We took Wild Rose Canyon drive, an alternate route, and went up to the Charcoal Kilns first. The Charcoal Kilns were built by Chinese laborers in 1879, and were used to produce charcoal for the Modock Mine smelter. They closed after about 3 years of use. They are in very good shape and you can walk inside of them. We attempted to go up to Mahogany Flat, which is about 3 miles from the kilns, but the road is rocky and steep and 4x4's are recommended. My little car was not very equipped to make the drive. No trailers are allowed up there because of the road conditions. The road is also subject to washouts from flash floods.
The next stop on the way into the park was Mosaic Canyon. This is one of the most popular hiking trails in Death Valley National Park. The canyon is located near Stovepipe Wells. The canyon was named after a rock formation known as Mosaic Breccia, breccia being the Italian word for "fragments." The rock formation is made up of angular fragments of many different kinds of parent rock. It is a rather easy hike, although there are some spots of smooth rock that you have to scramble up. The walls of the canyon are marble, polished from the water that comes through the canyon during floods. You surely don't want to be in the canyon when there have been rains though, because, as is obvious by the polished rock, the canyon is subject to flash floods. It is a very pretty walk.
We stopped by Devil's Cornfield on the way to Furnace Creek. Devil's Cornfield, located near the Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells, is named so because the arrowweed that grows near the dunes resemble corn shocks. The roots of the weeds became exposed as the ground has deteriorated around them. Ground water keeps the plants alive in this seemingly uninhabitable land. The arrowweed grows in almost even spaced rows, thus the name Devil's Cornfield. There are also sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells, but the wind was too much on Saturday, so we didn't go out there that day. It was too dusty.
We also stopped by Salt Creek on the way to Furnace Creek. This is a nice, flat, easy little trail, maybe 1/2 mile long. You actually walk along a sort of boardwalk, as it is advisable to stay off of the ground as it can be muddy, and it also helps to preserve the habitat of the Salt Creek Pupfish, an endangered species of fish that only live in this one particular area. Salt Creek was once a lake, but it has since dried up and receded into only a few small streams. Looking at the few shallow streams that run through there, it is hard to imagine that anything can survive in such a limited environment. We didn't see any Pupfish though. I have since read that the best times to see the Pupfish is from March to May.
We reached Furnace Creek Campground and put up the tent. It was very windy that day, so making sure the tent stakes stuck in the ground was essential, otherwise the tent would have blown away. After we set up camp, we headed out to Artist Drive, which is between Furnace Creek and Badwater. Artist Drive is a beautiful drive among the canyons in Death Valley. It is named such as the rocks are colorful from the many different mineral deposits found in them. One point of interest on the drive is Artist Palette. This is a beautiful stop, and it is best viewed in the early evening when the sun is going down. It is during this time that the colors are most striking. You can see shades of pinks, yellows, reds, purples, and greens. The iron salts produces the reds, yellows and pinks. Decomposing mica makes up the green shades, and manganese makes the purple colors. You can venture down into the canyon as there is a makeshift "staircase" that goes down there. We took this staircase down and walked into a few of the canyons there and did some exploring and climbing. Just be careful as climbing up the walls can be dangerous as the ground is unstable in spots. It is a highly recommended stop in Death Valley, especially for camera freaks like me.
It was getting too dark to do much of anything else on Saturday, so we decided to head on back to Furnace Creek. After we got something to eat, it was time to go back to the campground and get ready for the night. As night fell, we heard the sounds of coyotes howling in the background. It sounded like they were not more than 100 feet from us, although I am positive they were a lot further away than that. It sounded like there was a whole pack of them. It was really neat to hear them. The wind continued to gust and then die down thoughout the night, and by morning, it was pretty calm.
After we packed up the tent and got breakfast, we headed on out to Badwater Basin. This is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at -282 feet below sea level. With a name like "Badwater" you would think that the water is poisonous, but that is not true. The water is not poisonous, but it is extremely salty and is unsuitable for drinking. The basin is vast and white from the salt deposits that line the ground. It looks like you are walking on snow when you are out there. They even have a spot where you can scrape off the salt from your shoes. There is no trail in particular out there. You can walk for miles and miles if you want to. We didn't go that far. Just far enough to get the bottoms of our shoes covered with salt and to snap a few pictures.
After we saw Badwater, we took a drive up to the trailhead to Natural Bridge Canyon. This trail is not as easy as the other ones. It is more of a moderate climb up into the canyon. The gravely, rocky pathway makes it more difficult to walk, so good shoes are a must. Up maybe 1/2 mile or so into the canyon, you will find the natural bridge. Also just past the bridge, is a smoothed out area of the canyon wall where a waterfall would come down in the event of a flood. Judging from the poor shape of the road, there have been many floods that have come through there.
After the Natural Bridge Canyon, we went down to Devil's Golf Course. This is an area where the salt pan is above flooding level. Without the smoothing effect of the flood waters, the salt grows upward into spiny-looking pinnacles. Wind and rain work constantly to erode the pinnacles into intricate, jagged and sharp shapes. It is best to take caution when walking among these salt pinnacles, as they are sharp and one misstep can lead to severe cuts or even broken bones. This is a fascinating area, both for geologists and tourists alike.
After we were done exploring the golf course, we drove down a little further to Golden Canyon. This is a mile-long hike into the canyon. We didn't go far though. My stomach was acting up and I didn't think it would be a good idea for me to go too far into the canyon and to be too far away from a bathroom - lol. Someday, I would like to go back and finish the hike.
After this point, we took a drive to Zabriskie Point. This is a short climb to the top of a hill where you can get a good viewpoint of the badlands and of Manly Beacon. Manly Beacon is named after William Manly, a member of the Bennet-Arcane emigrant party, which became stranded in Death Valley in late December, 1849. This is one of Death Valley's signature landmarks. Manly and John Rogers, another member of the party, set out on foot and crossed some 500 miles to find a route out of the valley. When they came back a month later, they brought with them a mule, food and supplies (they had gotten 2 horses and a mule in San Fernando Valley, but the 2 horses died en route). According to Manly's memoirs, as they crossed the valley and were about to leave it, one member of the emigrant party looked back and said, "Goodbye Death Valley," and the name stuck. I think out of all the stops we made during the trip, this was my favorite spot. You can really see the topography of the landscape here. It is beautiful and strangely alien-looking.
The finaly stop we took on the way back was the sand dunes. It is a short trek from the road to the beginning of the dunes, but once you get out there, it is tough going as the sand offers little footing and makes it difficult to walk in. Plus it was pretty hot out there. Earlier in the year, a man died due to heat stroke or something hiking in the dunes. If you do hike in the dunes, bring plenty of water and a hat for shade, especially if you are going in the summer. Many hikes, however, in Death Valley, are not recommended in the summer due to the extreme heat.
Overall, the trip was great. There are so many sights to see that we didn't get to see them all. We plan on taking another trip sometime in the year to see Scotty's Castle, The Racetrack, Titus Canyon and some other places that we didn't see this time. Hopefully, we will be able to get back before it gets too hot again.
249 miles to Furnace Creek from Bakersfield
17 miles from Furnace Creek to Badwater
over 530 miles round-trip
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