is a place where, legends

______~ • ._~_____ ; ' .•.7:·..J.1°_ .i O' .._O . n --,1 ..• . ..• ~... _ ; never die • By Brian Lambert Within striking range of the Knight-Ridder Newspapers phantom mine, shots would sud- Much less than a century ago, denly ring out, breaking the deaf- when the rest of the country still ening silence and shocking the thought of Death Valley as an unsuspecting investors out of in- unforgivably hostile environ- termediate stages of heat psycho- ment, a heat-seared wasteland, sis. As bullets pelted the roasting where scorpions crawled over poi- moonscape, Scotty and his ward sonous snakes to inflict hideous would dive for what cover they pain on misbegotten travelers could find. moments before they perished of During a momentary lull in the dehydration, a few legendary con shooting, Scotty would announce men were already living well off that their only hope was for him, the place. Among the hucksters Scotty, to circle around and sub- exploiting fears of an earthly in- due the varmint. ferno was Walter Edward, Scott, Two or three days later, when later known as Death Valley Scotty returned, the investor was Scotty. sufficiently shaken by the whole Scotty sustained a long, color- experience - not to mention de- ful life by suckering effete East- hydration - that he gladly ex- erners into bogus gold mining' cused himself from the first-hand deals. It was his style-to make inspection of his mine. He would extravagant "investment tours" content himself with a train ride of New York and Chicago (one back to civilization and a cold time hiring an entire train, full of drink, although not necessarily gullible reporters, to set a Los in that order. Angeles-to-Chicagospied record). As the train disappeared over AII the way he told tales of un- the horizon, Scotty would pay his fathomable riches bulging from hired sniper out of his investor hidden rock seams in the most grubstake and return to exploit- godforsaken, forbidding place on ing Death Valley's reputation as Earth. the most hostile and unforgiving Death Valley! ,A place so hot, environment known to man. desolate, dry and vast only expe- The automobile, air-condition- rienced prospectors were advised ing and, Herbert Hoover's signa- to venture in. Fortified with fool's ture, turning Death Valley into a money, Scotty would promptly National Monument 11h times as disappear back into the Califor- large as the state of Delaware, nia deserts, leaving his investors changed a lot of that forever. to await word that they were rich The sun, the heat and the star- beyond all reason. tling aridity remain of course. When word didn't come, as it (Less than an inch and a half of invariably did not, the few who annual precipitation falls in could face the humiliation of be- Death Valley. It is so dry, a lake ing swindled made their way out 12 feet deep would evaporate in a West, confronted Scotty and de- year). Hoover's signature also manded to be led to their mine. preserved the magnificent silence They would be obliged without and pristine desolation of the hesitation. , place, protecting it from the ram- Astride mangy little burros, shackle squallor of roadhouses, the intensely skeptical-to-out- curio shops and scruffy "resorts" right surly investor and Scotty that blot so much of the great would descend down through one Southwestern desert. of the numerous mountain passes The ironic part is that by the and out on to the sprawling salt time Death Valley was estab- pans of the valley floor; huge, lished as a National Monument barren spaces denuded of vegeta- in 1933 it had already played tion, absent virtually all animal host to a fantastic collection of life and sound and incapable of schemers - pioneers, prospec- offering so much as a drop of tors, con men like Scotty and big- fresh water or a square inch of time tycoons like the Montgom- protection from a pitiless sun., ery brothers and Francis Marion Smith, who would eventually If Scotty's companions lasted make their respective fortunes off the first ,few days on the floor of gold and . These people left Death Valley, where surface tern- behind artifacts and wrecks of a peratures have been recorded as boistrous, frenzied age, from the high as 190 degrees, they never 1850s to the 1930s. survived the ambush. , Ghost towns, deserted mining camps, shattered gold mills and crater and to historical oddities abandoned kilns dot the land- like the crude graves of "single scape. Against the expanse of blanket jackass prospectors" like Death Valley these relics are Shorty Harris and Ed Cross, physically insignificant, more miles out on the desert floor near monuments themselves than ru- the Eagle Borax works. ins, but spiritually they echo with Supported with a couple of gal- thousands. of broken dreams of Ions of water, thick-soled shoes, wealth and adventure, all of sunglasses and a hat, the fierce which accentuates the ghostly heat of an average day is not only grandeur of the valley. tolerable but surprisingly enjoy- In -its present state all these able, provided you are in reason- curiosities are accessible, and ably good health. with nowhere near the congestion Water is the secret to moving of Yosemite, Yellowstone and the on foot in the prime of Death Val- Tetons. Most are tucked off in ley's heat, Drink it. Lots of it. corners, up in canyons of the Constantly. You won't need en- Black Mountains and Funeral couragement, but in case you are Mountains, running down the out to prove you can ration your- east flank of the