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| 2009 Big Bear Lake, CA / Joshua Tree National Park Trip |
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| Day 3: March 30, 2009 |
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90 minutes from Big Bear is Joshua Tree National Park. To get there, we followed the road out of town and passed Baldwin
Lake on Route 18. Except that the lake was empty and had been for some time. As we turned away from the lake we started to twist and turn our way
down from the mountains. We covered about 4000 feet over 8 miles at grades ranging up to 18 percent. It was fast and at one point resembled a squiggle on the GPS.
At the bottom we started on a series of long, flat, straight roads that sliced through the desert. Small single story homes were sparsely sprinkled along the road. We
have no idea where these folks work!
We arrived at the western entrance to the park and
stretched our legs at the visitor center. A volunteer
helped us map out two nice hikes that would give
us different glimpses of the park. The first hike
was the Lost Horse Mine Trail. On the way to the
trail, we stopped at Keys View, the highest point
in the park. We were warned that the wind was picking
up, but we were surprised when we opened the car
doors and almost pulled them off their hinges We
fought our way up the path to the lookout and gazed
over a hazy scene towards the San Andreas Fault
and beyond into the Coachella Valley.
After being blown off the peak, we tracked back
to the trail head for the Lost Horse Mine. The trail
starts off on very rocky terrain. It twisted and
turned affording us glimpses of Ryan mountain and
Pleasant Valley. The wind subsided but still occasionally
pushed us off the trail. The mine is almost two
miles in and as you get closer there is evidence
of activity. Areas that look like roads and finally
you look up and see the mine perched there on the
side of the hill.
The mine is named for the person who discovered the area while looking for a lost horse. It is a single shaft gold mine with mine areas at 100, 200, and 300 feet down. It was a reasonably
profitable claim and was worked for many years. The primary engine is still there and there are still tanks left from storage.
We continued along the trail and paused for lunch
before the trail turned south. It was still rocky
with a lot of up and down. We had fantastic views
into Pleasant Valley. There were a large number
of outcroppings of rocks that were seemingly randomly
placed in the valley.
The last two hours of the hike were in Lost Horse
Valley. It was a landscape dotted with Joshua trees,
Mojave yucca, and prickly pear cactus. The trail
was slower here as we slogged through the sand and
into the headwind. This part of the trail was our
least favorite as the scenery did not vary much
and the headwind kept blowing in our faces. Suddenly
the trail ended on the dirt road which leads to
the trail head.
We refreshed with a snack and headed towards our
second hike. It was a nice ride through the park
and out the North entrance station. The 49 Palms
hike is accessed from Canyon Road outside the park.
we had some trouble finding the road but we did
loop around and make it to Canyon Road. Driving
along we saw someone stopped at the side of the
road with their camera out. We stopped and were
rewarded with a desert tortoise on the side of the
road. We took some pictures and continued on to
the 49 Palms parking lot.
The goal of the hike is to make it to an oasis where palm trees grow in the desert. It was also a very rocky terrain and we needed to watch our footing. It was worth it because there were tons of
wildflowers in bloom along with Beavertail Cactus. A few minutes later we came across a Gambil's Quail. It was injured and limping along the path. We stopped for water about ten
minutes later and saw a Chucbwalla climbing on the rocks.
The trail goes up and goes down and we were getting
tired. Our legs were heavy from the long hike and
the shadows were starting to deepen in the crevices
of the rocks. When our spirits were low, we saw
the tops of the palm trees and got a second wind.
Some final ups and downs and were were sitting among
the palms listening to tons of birds.
We turned back and enjoyed the challenging return. The sun was low and the desert turned red. We climbed into the car and pointed it back towards the mountains. We were exhausted
but excited with the hikes we completed.
Dinner: subs @ Maggios
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