Is a walk of less than a mile really a walk? That’s maybe one for the philosophers but I’ll go with the Chinese proverb that says “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” and count my few single steps in Death Valley National Park as most definitely a walk. I had occasion to recall our visit to Death Valley after reading two recent posts, one by Sarah of travel with me which featured a picture of it and another by Bruce of vanmarmots travels who walked a longer trail than my own short leg stretch at Badwater Basin. Both reminded though just how beautiful and desolate Death Valley is and have prompted me to share my own experience of it.
Our day starts rather inauspiciously having to tackle the Las Vegas ‘beltway’ at rush hour with a visit to Cruise America to get the sewer pipe of the RV fixed. Although tempted (not tempted) to renew our wedding vows with a ‘burning love’ package at the Little Vegas Chapel complete with Elvis as presiding minister (two Elvis songs included, only $349!) or alternatively blow our life savings in the casinos we manage to resist the temptations of Sin City and are soon heading out again to the sanity of the natural world.
Arriving at Furnace Creek there has been a power cut which means the restaurant and cafes are shut. I fire up the generator and we sit, perhaps rather too smugly enjoying lunch in our air conditioned RV before heading to the visitor centre which is still open.
As you’d expect the visitor centre has lots of information about the park, with various displays explaining how Death Valley was formed and details about geology, flora, fauna and significant landmarks.
Heading back to the van a Greater Roadrunner, which obviously had no problem finding its lunch runs across our path, a big, dead lizard dangling from it’s mouth.
It’s a reasonably short drive from the visitor centre to Badwater Basin and as we turn off Highway 190 onto the Badwater road we start to get a sense of the barren emptiness that is Death Valley. The flat valley floor is about four or five miles across at this point and in the far distance Mish can see a dust storm whirling along it. The valley is flanked by rocky mountain ranges and the Panamint range on the other side of the valley includes Telescope Peak, the highest point in the National Park at 11,049ft.
Arriving at Badwater Basin, the white salt pan that forms the valley floor stretches out far ahead of us looking like a covering of snow, except its not snow, its salt, shimmering in the extreme heat.
Badwater Basin is 282ft below sea level and it’s the hottest, driest and lowest place on the continent of North America. Death Valley is in fact the hottest place on earth with a recorded air temperature of 56°c back in 1913.
Leaving the RV, the heat immediately hits us. It’s only May but it’s already 42°c and will get up to an average of 50°c in July.
We take an obligatory picture at the sign and I note that three months ago I was standing on top of Kilimanjaro (read here if you like) the highest point on the continent of Africa and now I’m standing at the lowest point of another.
Walking out onto the baking salt plain is more of a visual/sensory experience than a walk. The heat of the blazing sun reflecting off the vast, shade less expanse of salt encrusted valley floor, the sterility of the landscape and dryness of the air, the taste of salt on our dry lips and the surrounding mountains rising up thousands of feet all makes for a unique and unforgettable experience.
On the rock wall behind the parking area there is a sign placed at the point where sea level is and it provides a useful perspective of how low we are.
The drive out from Badwater Basin is as scenic as the drive in with more spectacular, wild and arid scenery.
Such are the extremes of this country that we climb to over five thousand feet before dropping back to about two thousand to reach our stop for the night, Panamint Springs RV park, which describes itself as ‘small, rustic and western style’.
We’ve crossed over into the Panamint valley but are still firmly in the middle of the desert lands of Death Valley National Park. Filling up at a gas station in the middle of nowhere resembles the final scene in ‘The Terminator’.
There is no desert in the UK so for us it’s a uniquely atmospheric place to spend the night. Sat outside drinking beer and listening to the crickets as the sun goes down I can almost imagine myself as a cowboy, if only I liked beans and could ride a horse.
As darkness falls, the temperature drops and the stars come out. I stay up to take it all in and watch as the desert and distant Panamint mountains are blanketed under a canopy of a billion twinkling lights.
“The life of the desert lives only by virtue of adapting itself to the conditions of the desert. Nature does not bend the elements to favor the plants and animals; she makes the plants and animals do the bending.” John C Van Dyke
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The route and stats are irrelevant but as is my custom here is a map of this walk and some gelocated picures including Furnace Creek and Panamint Springs
Thanks for mentioning our blog! Unfortunately, the best time to visit Death Valley and the best time to visit Yosemite are almost mutually exclusive unless you like high heat and/or cold & snow. Still, Badwater is a nice personal counterpoint to Kilimanjaro. Panamint Springs is the quirky little place our best friends always stay when we meet them for hikes in Death Valley. Sadly, it might have to close due to the fall in international tourism.
What a wonderful place and you’ve captured it well. Love the sun as it was setting and the night sky. Thanks for sharing your walk.
Thanks for this, Jim. I remember Sarah’s rendition of Death Valley but I don’t know Bruce, so I’ll pop over and look. A fascinating place. Bit hot though! xx
We got out of the car – walked about 5 steps and then back in again – it was the height of summer. The overnight stay in the hotel at Panamint Springs was magic.