New year, Same old valley

[GowerGulch42]

It's been over 4 years since I last set foot in the valley. As far as I can remember, this is the longest time *in my life* that I've been away, and considering how far some of us are... that's even a short time. In 2013-2015, I was visiting 4-5 times per year, often for only a couple nights but sometimes for a week. Moving north to Oregon was always what I wanted and needed to do, even though it makes getting down to DV a two-day odyssey requiring me to drive clear across the state to cross into Nevada at McDermitt, nearly straight down the middle of the state to Tonopah, Beatty, and Daylight Pass. Repeat in reverse to return home. Point being: it isn't trivial anymore.

In the meantime, some things have changed. Some things have remained the same.

Scotty's Castle is still closed.
Titus Canyon is closed for a long time, no doubt.
The Salt Creek marshes and boardwalk are unrecognizable.
The salt pan at Badwater is now a glistening white, compared to the dusty brown it was in 2019.
More people than ever are visiting the park, and more problems are the result of that.
The NPS remains ciritically underfunded, and lately DVNP has had to use a higher proportion of their budget to recover from ever-increasing storm damage rather than keeping an eye on things. More tire tracks in places they ought not to be.

However, if you stand atop the Death Valley Buttes you wouldn't notice a difference. The Panamint skyline is unchanged, the view south to the Avawatz Mountains goes on forever, and the imposing grade up Towne Pass still grinds away at hundreds of rented RVs.

We're at a time in history where the sheer number of people is having a tangible impact even in far-flung areas. Popular areas were intolerable to me on a holiday weekend 5 years ago, I can't imagine they're any better now. As enthusiasts, we probably aren't the audience of concern for the park admin. We respect the place enough to not topple rocks or leave tire tracks across Racetrack Playa, but anywhere we can go can be reached by someone with less-than-pure intentions. It's a shame, but the dozen bad apples per year really DO ruin the whole batch for everyone, sometimes for decades.

There's nothing we can do to curb the increase in vandalism. More patrols might stop folks driving out into Badwater, but probably wouldn't stop vandalism of petroglyphs or artifact theft at archaeological sites deep in the Cottonwood Mountains. That's been the case for 100 years, and will be for the next 100 as well. Change will always happen. Not all change is good. We have to be able to live with that, even though we don't like it.

I just wanted to collect my thoughts, which are just ruminations of a restless brain. I miss Death Valley deeply. I intend to visit this year no matter what, so I'll get my fix soon enough

[DAW89446]

Well said …

[Beardilocks]

There’s still places to hide and soak in the silence, you just have to try harder to find them.

Some of us are still here fighting the good fight, trying to educate those that NPS can’t afford to reach, cleaning up trash, and generally just trying to keep what little in check we have the power too.

The pavement will always be a theme park, and those that inhabit it will always be posting requests for “what to do in DV when you have 3hrs” snd cosplaying their “adventure” in the Valley of Death. And the park vendors will keep selling them $3 sandwiches for $15. We’re lucky they’re not paving more of the park.

But you’re right that NPS has no time for those of us that need a deeper dive. Hopefully we can continue to foster that here, old & new. And to educate and inspire for protection and respect.

Thanks for the words and the inspiration GG.

[TacoLand]

Indeed, well said ... thanks for taking the time to write out and share your thoughts about DV.

There's a lot in there that resonated with me. Hoping to visit the Park soon and maybe rekindle some of the old wonder I used to feel down there.

[MojaveGeek]

Nice post, appreciated.

Can you say anything about Salt Creek? I know the road is closed, the boardwalk gone, etc. Can one still bushwhack through the area? I was thinking to check it out as it must have been before the boardwalk, but I would not want to trash sensitive environment or leave awful tracks forever in the mud.

[GowerGulch42]

I have no idea. I personally will be staying away for that reason - but I might still explore the upper marsh which didn't get washed out (where McLean Spring is).

[GowerGulch42]

Clearly the changes are more than superficial, though.

[TacoLand]

Yup. I'm really apprehensive about how much of my backcountry experience & information is now out the window. A lot of places I enjoyed exploring seemingly had decades of at least some sort of foot traffic to make hiking through them manageable. Guess I'll find out and report back ...

[MojaveGeek]

So maybe those nice pools are gone?  I gather that was where the reproducing population of pupfish was  - a ranger explained that the ones you see mating by the beginning of the (former) boardwalk are just going to get swept downstream and die off.

What are those photos, though? When I look on GE, I see an image which still shows the old boardwalk Presumably you posted some newer images?

[GowerGulch42]

Google Earth doesn’t always show the newest imagery by default, it shows the highest resolution imagery. Under “Historical Imagery” is where lower quality, newer or newer imagery can be found. The before pics are 2015, after are Oct. 2023.

According to NPS, the pupfish population is currently stable and weathered the flood well.