3/25-26/2012
I love this countries’ National Parks and I’ve always heard stories about how cool the rock formations at Joshua Tree are. I managed to swing through the park on my way from the Desert Rendezvous to Las Vegas. I really worked hard to see as much as possible in a very short period of time.
I entered the park at Cottonwood Springs in the south and did the quick hike up Mastodon Peak. Fun little hike with lots of desert wildflowers and a good view from the top. I then drove up for a quick look at Arch Rock, a super quick hike to a very cool little rock formation. The arch is cool, but the other rock structures in the area are even more interesting, in my opinion. Ran into another really cool couple and their Sportsmobile out enjoying some photography and desert camping as well. I then went over and did the 1.7 mile hike to Skull rock as the sun was setting. I managed to park less than 200′ from the rock and walk in the opposite direction on the loop trail. All good, as the rest of the hike is way more interesting in the rock that really doesn’t even look much like a skull. Since it was dark and it was a long way to a free camping area I paid the $10 and stayed at the Jumbo Rocks campground under an amazing night sky.
I got up early in order to catch the sun rise while driving the Geology Tour Rd, an 18 mile roundtrip dirt and gravel road recommended for high clearance and 4×4. Overall the road was super good, except for lots of washboard, and I never used 4×4. It was a fun way to start the day, but honestly there isn’t much out there you can’t see in the rest of the park. I had the whole area to myself, which was cool.
My last adventure in Joshua Tree was the hike up Ryan Mt. This is a 3 mile round trip hike climbing about 1,000′ to 5,461′. The hike is quite steep and enjoyable and the view in all directions is worth every step. This is a must if you want to see a lot of the park from one point and truly enjoy the diversity that Joshua Tree has to offer.
After the hike I had to make some road mileage and drove out of the park at the Western entrance. I now have a national park pass for the year and look forward to seeing some of the other parks on my adventures. Glacier and Arches are high on the list to hit this year.
