I arrived at Joshua Tree National Park late Tuesday night. I had planned to park at the south entrance in the BLM area. It worked out great and the next morning I headed into park. The southwest portion of the national park is in the Colorado desert which means… no Joshua Trees. It was a pleasant drive though. For me the landscape of Southern California is so intriguing. I feel, when I look off into the distance that I am in a diorama. The valley floor slowly slopes up to the base of the mountains giving it a miniature effect.
Day one of Joshua Tree was pretty uneventful compared to the other two days of be-bopping around the park. Day two I decided to hit all the major points of interest and also finish my junior ranger activity book. That was a priority. I attempted to enter the park through the Black Rocks campground on Joshua Ln. Don’t. It’s a trap, you cannot reach the park roads unless you want to hike. I did not want to hike so I headed back to hwy 62. I found Park Blvd and drove through the west entrance of the park. On my way in I was astounded by the mounds of boulders sprouting out of the ground. I got so excited I pulled over and climbed a few! I loved it! Father down the road I found a parking area right in front of a huge stack of granite rocks. I hustled around to find a good spot to start climbing. Once I got to the top I saw I had a few spectators but I was the only one climbing. I decided to start heading back down a different way than how I got up. I noticed some international tourists watching and I started to slow down so I didn’t make a fool of myself. All of the sudden I hear a hissing sound and a lunge! I turn around to see a freaking snake hiding on a rock shelf just a foot or so away from me! I start scrambling down and yell “there’s a freaking snake!”. The best part is is that those tourists didn’t know what I said and therefore ignored me and kept trying to climb near the snake. One even was mimicking me to his friend! I learned that day that snakes like rock shelves in Boulder stacks. I also learned that Keys View is incredible and unexpected. I saw a coyote as I was leaving the park that afternoon which got me all excited because I had also seen a jack rabbit that morning at the Black Rocks. The most common animals in the park though are crows, lizards, and cactus wren.
Day three was spurred by a friend recommending the Chasm of Doom hike through mountain of boulders in Hidden Valley. I tried finding the start of it but I was a little off. So I started climbing and I did make it through to the other side just not through the chasm. I could have died that day probably several different times. I had some precarious situations where my footing and hand holds weren’t 100% and I would start slipping. Other times I thought I could go up or down but I would just get stuck. Backtracking was difficult. I think for now I have had my fill of bouldering/scrambling. It was only 1 1/2 hrs but I definitely went into survival mode a few times during that. Surprisingly though I kept my cool the whole time and didn’t complain. I did whine to myself though, towards the end when it almost a half hour to finally get down to the ground after trying multiple routes to no avail. Thankfully even though I was climbing by myself all I would have to do is yell and about 30 people in the surrounding Hidden Valley area would have heard me.
Joshua Tree has been very impactful for me. For some reason I feel more indestructible here or the park has it out for me? It’s probably me. Anyways I hope when you go it’s as memorable for you.
Yours Truly,
Karli
Curious Karli©
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