After spending a winter in Yuma, Arizona, we decided to take a meandering route back home. Our first stop was to see Joshua Tree National Park, a place I’ve wanted to see since reading about it in Backpacker magazine many years ago. The park gets it’s name from the Joshua tree, named by Mormon pioneers crossing the desert in the mid-1800’s. The outstretched limbs reminded them of the biblical figure Joshua reaching up in prayer.
Rock Formations
The rock formations in the park are from millions of years of rain and weather eroding the ground from around the granite. These are great for rock climbers and there are more than 8,000 climbing routes, 2,000 boulder problems, and hundreds of natural gaps to challenge all ability levels. If you’re new to rock climbing or want to brush up on your skills, there are quite a few rock climbing guides here to help you. Maybe in my younger years. . .
Keys View
A popular destination in Joshua Tree is Keys View, perched on the crest of the Little San Bernardino Mountains. The lookout, which is wheelchair accessible, provides panoramic views of the Coachella Valley and is well worth the 20-minute drive. There is also a short loop trail up the ridge for especially nice views.
The Salton Sea, which is 230 feet below sea level, is on the far left. Looking to the right, the Santa Rosa Mountains are behind Indio and, along with 10,800-foot San Jacinto Peak behind Palm Springs, form the high points of the Peninsular Ranges. Further right, the usually snow-covered peak of 11,500-foot San Gorgonio Mountain is clearly visable. The southwest side of the ridge drops nearly a mile in elevation into the Coachella Valley. The infamous San Andreas Fault, stretching 700 miles from the Gulf of California to the Mendocino Coast north of San Francisco, runs through the valley below. On a really clear day, you might be able to see Signal Mountain in Mexico, although that has become somewhat rare due to the the prevailing winds blowing in air pollution from the Los Angeles area. It’s still a gorgeous view.
The Colorado Desert
We decided to start our exploration of Joshua Tree by driving to the lower Colorado Desert. While this region doesn’t have the park’s namesake Joshua Trees, it is dominated by the creosote bush. The stunning array of springtime wildflowers here generally bloom before the park’s northern half.
Cholla Cactus Garden
We started out the Cholla Cactus Garden. The cholla cactus is called the ‘teddy bear cactus’ because they look soft and fuzzy. The needles, however, are extremely sharp and difficult to remove from your skin. The ranger showed us a picture of the needles going through the bottom of a shoe and we didn’t feel the need to verify that fact. According to the trail pamphlet we picked up, the reason the cacti thrive here is because of a reliable water supply resulting from runoff from the nearby mountains and the loose, gravelly soil at the site. This is one of only a very few places in the park which exactly meets the needs of the teddy-bear cholla. There’s a short 1/4 mile walk through the garden that’s well worth the time.
Mastodon Peak
Due to Cathy’s limited physical abilities, we were looking for shorter, more moderate hikes. The Ranger at the visitor’s center suggested the Mastodon Peak hike, a short 2 1/2 mile loop with moderate elevation gain. The hike should take about 2 hours to complete, however, Cathy was busy practicing her new photography skills so the hike took us much longer. If you’re more ambitious, you can tack on the 7 mile loop to nearby Lost Palms Oasis.
Mastodon Peak is a prominent, rocky point in southern Joshua Tree National Park. The Mastodon Peak Loop trail climbs uphill along bouldery (is that a word?) canyons and outcrops, with an optional detour to Mastodon Peak on an unmaintained trail. We didn’t make that trek. Because of the above average winter precipitation, the flowers on much of the hike were in full bloom. We spent quite a bit of time at the top soaking in the views.
Great place to take a break 
Mastodon Mine
Along the trail are the ruins of the mastodon mine and former boomtown of Winona. Established here in the 1930s by the Hulsey family, the operation followed a prominent quartz vein and eventually found gold. Unfortunately, a fault in the primary vein meant the miners never found the bulk of the gold and mining operations ceased shortly thereafter, never living up to the initial excitement of its early investors.
Black Rock Canyon
Black Rock Canyon is located in the northwest corner of the park. There is a campgrounds here at the mouth of the canyon surrounded by Joshua trees, junipers, cholla cacti, and a variety of desert shrubs. There is also a small visitor’s center and nature center. The hills behind the campground offer a variety of hiking trails for all levels of hikers.
One of the trails is the Hi-View Nature Trail, a scenic 1.3-mile walk. The trail had many desert flowers still in bloom plus views of the surrounding high peaks. The trail zig-zags up some stone steps built into the trail through cactus, yucca, and Joshua trees to a desert ridge with views over Yucca Valley. To the west is Southern California’s tallest peak, San Gorgonio Mountain, in the San Bernadino Mountains. At 11,500 feet, San Gorgonio is capped with snow for most of the year. We passed through some scrub brush towards the end of the trail and got to see some birds we haven’t seen before. There are other longer, more strenuous options here for those looking for more of a challenge.
Scott’s Oriole 
Western Scrub-Jay 
Looking out over the Yucca Valley
49 Palms Canyon
The 49 Palms Oasis Trail is a three-mile round-trip hike to a fan palm oasis. The trees were planted by miners to mark the spring that now irrigates the trees. The well-maintained trail climbs to a ridge where large numbers of barrel cacti and desert flowers dot the landscape. After rounding the ridge-top, palm trees appear in the distance in the rocky canyon. They seem bizarrely out of place from the surrounding arid landscape. The trail descends steeply to the oasis, ending at the 49 Palms Oasis. The fan palms rise up between large boulders, creating a canopy over clear pools of water. This is a great a place to rest and enjoy the sights and sounds of this small ecosystem. After lunch in the cool shade, we hiked back out, looking for another part of the park to explore.
Barker Dam
Barker Dam Loop visits a small foreign-looking reservoir within the Wonderland of Rocks in Joshua Tree national Park. The trail is a level 1.5-mile hike with about 50 feet of elevation gain, so it’s well within Cathy’s capabilities. Plus, the scenery is outstanding. The water can all but disappear during the dry season, so I’m glad we made the visit in the spring.
The trail starts out down a narrow canyon with tall mounds of boulders rising on either side. The effect is striking, but not at all claustrophobic. If you look up on either side, you may find some of the more adventurous hikers scrambling up the granite walls.
Suddenly, the trail emerges along the shore of a small blue lake. The stagnant waters look out of place in this desert landscape, but the site is quite calm and worthy of a relaxing break. You can also get some great shots of the rock formations reflected in the still water.
Early cattleman, including CO Barker, built Barker Dam in the early 1900’s in an effort to water their herds and for irrigation. The original dam was 9 feet tall. Rancher William F. Keys added another 6 feet using different material. The ranching died out in the 50’s but the dam is still there as well as the watering trough at the base of the dam. Now, it makes for some great Kodak moments.
Follow the sandy track as it loops back toward the start. A marked turnoff visits a rock covered in vivid petroglyphs. These Native America drawings had their colors enhanced by a film crew working on an old Hollywood movie, which explains why they look too colorful to be real.
Joshua Tree National Park met all our expectations. It certainly is an incredible natural desert treasure. Having spent only a couple days here, we really didn’t even make a dent in all the vistas and activities to enjoy in the park. We’ll definitely be making another trip.
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