The Ghosts of Joshua Tree National Park

Could The Trees Be Speaking To Us?

We made it to Joshua Tree National Park a week later than planned due to the weather that has been plaguing California this year. Arriving just after lunch, we stopped at the visitors center, purchased our annual national park pass and headed in through the main gate. We didn’t have a specific plan for the day other than finding level ground at Joshua Tree BLM North before sundown. You only have to drive around the unpaved desert after dark looking for a level campsite once! We settled on a 7 mile round trip hike called Boy Scout/Willow Hole Trails. Relatively easy hike with great views, culminating in a slog down a partially submerged wash to a low point filled with willow trees. Added bonus in that after you soaked and muddied your boots, you could walk 100 yard in the dry sand and….voila!; dry shoes again!

Boy Scout/Willow Hole Trails

We were able to find a suitable spot to park the van, eat, drink whiskey and sleep before sundown. I should point out that, often times, these large BLM spots are nothing more than a few acres of hard packed sand (sometimes) with people living there in whatever vehicle they happen to be driving. BLM rules usually state that your time limit is 14 days. I’ll let you know if I ever see it enforced. That being said, we are very proud of the fact that we haven’t (yet) paid for a campsite.

Saturday, we arose with a plan. We entered the park through the Twentynine Palms gate and headed for our first hike of the day. Desert Queen Mine/Eagle Cliff Boulder House Trail defied all expectations. The trails started in a picnic area surrounded by huge rock formations. There were many artists set up there and painting. The trail wasted no time becoming difficult, due to the incline as well as routefinding. I highly recommend the AllTrails app. It serves two important functions. First, it allows you to screen trails in the area you are interested in. Second, even with no cell signal, you can use it to diagnose wrong turns, etc., on the trail you’re currently on. Saved our ass on this one! Once we were able to gain the top of the ridge, a short spur trail took us to the Eagle Cliff Boulder House. This “house” was a homestead to the miner(s) working the area.

Eagle Cliff Boulder House

We encountered several abandoned mine shafts on the hike. Many of them had concrete poured in them as well as metal grates across the openings to keep people out.

Being an avid reader of history, my imagination kicked into overdrive thinking about the living and working conditions the miners had to have endured. I found the history of the Desert Queen Mine fascinating.

The remainder of the hike went on forever. The AllTrails app said the trail was 5.2 miles. My health app said I went 7.2 miles. There was a stretch of some pretty serious bouldering that ended with an abandoned dam that was pretty cool.

The rock formations around the trailhead were very cool and a joy to hike through. Not suprising that there several artists set up in the area painting.

Sunday, we opted for a hike on the far northwest end of the park, Panorama Loop. Relatively easy trail with a short, steep ascent to the ridge that gives the trail its name. 360 degree views that make it all worthwhile.

Panorama Loop

I have a confession to make. I have become obsessed with Joshua Trees. There were many, many trees on this hike. It quickly becomes apparent that no two Joshua Trees are alike. Over the course of the hike, we found ourselves discussing the individual trees that we passed. They can grow to 40 feet high, but only grow an inch per year. Do the math. What struck me was that you would come across a perfectly healthy specimen and then, 30 feet away, would be a tree that looked like it was on its last legs.

Hiking is a prime opportunity to let your mind wander as you take it all in. My take is that these Joshua Trees are a metaphor for people. The trees that are lucky enough to sprout where the water collects a little more and are shielded from the wind a little more will thrive. The trees that are unfortunate enough to sprout a stones throw away with less water and less shelter will suffer. A book that I read a few years ago, Prisoners of Geography, has an application here.

I may have mentioned in a previous post that the plan for this trip was to spend a couple of days at Joshua Tree NP and then a couple of days at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to the south. However, it came to my attention that my mother was arriving for a visit on Monday instead of the Tuesday that I was planning on. Instead, we headed for one more night of luxurious BLM camping at Sawtooth Canyon before heading to LAS and then home.

BLM Luxury….no, really!