I’d put Dante’s View as THE best thing to do at DVNP. Looking west into the valley below you are looking at the actual Death Valley, or, technically, the Amargosa River Valley. The Panamint is to the west of this one, on the western side of Telescope Peak.

Spent 6 hours up here. Took over 200 photos. None are prize-worthy. But, looking at Nature for the sake of finding a good composition allows you to notice details you’d normally glance over. Noticing those details is a pleasure in itself.

Furthermore, to be up so high with such enormous views is not something I experience every day. There is just something pleasant to our psychological makeup to be derived from enormous views, and Death Valley has a multitude of such views. Though, again, Dante’s View is the best.

Dante’s View is almost directly above the Badwater Basin. You can see the path I walked on Sunday the 5th. It’s that thin, white line that leads to the white circle of salted land. I’m 5,575′ above that white path here on this mountain. That’s a bigger drop than most Grand Canyon views.

This is Dante’s View. There’s a trail along the ridge of this mountain, which affords a multitude of angles. Some views are better than others. I imagine most people don’t walk any significant portion of the trail. They should. Those different angles are worthwhile.

Facing north. Again, the colors of Death Valley NP are far more than mere brown.

Telescope Peak. It’s the tallest point on the Panamint Range. The top is still almost 6,000′ above.

Facing south

That circular salt deposit in the top-right third is kina’ neat. I wonder how much the areas covered in white salt fluctuate on the Valley floor.

People on the rocks.

1940

Facing due east. In the far horizon are the snow-topped Spring Mountains that are northwest of Las Vegas. You can kinda’ see brown haze in the top right. In real life that haze was quite noticeable.