A shortcut through Death Valley National Park

Earlier this week, I posted about how I was able to stop for a quick hike along the Tahoe Rim Trail during my drive home from my long-term work assignment in northern California.

I had a chance during the second day of my drive to take a shortcut through Death Valley National Park, which I took full advantage of.

*I need more drives to run through national parks, please and thanks.*

I didn’t have too much time to explore because I had to make it home, but I did stop at a few vista points and hop out of my Jeep for a second to do a few quick miles of hiking.

Death Valley was, quite literally, on the way home. After finishing my Tahoe Rim hiking excursion, I decided to drive south via 395, which took me past Mono Lake, through the Inyo National Forest and past Mammoth Lakes. I’d originally planned on making time to hike around the Inyo, but like I mentioned, I decided to just skip home faster than anticipated due to *gestures wildly* everything.

I stopped for dinner in Bishop at Mountain Rambler Brewery and then grabbed a hotel for the night further south in Lone Pine. Then, on Sunday morning, I woke up early and took 190 to get back to Arizona.

If you didn’t know, 190 runs east-west through Death Valley National Park. So… like I said. Quite literally on the way home!

My first stop was at the Father Crowley Vista Point to snap a quick picture.

*The view from the Father Crowley Vista Point.*

I continued along 190 to Stovepipe Wells, past the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes and past Devils Corn Field, until I got to Furnace Creek and Badwater Road.

I found parking right outside Badwater Basin, and started hiking on out!

*Badwater Pool, a very salty puddle that you probably don’t want to drink from.*

Badwater Basin is one of the lowest points on Earth at about 282 feet below sea level.

*It’s a little hard to see, but there’s a small white sign about 11 o’clock from center indicating sea level.*

You can actually park in a lot on Badwater Road and walk onto the salt polygons!

The lake itself evaporated tens of thousands of years ago. Because the lake didn’t have any sort of an outlet, salts and sediments accumulated over time. When the lake eventually evaporated, all those salt deposits were left behind.

National Park Service doesn’t have a designated trail that goes through Badwater Basin and just allows the general public to walk off of the boardwalk and out onto the salt flats, which was absolutely wild? I felt like I was breaking a million NPS rules, but apparently it’s totally allowed?

With that said, I only hiked about a mile out until the trampled-down visitor-created “trail” dissipated, and then I tried to avoid hiking too far out in order to minimize my environmental impact.

*A snow-capped Telescope Peak in the background, which was wild contrasted with the mid-60s temperatures in Death Valley.*

*The salt polygons that make up the former bed of Lake Manly, which evaporated tens of thousands of years ago.*

The “hike” itself was pretty easy. It was a 0-foot elevation gain, and temperatures were in the mid-60s.

I can’t imagine doing this hike in the winter.

*Thank you for the photo, kind stranger.*

*And, thank you (as always) for the photo, self-timer and tripod!*

Wild!

Then, on the way out, I stopped at Zabriskie Point to take in the views.

*Some of the views from Zabriskie Point.*

And, that was about it. I keep saying this about, yunno, EVERY National Park, but I can’t wait to come back. Luckily, Death Valley is only about six hours from Flagstaff, so it’s at least somewhat feasible for a weekend trip.