Rip & Go: Badwater Basin to Gold Valley - Death Valley National Park, CA

Death Valley National Park offers a lot of the variety for those who like to explore geological wonders and discover unique bits of American history. You can hike into the back country but you can also have a very full experience without the hiking at all. Climb sand dunes experience amazingly cool breezes over the Ubehebe Crater, discover a variety of geologic creations, and visit the lowest inland elevation in the North.
http://www.wildlifeworld360.com/death-valley-national-park.html

This is a tough slog but the canyon is beautiful. Half way up we found a spring and an old prospecting site. It was raining most of the day and we went to the left at the major fork just up canyon from the spring. This lead us all the way up to the end of Sheep Canyon just below Funeral Peak. It should be noted that this is a dead end. The exit saddles out of this part of the canyon are extreme and would be very difficult without climbing gear.

Remember this is a tough hike. The ground is very rocky and unforgiving. I recommend high boots with a tough sole.

UPDATE: I talked to ranger Charlie Callagan on January 12. Backpacker was concerned about his post implying that the hikers rescued near Willow Creek on January 7th were mislead by our Sheep Canyon route description in "Rip & Go: Badwater Basin to Gold Valley - Death Valley National Park, CA" from our November 2009 issue. "I think the article is quite clear" in directing readers to stay in Sheep Canyon, he told me on the phone. He acknowledged that the rescued hikers veered off the route we detailed. The story and map clearly describe an out-and-back in Sheep Canyon, with directions like “Retrace your route back to Badwater Basin.” Nevertheless, Callagan said, the group talked themselves into hiking out via Willow Creek Canyon, which led to a series of bad decisions which triggered a helicopter rescue. Since our route does include a significant drop in elevation from Sheep Canyon into Gold Valley, Charlie asked us to add a line to emphasize why hikers need to return via Sheep Canyon and avoid the temptation to drop into the much lower Willow Creek Canyon. As a rule, our editorial focus is to give readers advice about what routes to do, not on the myriad of alternate routes or sidetrips not to do while in the wilderness. But given the recent rescue and the human nature to travel downhill, we’ve added a line to our online story and map stressing that nearby Willow Creek Canyon is impassable without climbing gear and to do the route as we describe.

Charlie: Thanks for informing us about the rescue. We're glad to hear the hikers are safe. I just left a message on your voicemail to clear up any misunderstandings about our route description. Our route here doesn't mention anything about dropping into Willow Canyon. In fact, we write the route as an out-and-back through Sheep Canyon only, and you can see the map at www.backpacker.com/hikes/511232. The info for this trip was scouted and mapped in person by Roger Homrich and our writer reported and fact-checked the route, so what it contains and entails should be accurate. Let's discuss it more.

Word to the wise;

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
Rangers Rescue Four Lost Hikers

On the evening of January 6th, rangers received a report of two missing hikers reported to be hiking a route through Sheep Canyon that had recently been featured in Backpacker magazine. Subsequent interviews with family and friends of the missing hikers revealed that there were actually four members of the party, all two days overdue. Three search teams deployed on the morning of January 7th and found numerous sets of footprints matching those associated with the vehicle parked at the mouth of the canyon. Around noon, an observer on an airplane from Lake Mead spotted a large white “X”, a signal fire, and a person waving at the plane on a ridge south of nearby Willow Canyon. One of the search teams located the other three individuals trapped in Willow Canyon shortly thereafter. A Navy Seahawk helicopter from China Lake Naval Weapons Center successfully hoisted all four of the hikers out of the canyon and delivered them to Ridgecrest Regional Medical Center. Initial reports were that one member of the party injured an ankle, and that the others were suffering from minor exposure and dehydration. Ranger Micah Alley served as IC during this incident.

Contact Information
Name: Brent Pennington, Chief Ranger

Beware of this hike!. There is no hikeable outlet to Gold Valley as Willow Canyon below the end of the road has impassable waterfalls and cliffs. You must return the way you came via Sheep Canyon. It is unfortuante that this warning was not priovided by the author of the article. Charlie Callagan, Death Valley, Wilderness Coordinator.