By Stan Wawer
If you have visited Death Valley in the summer, then you are familiar with the term “hot as hell.” But if you think that suffocating heat is all there is to Death Valley then you don’t know Death Valley.
It is a 3.3-million-acre national park with some of the most colorful and nonpareil scenery in the world — and it is a hiker’s paradise. Yes, it has reached temperatures as high as 134 degrees (1913) here, but the winters are mild. the long, hot summer is for the hardy and venturesome.
In Death Valley’s past, few people managed to survive here continuously. Small bands of desert-dwelling Shosone Indians, a few hardy prospectors and borax min
ers moved to higher ele
vations during the heat of summer. Even today, not many people live here all year. The resources for abundant life just are not here.
Most visitors, however, come to Death Valley for its dry, sage-scented air and spacious solitude. It is a great place to go to think. At night, the stars twinkle like millions of tiny lights, thrown helter skelter across a black background. Gentle moonbeams light the area with a mystical silence. Endless vista prevail.
On our first morning at Furnace Creek Inn, my wife and I drove to Zabriskie Point where we sat and watched the bright and vivid sunrise paint the scene over the badlands, slowly changing the colors. Sunrise and sunset are the best times to view the badlands and every day is different.
Death Valley, the largest national park in the contiguous United States, is bound on the west by the towering 11,049-foot Telescope Peak and on the east by the 5,475-foot Dante’s View. The par
k features spectacular desert scenery, unusual wild life and a rich human history. The Badwater Basin saltpan, at 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest point in North America and one of the lowest points in the world. The Dead Sea, bordering Jordan and Israel, is the lowest point on land at 1,312 feet below sea level.
Furnace Creek is a spring-fed stream flowing into Death Valley. Native Americans lived here centuries prior to its discovery by the lost 49ers. In 1881, Aaron Winters found borax nearby and sold his claims and water rights to William Tell Coleman. Greenland Ranch was constructed at this site that is now Furnace Creek Ranch to support the borax workmen and 20-mule teams. Francis Marion Smith acquired the site for his company, which became U.S. Borax and renamed it Furnace Creek Ranch. They produced borax in the valley until 1927.
The ranch was opened to guests in 1932. It stays open year-round while Furnace Creek Inn & Resort closes in May for the summer.
Dante’s View is the most breathtaking viewpoint in the park. This mountaintop overlook offers a free and limitless expanse that opens out into vast distances. You can see across most of the 110-mile-long Death Valley from this popular unworldly lookout point. With a short, but rocky hike north to Dante’s Peaks. The views up and down offer an unparalleled vantage point. It is 26 miles south of Furnace Creek off route 190.
The aforementioned Zabriskie Point is only five miles south of Furnace Creek. A short uphill hike from the parking area is all that’s required to enjoy a panoramic view of golden-brown mudstone hills riddled with rills and gullies from the occasional, but intense times when water rushes down these bone-dry slopes.
Artist’s Drive is a visual feast and a geologic tour of one of Death Valley’s most explosive volcanic periods. Artist’s Drive is a dipping, diving, curving one-way road that weaves through striking ravines and colorful rock formations. The highlight of the nine-mile loop occurs at the Artist’s Palette where sea green, lemon yellow, periwinkle blue and salmon pink mineral deposits are splashed across the barren background like brilliant dabs of paint from a giant’s brush. The colors change rapidly with the setting sun. Artist’s Drive is off of the Badwater Road, 10 miles south of the visitor center.
Hikers entering the narrows of Golden Canyon, four miles north of Artist’s Drive, are greeted by golden badlands. It is a two-mile hike that winds through a canyon of colorful rock walls.
Don’t leave Death Valley without exploring the sand dunes and Mosaic Canyon, both tucked away in the north end of the p-ark at Stovepipe Wells. The Mesquite Flat Dunes smoothly rise close to 150 feet and are nearly surrounded by mountains on all sides.
Late afternoon light accentuates the ripples and patterns while morning is a good time to view tracks of nocturnal wildlife. Moonlight on the dunes can be magical. Night explorers, however, should be alert for sidewinder rattlesnakes. It’s a strenuous two-mile walk to the highest dune., Make sure you have plenty of water and hat to protect you from the sun. In the summer, you probably do not want to hike the sand dunes. The dunes are about two miles east of Stovepipe Wells on Highway 190.
I walked about halfway to the farthest dune before giving up to exhaustion from climbing 20- to 30-foot-high walls of dunes, my feet sinking into the sand to the top of my hiking boots with each step.
Mosaic Canyon, just west of Stovepipe Wells, is a geologic wonder with polished marble walls and odd mosaic patterns of beccia. It is a moderate one- to four-mile hike.
The Panamint Springs area is a longer drive and an area you might want to visit on another trip to Death Valley. Here you will find Wildrose Charcoal Kilns — 10 beehive-shaped structures — The Racetrack and Scotty’s Castle.
The Racetrack is where rocks mysteriously slide across the dry lakebed leaving behind long tracks for visitors to ponder. You need a high-clearance vehicle to traverse the 27 miles of bad road.
Death Valley is a surreal geologic oasis in the corner of California, a state overpopulated with more than 30 million people. It offers variety and adventure, two valuable commodities in today’s fragile ecosystem.
Where to Stay
Furnace Creek Inn (66 rooms): Open mid-October through mid-May. AAA Four-Diamond resort. Spring-fed swimming pool. Dining room and lobby bar. Rates are $275 to $410 through May 10 and $305 to $42 Oct. 10 through Dec. 31. For reservations, call (760) 786-2345 or go online to www.furnacecreekresort.com.
Furnace Creek Inn will undergo a major facelift after it closes in May, according to Phil Dickinson, director of sales and marketing for concessioner Xanterra Parks & Resorts.
“We have retained a designer,” Dickinson said. “The challenge is to make the rooms look even more 1920s but with the modern conveniences. People want flat screen TVs and Internet access and it’s not easy to find bathroom fixtures that look like that period.”Furnace Creek Inn opened in 1927., The inn also will replace the lobby and patio furniture.
Furnace Creek Ranch (224 rooms): Open year-round. AAA Three-Diamond resort. Home of the 20-mule teams in the 1880s. It has been welcoming guests since the 1930s. Golf on the world’s lowest golf course (214 feet below sea level). Horseback riding, tennis horseshoes, basketball, volleyball and the Borax Museum. Ranch Buffet, 49er Café, Corkscrew Saloon and Wrangler Steakhouse. Rates are $119 to $191 through Oct. 9 and $123 to $189 Oct. 10 through Dec. 31. for reservations, call (760) 786-2345 or go online to www.furnacecreekresort.com.
