Is Death Valley on your list of places you need to visit? What are your dreams?
It's always good to look for information on the National Park Service web site. Click to access the home page for Death Valley National Park.
When you arrive in the park, take the time to stop in the visitor's center and talk to the rangers. They have all sorts of hike descriptions, from a sheet titled Day Hikes to others that are detailed descriptions of longer explorations. (I hesitate to call them trails, since many are marked as No trail.)
Ranger programs, valuable, fascinating
I found the ranger programs in the park well worth attending.
It's funny, the last time I attempted to go on a guided hike in a National Park was when I was in Glacier on my first self-supported bike trip. I didn't stay with the group very long then, but on this trip I did.
I went on two guided walks, and attended 3 evening programs. The evening programs are all at the visitor center which is within walking distance of both the motel and the campgrounds at Furnace Creek. If you choose to stay at Stovepipe Wells, you are 20+ miles away from the visitor center.
I've included descriptions of the walks and evening programs that I attended. In both cases, the descriptions were borrowed from the Ranger Programs handout. Click to view the current week's Ranger Programs.
I was extremely lucky in my timing. These programs are not run in the hot weather of summer and early fall (at least the walks aren't, the visitor center evening programs may be); the week that I was in the park was the week the programs resumed.
Two guided walks in one day - I think that's a record for me! Both were excellent:
- Natural Bridge Geology - "Discover the geologic wonders of the Black Mountains. The hike passes under the bridge and ends at a major fault that is part of the Death Valley story." This walk was led by a geologist who was clearly excited about Death Valley. He spends the summer months working in Yellowstone, and the rest of the year in Death Valley, and this week marked his return to the desert.
- Desert Photography - "Join a nature photographer for tips and techniques to improve your photography with all cameras. Meet at the Sand Dunes." And what luck! There were only two of us who elected to go on the photography hike on Tuesday. We talked about camera settings, but even more we talked about composition. We walked a bit, but most of our time was spent standing, talking, and looking through a camera on a tripod as Bob used examples to show techniques for improving the composition of shots. Fabulous!
- The Storms of 2004 - "Did you ever wake up and find that everything had changed? See the effects and aftermath of Death Valley's great storms of 2004."
- Salt, Sand and Summits - "The varied ecosystems of Death Valley are so unusual and captivating, you may never want to leave."
- Rare as Rain - "Sunshine and blue skies in the desert can get a little tedious after a while, but a Death Valley rainstorm is always a special treat! Discover the miracle of a desert cloudburst."
Roads & maps... getting to hiking points
Will you be happy sticking to the paved roads and the "normal car-approved" good condition dirt roads? Or do you want to explore the path less traveled?
Death Valley has over 1000 miles of roads. I'm told that 300 miles of those roads are paved, and there are some dirt roads that are fairly well kept and that can be driven with an everyday vehicle. For the four days I spent there I was quite happy with where I could wander, but when I return I may consider renting a 4-wheel drive vehicle.
If you're a map freak - as I am - you may want a topo map of the park. I picked up a copy of the Trails Illustrated map of Death Valley National Park. This covers the entire park; if you are planning to do some long distance trekking, more detailed topo maps are also available.
There is a new map produced by the park service (well actually, it says "Presented by Jeep" on the bottom of the page, but still...). This map shows all roads, paved and not paved, along with classifications by type of vehicle. Even though it's a brand new document - maybe because it is new - it needs to be (and is scheduled to be) reprinted since the printer laid the roads over the wrong section of the relief. So the map as it exists makes it look like there are roads down the spine of the mountains. Nope! It's still worth requesting a copy.
The roads on this map, titled Death Valley Backcountry Roads, are shown as
- paved
- unpaved (but OK for normal vehicles)
- high clearance, 4-wheel-drive
- rough 4-wheel-drive
Even with all of the information on the maps, be sure to check in with the rangers if you're planning to drive one of the rougher roads. One example is Racetrack Valley Road. It's a place that is very tempting, but I knew that I couldn't go there in my rental car. Sam was going to attempt it in his truck, but the rangers strongly recommended that he not go there.
Vehicle needed? High-clearance due to loose gravel, washboard, and rocks. Flat tires are common on this road so be sure your full-sized spare is inflated, all parts of your jack are on hand, and tire tread is good. May require 4WD due to changing road conditions and irregular maintenance, so check postings.It's 28 miles along this road before you reach the start of the Racetrack.
Why would I love to go there? The description of the area is fascinating:
The Racetrack is a dry lakebed famous for its mysterious moving rocks.Oh, and the rangers told Sam that if he broke down or got stuck on the way to The Racetrack and he needed a tow from there, the current fee for a tow is $2000. And no, that's not a typo - it does say two thousand dollars!
Maps, maps, maps... you might want to visit the Maps page of the Death Valley National Park web site.
