Review of Death Valley National Park: A place so devoid of life that it makes you appreciate life…
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| Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park |
Sometimes, one has to experience a loss of a loved one to truly appreciate our time here on Earth. Life is fraught with uncertainty, dangers, and challenges, and it helps to focus our minds when we lose someone close, whether they’re humans or canines/felines.
Visiting the Death Valley National Park was one of those times when I absolutely felt the need to cherish, embrace and appreciate life as much as I possibly can. The place is unlike any national park in the United States we had visited, as it is the hottest, driest, and the lowest of all national parks.
The place just oozes with that feeling of being desolate, where even plants like cacti don’t exist. It feels like what Earth might’ve been if it had lost its precious atmosphere. If you’ve ever watched science fiction movies (like the Martian) where they depict Mars or some similar planet or exoplanet, then you’ll understand Death Valley.
The place is a study in contrast: one minute we’re feeling isolated and destitute, with nary a cactus in sight, while another minute, we’re admiring the exotic, beautiful and colorful landscape that feels like we’re lucky enough to visit another planet like Mars, or some other distant exoplanet on another Galaxy. Death Valley National Park is a special place that everyone should visit to experience that lonely and desolate feeling, so we can come away with a renewed appreciation for life and all that has to offer.
My wife and myself had always considered visiting the park in the past, but we never got around to it on couple of different occasions when we visited Las Vegas, the closest big city to Death Valley National Park. When the opportunity came in January of this year to finally visit the place, we jumped at the chance.
We were staying at the Aria Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, and by then, we had already spent 9 days in the Sin City. We were itching to get away from all the glitz, the glamour, and all the overindulgence for some much needed outdoor recreation.
On a beautiful and a sunny morning of January 27th, we left our comfortable confines of our hotel room for an adventure! We took the I-15 heading south for few miles before taking the NV-160 going west. As soon as we got on the NV-160, we knew we were going to enjoy the drive to Death Valley National Park.
The elevation increased dramatically as we neared Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. We climbed along a sweeping road when we felt the temperature drop at the summit by at least 20 degrees. We came out on the other side of the mountain with sweeping views of the valley below.
By that point of our cross country road trip, we were so used to the wide open, desert like landscape of the West and the Southwest. We never got tired of it though, thanks to incredible and always interesting sights with jubilant, colorful rocks to match!
As we neared the town of Pahrump (NV), we thanked the road gods there was a town with plenty of gas stations, restaurants, and shops. Sometimes when we were driving on desolate roads in the middle of nowhere, we wondered where our next gas station would be. It was certainly reassuring to see we had an option to make a pit stop when needed.
The scenery got more desolate and isolated the further west we pushed on. We saw less and less of civilization and more and more of desert like landscape. We lamented seeing towns with run down homes and businesses along the way, once proud and thriving little towns now abandoned with their inevitable boom/bust cycles and with the unstoppable passage of time…
We saw multiple water stations where locals load up on drinking water out there in the desert. We wondered which hardy individuals made their homes there, in a place where water, plants, and humans are hard to come by…We knew we couldn’t live in a place like that, where summertime temperatures reach over 110 degrees.
Putting away those thoughts, we arrived at Death Valley around 11 a.m. We stopped at the popular Zabriskie Point, which is a must visit location about 5 miles from the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.
We parked, then immediately noticed a bus full of German tourists making their way to the observation area, at the top of a small hill. We followed suit, taking in the scenery all around us…
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| Parking area with views down the valley |
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| Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park |
We walked up a paved, short walkway to the top of the hill, where the scenery really opened up. The views were mesmerizing! We didn’t expect Death Valley to be this beautiful and awe inspiring. Colors of the rocks were just amazing: Caramel, brown, red, yellow, white, beige, blue, and green. Wow!
At the observation area, we asked a nice German couple from the tour bus for a photo of us, then we promptly returned the favor. After exchanging pleasantries, we took few more moments to take in the scenery after the German tour group left. What a scenery…
Afterwards, we followed the same tour group to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, descending towards the valley with every mile we drove on. Furnace Creek, the village where the visitor center is located, sits 190 feet below sea level(!), and it is the central hub for the national park.
We passed by what looked to be an oasis in the desert in the form of Furnace Creek Inn, with its abundance of palm trees surrounding the inn. It was one of the only trees we saw growing nearby, and it was welcoming. It’s just amazing how much things we take for granted until we don’t have it anymore…
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| Furnace Creek Visitor Center, Death Valley National Park |
At the visitor center, you can purchase an admission ticket, use restrooms, check out the displays (or watch a short film), and ask a friendly ranger for hiking recommendations. We did the last part and we were glad, as our ranger recommended us to hike the Golden Canyon Trail, where the movie, Star Wars was filmed. We had to check it out!
We drove about 5 minutes and easily found the trailhead/parking area for Golden Canyon Trail. After parking, we started our hike, mindful of the beautiful, otherworldly landscape.
We were walking on almost sacred locale for the first trilogy of the Star Wars films, which I’m a big fan of. It was surreal to see the place in person. Many spots looked totally familiar, especially the opening scene where R2D2 and C-3PO are walking inside a canyon. So cool…
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| Somewhere on the Golden Canyon Trail |
The temperatures which had been around 70 degrees at the visitor center, started climbing the deeper we went into the canyon. I was purposely seeking shelter from the sun any chance I got, but despite that, the sun seemed to be hotter and brighter out there in Death Valley.
