As National Parks go, Joshua Tree couldn’t be “hotter”– literally and figuratively.
Joshua Tree is a popular National Park, with attendance booming in the past 10 years, partly because it is so accessible. Not unlike Arches in Utah, one could take a scenic drive through Joshua Tree– stop for a few photos, and still feel like the experience was pretty darn magical.
The rangers at the park shared that Joshua Tree attendance has also benefitted from the growth of Instagram– and one can see why. These iconic trees grow in gnarled ways, create strange silhouettes, cast bizarre shadows, and seem like they belong more in a Dr. Suess book than reality.
The trees were fantastically weird, and did not disappoint.
We decided to start our Joshua Tree experience with sunrise at the Cholla Cactus Garden, which lies pretty deep in the park, and thus is a long drive to make in the pre-dawn hours. But the 4:00 AM wakeup was worth it, believe it or not.
There were a handful of other people there, as it would seem word has gotten out about this spot as a good sunrise location. The gathering crowd– oddly, pointed their lenses and tripods directly at the spot where the sun was rising over the mountain ridge. Needless to say, photographing the sun itself is not the reason to go to Cholla Cactus Garden at sunrise.
Rather, there is a phenomenon of light that happens with these strange cacti– the effect of the light hitting their pointy spines makes them look like they are glowing. Shockingly-bright colors of yellow and reddish-brown are visible through the back side of the cactus– which means you must position yourself behind the cactus, facing the sun to get the full impact.
The light also makes them look so iridescent as to look almost soft– which they are most definitely NOT. Watch your step as you mull around– they are prone to shedding arms, especially as the decline and decay, so they can be unexpectedly underfoot.
Poor Mac learned this the hard way– he stepped on a sprig that had shed, which stuck painfully into the entire length of his back foot. It took Moon and I about 20 minutes to pick out every sticker– and was a good reminder that to be extra-prepared for desert hiking, one should always have tweezers on-hand. We tucked a pair into our hiking back pocket after that.
This spectacular effect was pretty awe-inspiring, partly because I had never even seen this species of cacti before. Since, I have noted them in the deserts of Arizona– but at the time, I wondered if this was a plant unique to the area (it’s not). That said, the placement of these cacti was notable– when I have seen them elsewhere, they have been less densely-clustered.
This sunrise experience is best enjoyed with coffee, according to Moon.
I suggested a hike to the recently-caffeinated Moon– I find this is always the best time to propose physical activity. I assured her that hiking in Joshua Tree was really more akin to walking, and she was game. In truth, I’d picked the toughest hike in Joshua Tree, but rest assured that only entailed 700-odd feet of gain, with a fairly gentle rise: the Ryan Mountain hike.
As we hiked further above the flat, desert valley– it looked desolate, except for the dotting of brush and Yucca and Joshua Trees as signs of life. The morning was cloudless, and even the winter sun felt strong and unrelenting.
We were glad to be there in the cold months– the desert can be foreboding even on a chilly day, with the kinds of whipping winds that can make your mouth feel instantly dry. We brought more water than we needed, and were glad of it– if you’re hiking in the park, it’s nice to have lozenges or chews to keep your mouth from drying out– we love Cliff Blocks for this.
The park signs are– no joke– the scariest National Park signs I have ever encountered. At each trailhead, terrifying signs detailed how many people perished on this hike recently. Some, using first and last names, dates, and circumstances of the fates of folks who set out on a short hike never to return. It was sobering as hell, functioning as intended– it stopped us in our tracks, made us re-check our water supplies, and send a couple texts letting others know what hikes we were attempting.
It was early morning when we set out, and that and late afternoon are the only wise times to be exerting oneself in the park.
Speaking of which, I goaded a friend into doing a hike with me another day– closer to the entrance near the town of Twenty-Nine Palms, this hike was called Forty-Nine Palms Oasis Trail. Lots of palm themes, and for good reason.
A fairly easy out-and-back, this trail literally ends in an Oasis– a spot where the ground was so wet, there were cattails in the middle of the desert. Out of seemingly nowhere, a grove of extremely large palm trees shot up from the landscape.
For a relatively easy jaunt, the payoff was really incredible. The term “oasis” is one we use commonly in the language, but it’s another thing entirely to actually lay eyes on one.
On the way out of the park, we saw some particularly wiry and erratic Joshua Trees, that boggled the mind– I’ve seen plenty of trees shaped and twisted by wind in the past, and they usually have a pattern to them– you can see the way they formed was not random at all, but due to specific elements.
These trees just seemed to sprawl randomly– but knowing the desert, we knew sunlight and water were the ultimate aims of each and every limb cropping out of the trunk.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the spectacular night sky viewing at Joshua Tree– especially deep in the park. An added bonus of dusk was the silhouettes of the unmistakable trees– from sunrise to sunset, there’s something visually spectacular in Joshua Tree.
Posted by Sun
