Golden Canyon in Death Valley
「Death Canyon Day 2」
When exploring Death Valley, planning ahead is essential. While many visitors opt for a quick tour, if you truly want to know, feel, and connect with this vast, barren land—its peculiar rock formations and surreal gullies—you have to walk into it. And once you do, I promise: you won’t regret it. You may even fall in love with it.
After our eye-opening first day, we returned to Lone Pine—a two-hour drive that somehow felt twice as long in the dark. Budget and geography led us to choose Lone Pine, over 100 miles away, as our base. With fewer than 2,000 residents, it’s a quiet little town we grew quite fond of.
On the morning of Day 2, we hit the road again, this time heading straight past Mosaic Canyon and Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes toward our next destination: the trailhead of Golden Canyon.
Our research told us that Golden Canyon had once been a prominent mining site during the California Gold Rush. Devoid of grass and dotted with golden-hued gravel, it earned its name from both its history and appearance. As we stepped out of the car, the long road behind us faded into the distance. Though it was “winter,” the sun was warm and high, and the landscape, as always, remained bone-dry. The living density here is extremely low—so low that we might be counted among the few living beings around.
📍 For an overview of attractions and planning tips, see:
[Death Canyon, USA] Itinerary Guide and Scenic Spot Preview
For Day 1 highlights, check:
[Death Canyon, USA] Enter the Most Vivid Outdoor Geology Museum
[Death Canyon, USA] Desert Wonders Below Sea Level
Into the Canyon
- F1. A few steps in, we were surrounded by boldly colored gravel and sand.
- F2. The intensity of the colors seemed to darken the sky itself.
- F3. Without trees or figures for scale, we lost all sense of distance.
- F4. A massive rock stood silently, its surroundings long weathered away. Only the sections it shielded were preserved.
- F5. Occasionally, we saw traces of ancient rivers. While rain might seem helpful in this dry place, short showers here can trigger flash floods and mudslides—dangerous in a land without vegetation to hold it together.
- F6. About 2 miles in, we were fully immersed in wilderness—no life, no shelter. If a storm or scorching sun hit, there’d be nowhere to hide.
- F7. The slopes weren’t especially tall, but climbing them under the sun at nearly 30°C with no wind quickly silenced us. We stopped often, walked quietly, and I let my camera speak for me.
- F8. Deep red conglomerate rock, dense and durable, resisted erosion far better than the golden sandstone. Some cliffs looked like natural cathedrals.
- F9. In the harsh silence, every step brought us closer to dehydration.
- F10. Two hikers paused ahead of us, taking in this alien terrain.
- F11. Standing where they had stood, I felt like I was on another planet. Compared to Alabama Hills, this felt even more surreal.
- F12. Looking back, we had no idea how far we’d come—or how far we still had to go.
- F13. I was the first to reach the summit, where I finally felt a breeze. Looking back at my companions, I captured the scale of this land through them.
- F14. The mountain beside me was the tallest around, looming like a sentinel.
- F15. This was the only trace of human presence along the way.
- F16. Beyond the summit, the trail rose and fell repeatedly—no easy descent, just relentless hills.
- F17. The red rock walls sliced through the terrain. Despite it being winter, the sun's intensity was punishing. You finally understand why this is called Death Valley.
- F18. In the distance, two golden humps glowed: the viewing platform at Zabriskie Point. We could just make out the silhouettes of visitors.
- F19. The rivers are long gone. Only the dry trunks of forgotten plants remain, still waiting for a rain that may never come.
- F20. From above, the land unfolded in a breathtaking palette. Different minerals gave way to vibrant color contrasts, especially vivid under the sun.
- F21. Zabriskie Point was named after Christian Zabriskie, VP and GM of Pacific Coast Borax Company, who helped develop the region. Mining remnants and even old explosives still lie scattered in the land. For safety and preservation, off-trail exploration is prohibited. From here, you can enjoy a nearly 360-degree view of Death Valley's dramatic terrain—truly unmissable.
- F22. The sun began to dip. Though it was only mid-afternoon, it felt like the day was slipping away. We still had half the hike left and hurried to capture what we could with our cameras.
- F23. As we descended, the crowds faded behind us. The color contrasts became even sharper.
- F24. The abandoned riverbed stretched ahead. The absence of water made us imagine the harshness of summer. In such heat, these colors—beautiful now—would become merciless and deadly.
- F25. The dark brown “cover” on some hills isn’t moss or seaweed—it’s a layer of erosion-resistant conglomerate, rich in iron oxide. Without plant roots to stabilize the land, these layers slow erosion from above, shielding the fragile sandstone beneath.
- F26. Walking along the ancient riverbed felt easy and quiet. Hard to believe this area was once a lush lake teeming with life. Nature doesn’t explain itself—but maybe that’s what makes it magical.
- F27. In the narrower channels, rainbow-colored rocks appear. This place seems to use every shade from nature’s palette. The smooth walls recall ancient floods—water may be ruthless, but rocks remember.
- F28. At the mouth of the river channel, a wide gap drops nearly two meters from the land on either side. The size of past floods is hard to imagine.
- F29. You may ask: Why are there no plants here? Mosaic Canyon had some, even near the sand dunes. But Golden Canyon’s surface is made of dense sandstone and conglomerate, which water cannot penetrate. So even a heavy downpour brings no life—only flash floods. Perhaps, it's better to leave it untouched.
The vibrant colors of Golden Canyon are unforgettable. The hike spans 8 kilometers, with nearly 400 meters of elevation gain. Not everyone will choose to take it on, but for those who do, the memory of these landscapes will last a lifetime.
[Off-Topic Reflection]
This Death Canyon Part 3 post comes nearly a year and a half after Part 2. A few reasons (not excuses): First, I was dealing with immigration matters, thankfully now resolved (I'll share more in a separate post). Second, my poor 4-year-old laptop simply couldn’t handle RAW files over 30MB. It struggled—and eventually, so did I. The photos from that year and a half just piled up, untouched.
But recently, I finally saved up enough to buy the second desktop of my life. It wasn’t cheap (over $1,600—yes, it hurt), but it’s already paid off. Processing RAW and NEF files is now a joy. And with that, this blog post was finally born.