pretty smooth and level here. Nearby there's an area on the salt flats called "The Devil's Golf Course" where it's awfully rough and irregular. North of Badwater there's the Natural Bridge Trail where water has punched a hole through the rock to make a natural bridge. 

We had dinner one night at the luxurious Furnace Creek Inn -- we can't afford to stay there but it's a  lovely spot to watch the sun set to the west and enjoy a nice meal.

We've been to Death Valley more than a few times. Each time has been an adventure. We're usually visiting sites we've been to before but we never tire of them: the sand dunes near Stove Pipe Wells and Zabriskie Point are my favorites.

Ps. this note and the accompanying photo album were prepared during the COVID-19 lockdown of January 2021. The photos are from scanned slides taken in 2002.