The Death Valley Lake That’s Gone in a Flash

Donnelly met a small group of boaters on Manly’s shore just before sunrise: Laura Crane, a conservationist from Joshua Tree; her partner, Paul Bessire, who worked at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; and Dex Lim, a geology student from Las Vegas. The group ogled the glassy expanse of water and the snowcapped mountains beyond, and then got to inflating the kayaks, which slowly wheezed to life. “You have to be gentle,” Donnelly said. He wore a white cowboy hat, cargo pants, and hiking boots that were stiff with salt and mud. He advised that closed-toe shoes were preferable—the lake’s salt-crusted banks could slice up feet. “You absolutely cannot drink,” he said, meaning the lake water; Manly is several times saltier than the ocean. “I’m printing T-shirts,” he said. “The Lake Manly Yacht Club.”