Friday Arrival in Death Valley

On a Green Tortoise bus with 35 other people, I arrived in Death Valley National Park - this was my first experience here. For years and years, Death Valley was a national monument, but in 1994, President Bill Clinton signed the California Desert Protection Act, which brought Death Valley up to National Park status and allowed for more funding and protection.

Death Valley is bordered by two mountain ranges with the Panamints to the west and the Amargosas to the east.  Apparently at one time, the valley floor was under 2,000 feet of water, and geologists have been able to locate areas where water used to lap up against the surrounding mountain ranges.  Now the floor is one large beautiful basin of fans, sand dunes and salt flats. 

The bus pulled up to the popular tourist destination, Zabriskie Point, around 9:00 am.  We took our time to make breakfast and pack our lunches, and then it was off to the overlook at Zabriskie Point.  What a great view!  Looking to the West, in the foreground was the Furnace

 Creek wash, which is filled hills and rocks carved by rills created by rains and smoothed by the wind.  Noticeably among the hills was Manley

 Beacon and the cliffs of Red Cathedral.  In the background, lay the white flats of the valley floor and the Panamint Range.After taking a few pictures, I hit the trail with Bettina from Germany and Tineka from the Netherlands.  The trail (Golden Canyon Interpretive Trail) followed a few washes and at one time took a switchback up a hill. Again, the trail crossed and followed various washes and climbed along the shoulder of Manley Beacon.  

The trail then descended to an intersection with a quarter-mile side route to the Red Cathedral.  We took the side route up to Red Cathedral, which followed a wash up to a narrow dead end.  Had we more time, it would have been nice to explore the area under the cliffs, but we had to get back to the bus.  

We went back down to the main trail, and walked 3/4-mile down to the trailhead and bus.  It was interesting to see that at the end of the trail someone had the bright idea to try and pave a part of the wash (perhaps for vehicle access?), which could not have lasted long. It seems that the powerful waters of the wash eroded it a long time ago - thank God!

Following our hike, we boarded the bus and traveled down to Badwater Basin, which is the lowest point in North America at 282-feet below sea-level.  On the eastern cliffs of the Amargosa Range, the park had placed a sign indicating where sea-level is, which brought some perspective to our depth in altitude.  

I had an hour and a half to explore the Basin, so I left with Bettina and Tineka again to walk out on the salt flats.  To say that they are flats is deceiving, since hexagonal salt plates seem to have collided into other plates, making the floor uneven.  However, as we walked out further onto the flats, it smoothed out more with only a lip of salt creating the hexagonal patterns. The sun made the floor bright to the eyes, yet it certainly contributed to its stark beauty.  Had I more time, I would have liked to walk the entire flats  up to Stovepipe Wells Village (future hiking idea???).  

We got back on the bus and traveled to the Furnace Creek Campground for dinner and a night's rest. The day was surreal, since the scenery was so different from what I am used to seeing in San Francisco.  Nonetheless, it was refreshing.  More about Death Valley tomorrow.