We sure were glad we weren’t hiking during the summer when Death Valley can literally be death, unless you’re really careful and well prepared. We went through our first two bottles of water within the first 45 minutes of our hike.
We also brought protein bars and some trail mixes even though we had eaten a sandwich just before crossing over to California. Always prepare food, water, wear sunscreen, and bring a trail map out there.
We made it deep inside the canyon, when we noticed the trail ended with no visible marker on where to go next. We followed a couple ahead of us who were trying to decipher the path when we all decided that was not the right path.
The trail didn’t go anywhere and it just haphazardly ascended through the rocks with no visible trail path anywhere. We came down to where we started at the bottom of the climb, then decided to follow another couple who seemed to know the way.
We walked through a narrow, slot canyon, passing what looked to be an abandoned steel ladder along the way, when we reconnected with the trail. We were finally on the right trail to Red Cathedral, which is a highly recommended destination along the Golden Canyon Trail.
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| Passing through a narrow, slot canyon |
We climbed a short, but steep hill to the top of Red Cathedral trail, and we stopped to see some of the most magnificent views at Death Valley National Park! Views opened up for miles with distant snow capped mountains visible on the horizon, with all kinds of colorful rocks strewn along the valley below. Incredible…
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| View from Red Cathedral trail |
We were exhausted from the strenuous hike, in no small part because of the hot weather, so we decided to sit down to eat some protein bars and rehydrate. While we were eating, we chatted with the couple who knew the way up.
They were nomads just like we were, but more extreme, as they were living in a converted van 24/7 and traveling to various parts of the country. They explained they had visited Death Valley several times and we could tell, from how they took the correct path to get up there.
The sun was really beating down on us, so we made our way down from Red Cathedral after saying goodbye to the nomadic couple. We knew the hike back would sap our energy, so we loaded up on all the foods we had brought.
Taking solace in shaded areas whenever we can, we hiked back the same way. Lucky for us, the walk back was at least slightly downhill, which made it easier. We were more exhausted than normal after walking only about an hour and a half on the Golden Canyon Trail. Maybe it’s because of Death Valley’s notoriety for being one of the hottest and driest spots in America, or maybe it’s because several hikers have died out there, but whatever the reason was, we were drained after coming back to the parking lot.
We cranked up the air conditioning, thankful we made it back and grateful for the life saving, cool air conditioning! We took a moment to gather ourselves, then we took off for our last destination at Death Valley National Park, Badwater Basin.
Badwater Basin is the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below sea level. The beautiful salt flat, covering over 200 square miles is an absolute must when visiting the park.
The drive from Golden Canyon Trailhead to Badwater Basin took about 20 minutes, traversing along a road devoid of life: no trees (not even a single cactus), and no water. It was like driving on Mars. The scenery was beautiful but lonely and desolate.
We inwardly thought how desperate it would’ve been for any humans that needed to survive off of these lands in the past. The place is not suitable for human habitation to say the least…
We pulled into the parking lot but noticed even on a winter day, the lot was getting almost full. We parked, then walked down the boardwalk to experience the salt flats. Sitting in the middle of a desert, seeing white salt flats was surreal.
We obviously knew the place used to be under water, but it was still hard to comprehend what we were seeing first hand…It just seemed out of place, like seeing trees (like the mangrove trees) growing out of the ocean for the very first time…Regardless, the surreal sight was absolutely stunning.
We walked the flat salt covered road alongside many other visitors to experience walking on salt. The crunchy sound as we trampled over it, reminded us of walking on snow, maybe louder. Any event, it was a new and interesting stimulus!
We started to head back to our car after about 10 minutes on the salt flats, as we knew we needed around 3 hours to get back to Las Vegas in time for dinner. I hate being late for a mealtime! I get hungry and cranky.
The drive back to Las Vegas was really satisfying as we had finally experienced Death Valley National Park after all these years. The sun started to set as we crossed the border back into Nevada, and it made for a magical scenery on the desert, decking it out in golden, orange glow…
We live for these moments…
In conclusion:
Death Valley National Park was much more than just the driest, the hottest, and the most unfriendly place for life forms in North America. It was stunningly beautiful, with iconic trails made famous by films and shows.
As beautiful as the park is, it’s always a good idea to visit the park off season, and not during the summers, as temperatures can be brutal and life threatening. Imagine walking into a hot oven, kind of like Las Vegas, but even worse! North America’s highest temperature ever was recorded in Furnace Creek at 134 degrees in 1913!!!
If you must visit during the summer, please prepare: bring plenty of water, foods, sunshade, sun resistant clothes/hats, and hike to your personal ability. Death Valley can be a scary place for those who do not prepare…
Despite some of the things to watch out for, Death Valley National Park should be on everyone’s list of national parks parks to visit at least once in their lifetime. It is a surreal place, unlike anything we’ve experienced in North America.
A feeling of being lost, isolated, and desolate washes over you the minute you start hiking any of the trails, but it’s soon replaced by a feeling of awe and wonder the more you experience the place. It is a unique and surreal place full of beautiful scenery and colors!
We think you’ll agree. Thank you for reading and happy trails!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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