valley, or-the self, don't. Cottonwood and towering Pana- Sans any semblance of humid- mint Range to the west. Roads of ity and removed so far from noise varying quality can get you in to and chemical pollutants, a two- places like the Keane Wonder hour hike in Death Valley's mid- Mill and the site of boomtown day heat produces a peculiar kind Skidoo by car, but at some point of serenity. Radiant heat loosens Death Valley - in all its heat, muscles and joints as walking silence and vastnesses - should . slows the metabolic rate. M~n~ be experienced on foot. while, the tremendous contrast in Temperatures vary tremen- elevation between the valley floor dously, creating markedly differ- arid (nearly ent experiences depending on the 12,000 feet higher, or almost season of the year. Winters are twice the elevation of the Grand fairly typical of most desert ar- Teton above Jackson Hole) con- eas. From early November to the tributes to a pleasant, lulling dis- end of March daytime highs aver- orientation - a sensation not to age from 75 to 80 degrees, falling be confused with dizziness from to the mid-30s during January dehydration. nights. Summers are something The combination of heat and else. - . silence creates an intimacy at From April through July the odds with the sheer volume of heat builds from highs of 88 de- space around you. You feel envel- grees to 116. In 116-degree heat a oped a!ld protected, while at the gallon of ice-cold water will turn same time you are 8:bsol.utelyv';1l- tepid within 20 minutes. You will nerable to extraordinarily hostile I drink 'your fill, walk 15 minutes elemental forces. and be parched. For all intents Fortunl;ltely, D~ath Valley can and purposes you will not sweat explored m a variety .of ways. or urinate. In such heat Death In addition to nine widely dis- Valley is still a harsh, alien envi- persed campgrounds (including ronment - and therefore a fasci- one, Mahogany Flats, in the cool- nating sensory adventure. (Tech- ness 8,200 feet up in the pinon nically, Death Valley is 'not a trees and bristlecone pines above valley. It was not formed by river the valley), the main service erosion: Geologically it is a "gra- area, Furnace Creek Ranch, is a ben," a sediment-filled chasm large, well-equipped complex. sinking between dynamic moun- Tent sites, RV hook-ups, medi- tain ranges.) urn-priced cabins and motel Even in the most int~nse heat roOI~s ($66 to $94 a, night, lower it is possible to take day hikes, duri ng summer months) are 1 most two or three miles in length, Please see DEATH/3L , from points all around the valley. r------f Some are loops which take you to t petroglyphs and into mining ru- 1 ins, out on the salt pan near Bad- water - at 280 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North ~ America - down into a volcanic Death------• From 2L the dunes. If you're blessed with a the valley, including lodging at available and reservations are calm day, without an intermit- Stovepipe Wells near the sand , recommended. tent blasting of blowing sand, the dunes, can be obtained by writing ; The centerpiece of Furnace inner folds and mini-valleys of Fred Harvey Inc., P.O. Box 187, . Creek Ranch, though, is a grove the dunes have, like so much of Death Valley, Calif. 92328. of date palms, an 18-hole golf the valley, an extraordinary , _ course and a beautiful, unchlorin- calming, cocooning effect. ated fresh water pool that main- From atop the largest of the 'tains an 84 degree water tern- dunes you can see 20 miles or , perature year-round. more north, in the direction of Few moments are as' sublime Death Valley's main tourist curi- " as floating in that warm spring osity, Scotty's Castle. One of the water under a desert night sky of Easterners Scotty tried to swin- 'shimmering, unearthly, silky dle was a Chicago insurance mil-

I blackn~ss. lionaire by the name of Albert , A mile southeast of Furnace Johnson. Creek Ranch is the lavishly ap- When Johnson came out to per- : pointed Furnace Creek Inn, built sonally inspect his investment he , by borax and railroad barons in was surprised by how good he the late 1920s. At $300 for a de- felt, how a chronic back problem , luxe double, you may need a spe- was suddenly alleviated by the , cial occasion to spend a night at heat and how invigorated he felt , the Inn, but it is in every way a by the air, the horseback rides first-class resort. (The inn is and Scotty's tale-spinning compa- , closed from mid-May to mid-Octo- ny. Eventually Johnson con- : ber). vinced his wife that they should However rigorous it may be in build a desert home 3000 feet up the heat of the day, twilight and in Grapevine Canyon at the night are Death Valley's exotic north end of the valley. compensations. A magnet for desert romantics Getting there: Death Valley is are the sand dunes, located more a 21/2hour drive by car from Las or less at the crossroads of the Vegas. four primary mountain ranges. Where to stay: Reservations Winds sweeping through a net- for the Furnace Creek Ranch and work of passes creates a conflu- Inn can be made be calling 1-800- , ence of migrating sand, trapping 528-6367, or writing Furnace it here. The major dunes pile up Creek Resort, P.O. Box 1, Death , as high as 100 feet. Valley, Calif. 92328. You can leave your car off to Information: Superintendent, the side of California 190, Death Death Valley Monument, Death Valley's main drag, and walk the Valley, Calif. 92328. Information mile and a half into the center of on other ammenities throughout