A DESERT ROAD TRIP THAT TRAVELS BACK IN TIME.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK - Paved roads provide visitors with a highlights tour of Death Valley National Park, but if you're willing to risk your axle and your wits, you'll find nearly 700 miles of dirt roads leading to numerous historic sites and geologic features.

One of the more accessible and rewarding routes is the West Side Road, which loops around the back side of the Badwater Basin in the southern reaches of the park. Over its 36 miles, it visits the place where the ill-fated Bennett-Arcan pioneer party camped in the winter of 1849-50, passes the graves of two colorful characters from Death Valley's past and skirts a long-abandoned borax works.

Though roughly ribbed from rain runoff, the road is nonetheless flat and relatively straight - pretty tame by Death Valley standards. Still, rangers recommend a vehicle with a reasonably high clearance (SUV or pickup truck). If you do attempt this drive in a passenger sedan, be sure you have a full-size spare tire (not the temporary ``doughnut'' spare that comes with many cars).

Also, before venturing off the highway - particularly in winter, when there is flash-flood danger in the mountains and foothills - it's wise to check on road conditions at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, carry plenty of water and travel in parties of two vehicles, if possible. In the event of a breakdown, it can be a punishing walk back to civilization.

We hopped on the West Side Road at its north end, in the area of Artists Palette, and were soon rattling over a gravelly route that had been turned to corduroy in many stretches by the runoff of mountain rains.

We decided to drive 18 1/2 miles to the pioneer site, Bennett's Long Camp, and double back. To give you an idea of how few visitors stray off the pavement in this park, we saw only one other vehicle in an excursion that consumed most of a morning.

From the north, the West Side Road crosses Salt Creek and passes alongside Middle Basin, the bed of what was a lake 20,000 years ago. The evaporation of the lake left a vast, salt-encrusted plain. This is the northern extremity of what came to be called the Devil's Golf Course.

A little farther on is Tule Spring, which was an important source of water for early visitors, and farther still is a simple rock cairn marking the graves of Jim Dayton and Frank ``Shorty'' Harris. Dayton was a Death Valley pioneer who died in 1898, while Harris was a colleague who outlived him by 36 years.

Harris reportedly told friends, ``Bury me beside Jim Dayton in the valley we loved. Above me write, 'Here lies Shorty Harris, a single blanket jackass prospector.' '' And that's exactly how the iron plaque on the rock memorial reads.

We were disappointed with what was supposed to be the ruins of the Eagle Borax Works, a short-lived 1880s operation that was so inefficient its founder committed suicide over his failure. An information panel shows a photo of the former operation, but any ruins have long since been covered over with earth.

Continuing on required persistence. In some places the road was graded fairly smooth, but in many others it was a washboard, threatening to shake the teeth out of your head if you drove faster than 15 mph.

The progress was even rougher for the ox-drawn wagons of the Bennett- Arcan party, which entered the valley at Furnace Creek late in 1849 while taking what it presumed was a short cut to the California gold fields. The group followed roughly the same route of this West Side Road before straggling to a halt in an utterly desolate area.

A historical marker stands near where they camped for a month while two valiant young men in the party walked 200 miles south to San Fernando Mission. The two returned with supplies and led the bedraggled pioneers to the San Francisquito Rancho near present-day Saugus.

Our route out was considerably less arduous. We turned around and rattled back north on the bumpy road, deprived only of the use of the CD player.

IF YOU GO

--The West Side Road stretches about 36 miles as it parallels Highway 178 in the southern reaches of Death Valley National Park. Catch it southbound in the area of Artists Drive, six miles south of Furnace Creek; or northbound near the Ashford Mill Ruins, three miles from the intersection of Highway 178 and Harry Wade Road.

--A good resource for off-road treks in Death Valley is ``Backcountry Excursions: Southern California,'' by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson (Swagman Publishing; $34.95). It provides directions, odometer readings, GPS coordinates and information about features along the way.

--For road conditions in the national park, visit www.nps.gov/deva and click on ``Death Valley Morning Report.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Historic sites and natural features reward travelers who venture off Death Valley's paved road and explore West Side Road.

(2) If your vehicle can take it, there are interesting dirt roads to explore in Death Valley.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor

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IF YOU GO (see text)