We spent the first day doing road-side touristy things, visiting places that fit the image I had of Death Valley. We drove in the south entrance of the park and up to Badwater--the lowest point in the western hemisphere at 280 feet below sea level. It was a flat, dry lake bed with lots of salt crystals. There was also a spring which made a pool with floating salt crystals. And you could look up and see a sign on a cliff above you reading "sea level".
Then we drove further up the valley to Artist's Palette, an area of colorful rock formations. Then on to the visitor center and Borax museum (Death Valley was a big area for borax mining with the use of mule teams). Finally we went on a short walk of Mosaic Canyon--a canyon with really cool rocks, both finely polished marble and mosaic like conglomerate.
The next day we headed out of the valley and up Telescope Peak--11, 049 ft--the highest point in the park. It was a nice hike--though I could definitely feel the altitude. There were lots of really gnarly, big trees and some colorful shrubs. The top was cold and windy but with great views. We could see Death Valley and Badwater to the east and the Sierras to the west. From that one point, one can see the highest and lowest points in the continental US.
The next day we headed out of the valley and up Telescope Peak--11, 049 ft--the highest point in the park. It was a nice hike--though I could definitely feel the altitude. There were lots of really gnarly, big trees and some colorful shrubs. The top was cold and windy but with great views. We could see Death Valley and Badwater to the east and the Sierras to the west. From that one point, one can see the highest and lowest points in the continental US.
On our last day we headed to Panamint Valley, on the western edge of the park. We were warned by the book that the valley was frequently used by the military for low elevation flying and indeed they were flying over our heads all day. We camped out on a dry lake bed and then hiked out to the Panamint Dunes. Distances are deceptive in the desert, it certainly didn't look like 4.5 miles to the dunes, but it did take us an hour and a half of walking to get there. The dunes were really cool, especially the dramatic ridge lines. I felt a little guilty walking on them and messing up the windblown patterns, though judging by the scarcity of footprints, it doesn't take the wind long to erase our steps.
Panamint Valley with Telescope peak in the background (tallest mtn on left)
Panamint Dunes
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