I didn’t expect much.
I figured Death Valley would be a desolate plane of nothingness, given that it’s the lowest point in the continent, clocking in at 200-some feet below sea level– and is thought to be the hottest place on earth in the summertime.
I couldn’t have been more wrong!
As far as desert landscapes go, they can often be fairly featureless for miles and miles. And while Death Valley has its flat, empty stretches– there are a surprising number of mini-ecosystems within it, each one feeling distinctly different. There’s everything from broad sand dunes, to snowmelt-nurtured wildflowers, to springs and ponds, to inactive mines, to waterfalls (yes).
Deserts are deceptively alive, and Death Valley had far more life (and features) to it than I anticipated.
We spent most of our time in the park in and around Zabriskie Point badlands. This area of the park features stunning and strange formations in the rock and sand, caused by runoff and snowmelt that result in broad washes.
True-to-form for badlands everywhere, the multicolored nature of the rock, sand, and dirt features were striking– in the same view, one might see hues of browns, reds, yellows, and oranges tinting the landscape at intervals. This variance made this particular area of the park come alive in a way that never receded into the ‘sea of pale brown’ in some desert areas.
We decided to hike in and around the washes in the morning, on a relatively simple walk that was just a few miles, and finished with a few of the point and its mountainous landscape. On the way, we encountered hard-packed sand, cracked under the strain of lack of water– and kicked up dust galore under our boots.
Boulders would sometimes dot the thick, sandy passageways– and rock formations would sometimes strike upward into the sky like a spine– it seemed to have no rhyme or reason to it– a thorough desolateness abounded in every direction. The way the dust and sand seemed frozen or stuck appeared to mimic the surface of the moon.
This landscape could swallow a person up quickly– we were thankful for our AllTrails maps, as there were few markers and there was no obvious bootpath. I would not have felt nearly as comfortable without a digital map in my pocket.
Ascending out of the wash, up toward the famed point, Moon decided to ruin a perfectly cool photo of our shadows by dancing erratically– which I grumbled about at the time, but ultimately came to love. It’s now one of my favorite photos we have taken together– even though in it, she is taking the absolute p*ss out of my Very Serious Photo Taking Habit.
This photo serves as a good reminder not to take myself too seriously– a minor (perhaps major) fault of mine which Moon thankfully works to prevent daily.
After finishing our hike, we took some scenic drives around the park, mostly focused on winding our way out of it. Death Valley isn’t particularly accessible, despite only lying about 5 hours from the major metro of Los Angeles. The roads felt nearly-deserted on the way, and the towns we passed through had the vibes of last-chance outposts.
Mac was pretty despondent that even in the winter temperatures, he could not find much shade. He’s a dog who loves to find his shields from the direct sunshine, and those places were few and far between in Death Valley.
I can’t believe I am saying this– but we didn’t get nearly enough time at Death Valley, barely feeling we scratched the surface in our day there– we only experienced one-to-two key areas of the park. If I would have known in advance how varied and interesting the landscape was, I would have planned a longer stay– but we felt lucky to get the chance to be there at all (and to survive to tell the tale, of course).
Posted by Sun
