The Valley of Death

Disclaimer:
1. This is not a horror fiction. Just a travel review of Death Valley National Park.
2. Photos subject to copyright.
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Which national park in the world has the scariest name? The first answer that comes to mind is Death Valley. Despite its creepy name, Death Valley National Park is one of the most strikingly beautiful places on the earth. From the second lowest point in the Western Hemisphere to the hottest point on earth; from 282 ft below sea level to 11,000 ft above sea level; from salt flats to sand dunes; from vibrant canyons to gigantic volcanic craters, this national park is rich with unique geological features. Located between the Great Basin and Mojave Desert, it is the largest national park (area 13,650 sq km) in the mainland US.

We were introduced to the name of Death Valley at a very young age through geography lessons and popular Bengali science fiction. So when the time finally came to visit the Sin City, we gave our best shot towards a daylong tour to DVNP. We started pretty early in the morning, and chose the easiest route, that is the Hwy 95 N route via Indian Springs. After driving 90 miles on Hwy 95 N from Vegas to Lathrop Wells, we switched to Hwy 373, which meets the NV-CA State Line Road at Death Valley Junction after a 25 miles drive. The whole drive of 115 miles through a desolate region felt like a never-ending one.

The distance from Death Valley Junction to Dante’s View Turnoff is 18 miles on Hwy 190. We took a detour on the Dante’s View Road which leads to Dante’s View, arguably the most spectacular viewpoint in the park. This overlook stands at 5475 ft above sea level. The 360° panoramic view from the summit portrays mountain ranges in all directions, which include the Sierra Nevada Mountains (NW), the Grapevine Mountains (N), Mount Charleston (E), and the mountains around Los Angeles (SW). Furthermore, a sweeping view from the floor of Death Valley to the summit of Telescope Peak can be experienced from here.

From -282 ft to +11000 ft, a sweeping vista from Dante's View

Turning back to Hwy 190, another 10 miles drive took us to Furnace Creek Visitor Center. Did the name Furnace Creek ring a bell? Yes, it did. Our textbook knowledge of Death Valley hammered us with the fact that this place had been credited for highest temperature ever recorded (56.7 °C, in 1913) on earth. That justifies the “furnace” in its name. However, in the month of November, the surroundings were pretty cool. The junction of Hwy 190 and Badwater Road is exactly at sea level. From there, one can only go downhill on the Badwater Road and feel the ensuing pressure drop.

The first important stop on the Badwater Road is the Golden Canyon Trailhead. Though our feet were not completely healed from previous month’s Grand Canyon experience, still we opted for this trail, which extends till Zabriskie Point (2.5 miles one way). However, we chose to explore until Red Cathedral (1.5 mile from trailhead) only. This is a moderate trail with elevation gain upto 320 ft. From the start to the end, the trail greeted us with swirls of color, including gray, red, brown, yellow and orange. Golden Canyon conserves geographical legends of the entire DVNP like a virtual wikipedia. The rocks and canyon walls shout out the untold tales of the ancient lakes and showcase the effect of flash floods in a parched land.

Red Cathedral at Golden Canyon Trail

The next stop was the Devil’s Golf Course, which is an immense area of rock salt eroded by wind and rain into jagged spires. Once swathed by a lake, the water evaporated a couple of centuries ago, and left behind large infernal stalagmites and spiky mounds of salt and minerals. A one mile dirt road leads to the parking area, which immediately lures the visitors to step inside the salt pinnacles. But believe me, they are very sharp and makes it very tricky to walk, let alone playing golf. That reminded us of a Bengali proverb about sprinkling salt to an injury. We did not hesitate to salute the person who named this place for his/her uncanny sense of humor.

Devil's Golf Course

Our hiking spree has got the best of us again, so unsurprisingly we stopped at the Natural Bridge Canyon Trailhead. From the trailhead, the 50 ft tall Natural Bridge is only half a mile walk. Being created by differential erosion, this is obviously the main attraction of the canyon, but the trail has more to offer. Analogous to other canyons of the park, a rich display of the geological history is evident through the towering reddish cliffs. In the metamorphic rocks, cute swirls of blue, red, gray and white are prominent. The entire trail is 2 miles roundtrip, gains elevation upto 800 ft, and dead-ends at a 20 ft pour over blocking the canyon.

Natural Bridge Canyon

About 6 miles on the Badwater Road, we finally arrived at the Badwater Basin, which has a surreal landscape of vast salt flats. At 282 ft below sea level, this is the lowest point in North America and second lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. The boardwalk ends where there are some wonderful pressure ridges and cracks in the salt. Apart from the picturesque view of the Telescope Peak (11,049 ft) just across the valley, the Black Mountains (6,000 ft) rose directly out of the salt flats behind the trailhead with a glittering sign indicating the sea level.

Badwater Salt Flats, lowest point in North America

During return, we took another detour through the Artist’s Drive, located about halfway between Furnace Creek and Badwater Basin. This is a 9 mile one way scenic loop drive running through multicolored igneous and sedimentary rocks resembling a grand painter’s palette. Driving through the sharp curves and deep dips felt like a roller coaster ride. The Artist’s Palette vista point is a unique landmark in DVNP and is incredibly photogenic in the late afternoon, especially when the colors start to pop-up with the gradual softening of sunlight. The arrays of the red, yellow, green, blue and purple colors have been created by salts of the first transition metals, mostly Fe and Mn. The whole drive also substantiates one of the most violently explosive volcanic periods. Leave aside history and geography, at the end of the day Artist's Drive is a heavenly place where all superlatives become trivial.

Artist's Palette, incredibly photogenic in the afternoon

After arriving at Furnace Creek again, we were headed further north towards Stovepipe Wells. Few miles down the way, the non-operational Harmony Borax Works symbolizes the erstwhile industrial activity more than a century ago. The ruins of an old cotton-ball borate ore boiling facility and a 20 Mule Team borax wagon train are the primary exhibits in this area. Interestingly, this place also stands 260 ft below sea level.

The principal features of the Stovepipe Wells area are the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes and the Mosaic Canyon; with contrasting characteristics but equally stunning landscapes. While the sunrays of late afternoon accentuated the golden colored ripples of the smoothly rising dunes, the water-polished conglomerate rocks of the Mosaic Canyon represent the finest of the DVNP.

Mosaic Canyon

It was time to wrap up. So many things to do, but so little time we had. We heard a lot about Scotty’s Castle, Ubehebe Crater and Telescope Peak. But we were badly running out of time, and had to start our return journey with heavy heart and optimistic mind. We saved the best for the last, which is the Zabriskie Point, just east of Furnace Creek. Surrounded by a maze of vividly colored eroded mudhill badlands, this is the most popular destination for watching sunset inside the park.


Sunset from Zabriskie Point

 

The trip was concluded by another scenic drive through Twenty Mule Team Canyon. Winding through ethereal wilderness, this 2.7 mile one-way loop drive is unpaved, but equally gorgeous compared to the other scenic drive we took earlier in the day.