Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126673
- D e a th V a l e y V Ie th A dr ea _ ri de in de se rt By D onald E. L. Betsw orth T o m esh a. Th e Piu te Ind i an wor d for " gro u n d afire. " Dea th Va lley . A n ame give n it by the '4 gers w ho a lm ost p eris hed in it. If I cou ld chan ge its nam e, I'd call it Won derm ent Val ley. Si n ce th e '4g ers fir s t crosse d th e va lley, thousands have exp lored this ex trao rd in ary area. Dea th Valley has mu c h 10 o ffer a nyo ne w ho vi sit s. For th e passeng erca r- bo u nd tou ri st . th e pa ved ro ads w ill ta ke \ ' O U 10 rnan v hi st o r ic a nd sce n ic spots. But th e d irt back roads ca n lead vou to sites sel dom seen eXCl'p,t iP. ;! J\;\~' Jl irL ur b, o ks. 'I'll d irt bike a nd th e -1 X -1 have o pened th ese 'a'reas' (0 i lle- nl ader-n e x p lorer: " ' ith over IW O mill ion acr es w ithin Death Vall ev Nati on al Monu menr . we ha ve j us t scra tc hed the surfa ce in th e s pas t five a n n ua l ride . After a six-mo n th self-im posed exile from m v t ru st v scooter . mv [ri ends a nd I rei urn ed '(O Furnac e C ree k fo r the six th an nua l Death Valley r ide . As we d id last vear. w c used Furnac e C ree k Ca m pgro u nd as o u r base. Th e beauty of thi s pla ce is a neat ca m p_ . s tc, a. ga s. sta tio n. a ca fe (so m ew ha t ex pen sive ), a store, ice a nd a motel • - ' for ( fie r ich 'an tl' the 'n o n sleep-i n-ihe, d irt lo vers , Nom- o f o u r g ro u p to ok . th e soft wa v. U n fort u na tely in rh e pasl Iew yea rs. due to fed era l budget cu ts. th e mon urn ent has been for ced lO close ma nv m iles of their fine dirt road s. Furth er closures have been m ad e to su p po sed ly p rot ect rocks. rar rus a n d bits of sand . L uckily th ere is still eno ug h lO keep m ost scooter riders happy. O ct ober a nd Nove m ber, to m e. is the p r im e time lO visit t he va lley. Warm da ys. coo l nights a nd verv stabl e weat her in creases the enjoy me nt of th e rider s. Wi nter and spring ra ins ca n da mpen your riding spiri t, T he bl isteri ng su m rner heat will su rely kill il. T here arc severa l wavs int o the va lley by co n ven tio na l ~·ehicles. State Rou te 190 from O la nc ha via Tow nes P ass a nd Sta te Route 178 fro m Trona ar e the mos t sceni c but arc not reco mmended for large R Vs or trai lers . It ca n be done wi th just a m ot o rcycl e trailer in row. S la te Ro ut e 127 o u t o f Bak er to Death Valley j unct ion . then 190 to F urn ace Creek is rhe Ilatt es t and lea st zig -zaggv, Yo u ca n take 178 out o f Shosh one lO Furnac e C ree k but a p p ro x im a te lv 20 e-xtra mil es is add ed o n . T his rou te is a lso Iairlv . flat. a Th e va l k-v. as we kn ow i t. is j ust kid . T he rea l vall ev wa s lorm ed so me :ears ago . T hrough Iive to 35 milli on y vo lca nic act io n th e mount ai ns ro se a nd th e va lley floor sa n k. It is real lv a " fa u lt basin " or " g ra ben " a nd no t a true val lev . B\' definit ion a va l lev is only for~ed b~' strea m acrio n .A ~'-'od p ort ion o f the area is 8000 lO 10.000 feet abo ve it s ro ck base. T hrough t he vears, Moth er Nature h as washed ro cks a nd sa n d from th e surrou ndi ng loft y peaks to partl y fill it in . Eons in th e future it's p o ssibl e that there will be no va lley, j ust a rocky a nd sa ndy p lain . If th is happe ns. its In d ian name of Tomes ha may not appl y. Th e val ley is a wonde rous p lace: It ranges fro m a mi n us 282 to 11,019 feel. From th e hot a lka li fla ts near Furnace Creek 10 the su b-a lp ine clio m at e in th e Pan am int Mo unta ins. the cha ng e is drama ti c. If yo ur specia l interest is wi ld li fe. severa l un ique forms inha bi t Death Va ll ey. T he m os t fam ous are th e pupfis h that Iive in severa l wa rm salt y poo ls and the. Desert Big H orn Sheep. I' \'C never see n the p upfis h bu t I've viewed the big horn s up in th e Panam iuts a nd th ey a re ma gn i ficent . It is es tim ated o n I\' 300 of these bea utif u l a n imal s a re ' Ief t in th e m onu m ent . Ir's hard to hel ieve hut borate is still being min ed in Deat h Va ll cy Natio nal Mo n u m en t. First fo u nd in 1873 a nd m in ed st arti n g in 1881. it was min ed until 1928. In 1971 after a ·13-yea r la pse. Bora te mining resume d due 10 a looph ol e in th e law . Ta lc is al so mi ned in Warm Spring s Can yon . Th e first d ay was taken up arrivin g a t th e ca m psi te . c hecking wit h the ra u ge rs and payin g a vi s jt to th e two museu m s. Th e o ne a t th e Visitor Cen ter a nd th e Borax M useum a t Furna c Creek Ran c h a rc both fre e .' a nd well worth th e tim e for a look .