The Alltrack in Death Valley

Story: With the Golf Alltrack through Death Valley

Through Death Valley National Park, USA in the Golf Alltrack

Of course all the great heroes of the westerns came this way – true to the saying, If you survive Death Valley, Death is going to have to wait a while. While the horses and six-guns are no longer everyone's first choice for equipment on adventure trips, Death Valley has never really lost its appeal.

The valley of all valleys is located on California's eastern border. Separated from Los Angeles by five major mountain ranges, it has missed out on most of the progress that has taken place around it. Not a single hamburger joint, no luxury hotel, not even a small shopping mall has yet dared even to near Death Valley. Time seems to have stood still throughout the 235 kilometre-long valley floor. To be more precise, time appears to have stopped in the entire territory of the national park bearing the same name, which has encompassed exactly 13,628 square kilometres since 1994.

During the day: dazzlingly bright
Back on the lonely main road, it is once again clear how difficult orientation in the valley is. The reason is the expanse of monotonous, barren landscape. Not much chance to note landmarks. Still worse, the sun is so bright and dazzling that it is difficult to determine its exact location without sunglasses.

Death Valley is enclosed by mountains exceeding 3,000 meters elevation. Golden yellow sand dunes shift through the valley, the salt crust of a former sea glitters, and a Tornado Red Golf Alltrack sparkles in the sun. You know, the Golf for all occasions. Or rather, for all trails. The independent sister of the estate version. It doesn't just look like it can handle all terrain; it has all the important ingredients on board to do so: for example, the heavy-duty suspension with the crucial extra ground clearance is standard equipment. The powertrain is protected by a discreet underbody guard with a stainless-steel look, while robust plastic cladding protects the edge of the sheet metal skin. And of course, the talented 4Motion all-wheel drive keeps things moving.

With this equipment, the Alltrack is ready to explore Death Valley immediately, as do approximately 1.2 million visitors annually, of whom a good 40% are German. They are all attracted to this inhospitable place in the desert. Only few of the visitors are aware that the valley is home to more than 900 different species of plants and trees. Twenty-one of these species can be found only here.

A hot night: 41.7° Celsius

Grille swelling with pride, the Alltrack rolled quietly down the rough, cracked asphalt, straight into the valley. The road seemed to have been rolled out randomly. After nearly an hour without oncoming traffic, there appeared a faded brown sign, which had already been thoroughly roasted by the sun. It reported on the lowest point in the western hemisphere. It was slightly off the main road, in the southern part of Death Valley and was called Badwater.

The Alltrack followed the sign and turned down a narrow side road which resembled an annual convention for pebbles. The Volkswagen takes it in stride, rolling comfortably onward until the lowest point in Death Valley appeared in its headlights. Here, 85.5 meters below sea level, the highest temperatures in North America are regularly registered. This is a bit surprising, considering that the only a few hundred kilometres away, the Pacific Ocean is lapping at the California coast. Incidentally, the highest recorded temperature is 56.7° Celsius, measured on 10 July 1913. The hottest night here, 41.7°C, occurred about 100 years later.

Luckily, the Golf's navigation system knows the way. The settlers in 1849 would not have had any problems either, if they had had this talented device. But instead they got lost with 100 covered wagons while searching for a short cut to the Old Spanish Trail, and needed weeks to find a way out of the valley. Their provisions ran out, and they had to slaughter some of their oxen for food. When they finally escaped through the Wingate Pass, one of the women is said to have turned around and called out "Goodbye, Death Valley". Thus, the valley was named.

But the Alltrack will not suffer this fate. Using the off-road program, it explores the most beautiful corners of the national park on unpaved paths. These include Titus Canyon with its ghost town and colourful cliffs and the Telescope Peak Trail, which led the Volkswagen through pine forests at an elevation of more than 3,000 metres. What a view!

The Alltrack admired the magnificent sand dunes on Devil's Golf Course, but could not hear the rattles of any of the rattle snakes that live here. They must have been having a siesta.

The sun clocked out shortly after five o'clock. And then it cooled off quickly. The perfect moment for a fire at one of the camp grounds, of which there are several in the park, and mostly free. Self-made hamburgers are the reward for putting up the tent. The Alltrack's stereo system quietly plays Ben Howard, singing from his heart about "Small Things".

Enchanting solitude
On the other hand, every child knows that Death Valley is one of the hottest places in the world. Summer temperatures regularly climb above 45° Celsius. Shade under the trees? Or the bar of a saloon? Dream on.

We're in luck this morning: first, the Golf Alltrack's standard two-zone air conditioning is serving filtered air at a pleasant 20°C. Second, the ambient temperature display indicates a mild 24°C. Not bad for a cloudless morning in January – ideal for a visit to Death Valley. While most summer visitors, bathed in sweat, cling to their water bottles instead of enjoying the vista, the winter offers those pleasant temperatures which make explorations bearable. And a solitude that magically empties the view.

Amazingly, word about the mild winter weather has not yet got out. This also puzzled one of the nine park rangers, who stopped the Alltrack at the entrance to Death Valley. "Is it the new Audi?" he asked, smiling in amusement. Then he noticed the red LED tail lights (he hadn't ever seen them in real life) and the 4Motion emblem. "Does it really have all-wheel drive?" he asked in surprise. He was more astonished by the "Yes" than by the "Sir". He liked the way that the Haldex coupling automatically distributes the torque from the 1.8-litre petrol engine to the two axles. Then he praised the clean, flawless workmanship of the interior, the sharp image on the screen of the navigation system and the huge sliding sunroof. He said goodbye with a firm handshake and a map of the park.