Joshua Tree and Me

The number one thing that I wanted to do while living in Southern California is go to Joshua Tree National Park. When I flew in I road into where I was working with some of my co-workers. I had found out that they had gone camping Joshua Tree that last weekend before I arrived. I was jealous and disappointed that I wasn't there to join them. I was then quickly reassured that I would get the chance to go, 'We can go again'.

I then met a new friend while working here, my first night. I told her that I was going backpacking with teenagers, she was doing the same this summer and fall. We made a plan to go backpacking as much as possible to train for our summer programs. The first place we decided to go was Joshua Tree. two weekends later, there we were. Me, and three of my new friends got our packs on our backs and went into the desert.

I have never been to the desert. Before coming I assumed it would a barren and lifeless place, although the desert that was directly north of me in Benin was the Sahara, which is pretty much barren and lifeless, not sure what I expected to see in Joshua Tree, other than Joshua Trees. When I arrived I found that there were numerous cacti, small flowering plants, lizards, and even though we didn't see them rattle snakes and kangaroo rats that lived in the park.

In Joshua Tree you need a permit to camp and a parking pass ($15). Once we got our permit and pass from the visitor center we were in. We were recommended to take another trail when we arrived because the trail we had initially chosen was on a back road that was in need of some repair, a little bit more rugged than what our car could take. We passed all kinds of people using the park. The range was huge, there were those who drove through with air conditioning on the whole time, and then there were backpackers and rock climbers who were going to spend the day in the sun, sweating, and enjoying the inside of the park.

We stopped our car at the trail head and registered. We then ate some lunch as it was noon and there was no reason to start hiking in the beginning part of the heat of the day. There was a gentle breeze blowing across the desert, Joshua Trees dotted the landscape of short and scrubby looking vegetation. We ate our hummus wraps dreaming of what lay ahead. The landscape was flat except for rock formations that looked like they had been piled up by giants. In order to back country camp in Joshua Tree you have to be at least a mile from any road and 500 ft from the trail. This minimizes the impact of campers on the park. If everyone were to camp right next to the trail the same people would more than likely use the same spots over and over again, where as if previous campsites are harder to find less people will be camping the same locations. We hiked in a mile and half and dropped our packs. I realize this isn't very far but I can explain. While talking to the rangers we decided to take the Willow Hole Trail that led us through a day use area. Bighorn sheep were active at night and so the park had designated that no camping take place in amongst the rocks where they live. We were told also that the landscape changed quite a bit on Willow Hole. Willow Hole broke off from The Boy Scout Trail at 1 mile. The Boy Scout trail had begun at our parking lot and camping to the west of the Boy Scout Trail was a place we were allowed to be. There was no reason for us to continue down the Boy Scout Trail as the park rangers said that everything we would want to see was on Willow Hole. So we dropped our packs 1.5 miles from the road and 500ft west of the trail. We set up camp.

We all quickly realized why gators might have been something that was good to have. I have questioned the use to gators for a long time thinking that maybe like thick sleeping pads they were things that people used to keep their boots from getting sopping wet. This is nice, but wet boots aren't going to kill you. Now the desert everything is clinging to life so hard that it doesn't care if it hurts you, in fact that's the point. If it hurts you 1st there's less chance that you will hurt it or kill it. So in looking at the picture I posted, everything is growing has thorns, prickly bits or uses your socks to spread their seeds. The amount of prickly things stuck in my pants, socks, boots and legs was a bit amazing. Gators would have been helpful to keep the prickly bits out. You couldn't sit down without having to mash down the plants first because you would then have things in your butt. The prickly bits even went through the footprint, and bottoms of our tents!
We then got back on Willow Hole Trail. I could see how Bighorn Sheep could live in a place like Joshua Tree. The hills of solid rock, all piled together and vegetation in the crevasses, looked rather perfect for sheep. We hiked until the trail ran out at a spring. The only trees and grasses we found were at this place. Common Yucca/ Our Lords Candles were in bloom. They send out these huge spikes where the flowers come off. They kind of look like white Pine Trees growing out of a ball of green spike. They would grow in between the rocks, and stick out in odd places.
Total that day we hiked 7 miles when we returned to our camp site. Not bad for a hiking day we started in the afternoon. That night we camped and ate pasta sides from communal pots. The moon was so bright that it cast shadows across the desert. The wind began to blow hard from the west, coming down from San Gorgonio. I was wearing a sweatshirt, and rain jacket and I was a little chilly. I went to bed in a 40 degree sleeping bag, which I was fine in but I might have liked some long underwear bottoms. The wind hit our tent all night long. I went to bed under the full moon. A friend woke us all up at 4:30. The moon had set, it was a clear night, in the middle the desert, one of the best places to view stars in all of the United States. Only when the power was out in Benin and when I was on Safari did I see stars so amazing. The Milky Way looked as if it were painted across the sky rather than an afterthought in most light polluted places. Just to see the stars like that made the whole trip that was much better.

Leaving that morning we all left with a sense of peace in our hearts. I know it sounds corny but I cant explain it any other way, we were experiencing a full body and soul kind of happiness not the kind of happy where you laugh for a long time and then don't find it funny anymore, but the really content sustained peaceful kind of happiness that emanates from your very being. We had recharged our emotional batteries and become closer as a result. Stripping your life down to what you carry on your back can be a very rewarding endeavor and to share that feeling with others is something that you remember for a long time to come.