Beauty on the Rocks in Stark Death Valley

There is something about the desert, and especially this desert, that at first glance seems the antithesis of all that park-goers find desirable. To the needs of most park visitors--shade, water and easy-to-follow nature trails--Death Valley answers with a resounding “no.”

And yet, despite the harshness of this land, when you get to know the valley you see it in a different light. As naturalist Joseph Krutch put it: “Hardship looks attractive, scarcity becomes desirable, starkness takes on an unexpected beauty.”

To many visitors, it’s the rocks that give the valley its unexpected beauty: million-year-old gravel fans and billion-year-old metamorphic rocks, as well as sedimentary rocks--marine in origin--deposited at a time when seas extended across what is now Death Valley.

In Death Valley, the forces of the earth are exposed to view with dramatic clarity: After a sudden fault, a sink became a lake. The water evaporated, leaving behind borax and, above all, fantastic scenery.

Although Death Valley is called a valley, in actuality it is not. Valleys are carved by rivers; Death Valley is what geologists refer to as a graben . Here, a block of the earth’s crust has dropped down along fault lines in relation to its mountain walls.

One of my favorite places to watch the colorful rock show is from the Red Cliffs above Golden Canyon in the Black Mountains. It’s a great hike.

Before sunrise, photographers set up their tripods at Zabriskie Point and point their cameras down at the pale mudstone hills of Golden Canyon and the great valley beyond. The panoramic view of Golden Canyon through a lens is magnificent, but don’t miss getting right into the canyon itself--which is only possible by hitting the trail.

Until the rainy winter of 1976, Golden Canyon had a road running through it. A desert deluge washed away the road, and it’s been a trail ever since.

The first mile of Golden Canyon Trail is a self-guided interpretive trail. Pick up a copy of the National Park Service’s “Trail Guide to Golden Canyon” pamphlet, available at visitor centers and at the trail head for 50 cents.

Stops in the guide are keyed to numbers along the trail, and will likely tell you more about Miocene volcanic activity, Jurassic granitic intrusion and Precambrian erosion than you ever wanted to know.

At the end of the nature trail, the path branches. One fork heads for Red Cathedral, also called Red Cliffs. The red color is essentially iron oxide--rust--produced by the weathering of rocks with a high iron content.

A second trail branch climbs two miles through badlands to Zabriskie Point. While it’s true that you can drive to Zabriskie Point, you’ll appreciate the view much more by sweating up those switchbacks on foot.

Directions to trail head: From the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, drive south on Highway 190, forking right onto Highway 178. The signed Golden Canyon trail head is on your left, three miles from the visitor center.

The hike: From the parking lot, hike up the alluvial fan into the canyon. Marvel at the tilted, faulted rock walls of the canyon as they close in around you. Notice the ripple marks, created long ago by water lapping at the shore of an ancient lake.

Deeper and deeper into the badlands you ascend. Watch for white crystalline outcroppings of borax--the same stuff of 20 Mule Team fame. Of all of Death Valley’s enterprises, borax mining proved the most profitable. Borax is definitely one of the most versatile minerals: It’s used in making porcelain enamel bathtubs and the suds that fill them, glues and glazes, solvents and emulsifiers, fertilizers and weed killers, rocket fuels and fire retardants.

At the end of the nature trail, you can continue up the main canyon a quarter-mile to the old Golden Canyon parking lot. The trail narrows and you continue by squeezing through boulders and ascending a short ladder to the base of the Red Cathedral, a colorful natural amphitheater.

Returning to the trail fork, this time you’ll follow the trail signed with the international hiker’s symbol and begin climbing toward Manly Beacon, a pinnacle of gold clay. The trail crests at the shoulder of the beacon, then descends into the badlands.

Watch for Park Service signs to stay on the trail, which is a bit difficult to follow as it marches up and down the severely eroded silt-stone hills.

A final steep grade brings you to Zabriskie Point, named for Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, one of the early heads of Death Valley borax operations. Enjoy the grand view of the valley, framed by the badlands just below and the Panamint Mountains to the west. Walk back the way you came.

HIKING / Black Mountains, Death Valley Golden Canyon Trail * Where: Death Valley National Monument. * Distance: To Red Cathedral, 2 1/2 miles round trip; to Zabriskie Point, 6 miles round trip with 700-foot elevation gain. * Terrain: Alluvial fan, dramatic cliffs. * Highlights: Grand view, display of color from purple to gold as sun passes over Golden Canyon. * Degree of Difficulty: Moderate. Some rock scrambling required to reach Red Cathedral. * Precautions: Bring drinking water. * For more information: Call Death Valley National Monument at (619) 786-2331.