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| Hiking | 6.30 Miles |
1,103 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.30 Miles | | | |
| 1,103 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | After stepping out of my car at Dante's View and nearly being blown over, this loop from Zabriskie Point quickly became Plan B. Hiking among the otherworldly badlands formations was fun, and the loop provided a lot of different points of view. And old mines, too 
First headed down Gower Gulch (clockwise travel). The trail begins as an old mining-related road, but is quickly swallowed up by the wash. Continuing along the wash, there were some nice twists and turns to keep things interesting. The morning light was soft on the runoff-sculpted sediments, bringing out a variety of shades and stripes. As the light intensified, the colors became much more monotonal. It also became hot. Down in a badlands wash with very reflective surfaces all around, I should have expected nothing less.
It was a strange feeling to walk through all this area with absolutely no plants or any other signs of life. Not even a single lizard or fly. So, it was a bit of a shock to come to the old borax mines and their platforms, trails, and tunnels. The strangest thing to see was timbers - how far away did they need to be brought from? Due to elevation and rain shadow, the Black and Funeral Mtns don't even have small trees on their highest peaks. Interesting to explore and imagine what life was like for those who worked these short-lived claims.
After passing the mines, Gower Gulch narrows and the walls get steeper and higher. Twisting and turning through the confines, it felt like a whole different wash. A few small dryfalls, even. Gower Gulch ends somewhat abruptly at a 40-foot dryfall with a view across the valley out toward the Panamint Mtns. There was a lot more snow up there after last night's precipitation. After enjoying the immense scope of the view, I followed the trail around the dryfall and across toward the mouth of Golden Canyon. Hitting the trailhead at Golden Canyon, there was an immediate increase in the number of people on trail with me from zero to 20 or more. The usual assortment of Death Valley winter tourists, most stared at my pack like I was the crazy one. 
After a bit of a slog up Golden Canyon with all the tourists, the loop toward Zabriskie Point branched off and I left all other hikers behind. Much of this portion of the trail stayed up out of the washes - a very different perspective than the first half of the loop. The trail traversed right under Manly Beacon, bringing back memories of my first ever trip to Death Valley. Overall, a nice hike on a nice day.
In the future, I would probably start and end at the Golden Canyon trailhead but still hike clockwise. This would get the part of the hike with a ton of people over with first, end your hike with a downhill stretch, and provide a perfect lunch stop at Zabriskie Point if you timed it right. |
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| "Let it ride / Let it roll / Let it go" |
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Route Editor
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