Valley of Death

On day 21 (3/3) we entered the Valley of Death, most commonly called Death Valley. We entered from the west and arrived at the Crowley Overlook adjacent to Rainbow Canyon. We were at 4,000 feet elevation and looked out to see some 11,000 foot mountains with snow on them - not the picture of Death Valley you have in your head. You could see the flat desert floor off in the distance, but the landscape was quite varied throughout the park. We dropped to about 2,000 feet and camped at Panamint Springs for the night. 

Rainbow Valley above Panamint Springs

We intentionally visited Death Valley in the cooler months. At Panamint Springs it was partly sunny and mid 80s. The relative humidity was 7%. The temperature cooled the next day for our full day in the valley - the high was about 77ºF. We climbed the 4,956 foot pass to then plunge down below sea level. Our first hike was Mosaic Canyon. We hiked about 1.5 of the 1.7 miles up, gaining about 750’. We ran into larger and larger boulder falls and decided to stop and return after the 5th climb. The canyon was very colorful.

Mosaic Canyon

Then we stopped at the Mesquite Sand Dunes and strolled out onto the sand. After that, we headed down to the Salt Creek Trail. Yes, there is water in the desert, and it was flowing from some springs. The pupfish live here and there were thousands of them swimming in the water as we walked along the creek. They can tolerate water that’s several times saltier than the oceans.

Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes

Salt Creek - home of the pupfish

We then drove down (literally) to Badwater, the lowest spot in North America at 282 feet below sea level. We walked out onto the salt flats and looked at the patterns left from the evaporation. There is water here too, from a spring running along a fault line. But you can’t drink the water because it’s very brackish - hence the name Badwater.

Badwater Basin - lowest point in North America (282 feet below sea level)

On our way back up to Furnace Creek we drove through Artists Drive and enjoyed the interesting colored hills and mountains.

Artists Loop Drive

Bebop is an artist

We also went to Zabriskie Point near sunset for some great views.

Zabriskie Point near sunset

Finally, we rolled into our campsite at Furnace Creek - just 190 feet below sea level. The song “Under the Sea” from Little Mermaid popped into my head. 

The winds were really strong overnight out of the south, and the low only got to around 61ºF. The van was rocking a bit - I’m glad I wasn’t in a tent. At our last phone/Wi-Fi connection a couple of days ago, they were forecasting a cold front and possible rain, but it hadn’t arrived yet. Bebop and I were out before dawn to see Venus lighting up the eastern sky and even a meteor streaking overhead. I heard some flying geese honking - they sounded a bit anguished at the lack of suitable water.

We walked back out at sunrise and suddenly the wind shifted and picked up. It was quite brisk, and we saw a couple of tents almost collapse, and items left outside were blowing and rolling. We dashed back to the camper - the cold front had arrived. It kept the temperature a pleasant 68ºF for a high. The rain tried, but was falling as virga - evaporating before reaching the ground.

Good weather - about half the record high of 134ºF

We hiked Golden Canyon in the morning, then drove to the Ubehebe Crater - a young volcanic crater. It blew just yesterday (well, in geologic time it seemed like yesterday - about 2,000 years ago).

Golden Canyon

Ubehebe Crater

Ubehebe Crater from higher up

While driving along a park road we spotted this cool piece of an old lava flow that looked like a throne. So we got out and played around for a bit.

The throne is lava!

We departed the park and headed over the pass to Beatty, NV for the night. When we arrived it was in the mid 40s and graupel fell from the sky for a few minutes. Then we heard Bebop growling and looked out to see a wild burro approaching our van. It saw our adjacent campers pull in with some groceries, and it was trying to grab some. They hurried into their trailer. Other campers came out and fed the burro - which just encourages their beggar behavior.

Graupel falls on Bebop, a wild burro visits for mooching

- Paul