Jumbo Rocks (3) – Joshua Tree NP

Despite previous concerns regarding getting set up in the site, there were zero problems. We backed Dory in to the far left and put Bruce in parallel next to her, leaving room in case the next person coming in needed 2 spaces. For the first night, it was a van who came in, so not even a worry. The two days after that, there was a tiny teardrop trailer, who fit handily in the slot for #10 and could have taken more room in the middle space if needed. All fine and dandy there.

We had most of the day left after we unhitched, so we went rock climbing to get cell service and check in with the world. We remembered the path we used to take over the boulders, when we camped with our buddy Francois at site #85. If you climb up the rocks and keep going until you hit an obvious high point, you will start getting service. Once satisfied with the status of the world, we retreated into off grid mode and did the Skull Rock and Discovery Trails outside the campground. One of the things we discovered is that there is also a magical cell spot on a high point in the trail, not too far from the campground entrance. Someone had marked a large “X” in the sand, and we assume its purpose was as a connectivity marker, since it lined up perfectly with the moment we got little notification pings on our phones.

We had three full days designated for this park, but Richard needed to get some work stuff done. For one of the mornings, he rode out to Keys View, where I met him with the car. Here, I uploaded the blog post for Cottonwood, and he committed some code. I promise we also enjoyed the view. It wasn’t all about ‘find the signal.’ This view point looks out over the Coachella valley, where you can see Palm Springs, and all the way down to the Salton Sea. It is spectacular.

We then headed out on the Lost Horse Loop Trail. This was a six and a half mile trail and we left around 2pm. Just starting off at the trailhead, we realized we’d left our headlamps back in the car. It would have been a simple thing to go back and get them, but we were feeling brazen and went, “nah, let’s risk it.” (#regret) This is a lovely trail that brings you to views of an entire valley that I don’t think we had seen before. There was a cinder cone out there, and tons of rock piles out in the distance. It also takes you past some old structures, like an intricately built stacked rock chimney. For some reason, a fire pit circle had been built around a beaver tail cactus. Or maybe that was once a fire pit, and a cactus took up residence there.

At about the half way point, I started to do some math in my head, roughly calculating the miles, our probable miles per hour rate, and sunset. In the winter, you don’t get much daylight, and I figured we would be cutting it close. I really wish we’d brought our lights. Instead, I booked it as fast as my little legs could go, even up and down the steep parts. I was equal parts focused on speed, and not breaking my ankle. It was a brisk way to view that trail, and when we finally arrived at the remnants of the old mine, I didn’t want to take time to go up for a closer look. It was go, go, go, until we were back at the parking lot. For the record, we beat the setting of the sun by five minutes. We would have had a while longer of light to see by, and I think we could have navigated the trail ok. But this one deserves a do over some day, when we leave earlier AND take our damn lights. Silly, silly, silly.

However, seeing as how we were both riding the high of finishing before dark, we were in an especially good mood to enjoy an especially nice sunset. As we drove the dirt road back from the trailhead, we had to pull over and snap some photos. Other people were doing the same. It was a very nice sunset.

The next day called for rain in the morning. Pop quiz: what do the Levenbergs do when there’s rain and a biggish town within driving distance? I’ll pause while you think….. If you answered: “They go to Walmart!” then you have really been paying attention. Well done! Yes, we drove to Yucca Valley where we waited out the rain by restocking gas and groceries. We also stopped at a rock shop to spend a stupid amount of money on a rock. You see, now that my pond at home looks all nice, I have been picking up nice looking rocks to be placed later in ornamental locations. Think Lucille Ball from “The Long Long Trailer.” But I am a rule follower and cannot allow myself to take any rocks from state or national parks. Richard backs me up on this, so he was totally fine spending money in a local place to buy a Joshua Tree rock.

By the time we got back to Dory, there were blue skies all around. We then hit the Face Rock and Split Rock trail, which you can get to from the Skull Rock trail. That loop is around four and a half miles and was a repeat experience from the last time we were there and hiked it with Francois. We definitely had our lights with us for this one.

On the morning of what was to be our last full day, Richard went out to get service and check in with work. He brought back weather reports, which led to a quick regroup. I’ll save the details for the next post, but basically, the forecast was showing strong wind on the day we intended to travel. We carried on with the day’s plan, which was to drive out to the Barker Dam area and do a couple of short hikes out there. We walked and weighed all the options, coming to the conclusion that we wanted to depart that day, instead of the next. I think we did a very good job being flexible and making reasonable decisions. I also think we did well to ponder all of this while walking. That’s some fine multitasking there.

There is much more to see and do in the Barker Dam area. But then, there is so much to see and do in this park, I don’t think you ever feel “done.” This hike was a fairly easy one, clocking in at just about two and a half miles. There are a couple of scramble places on the Echo T Trail (which goes to the Barker Dam Loop), where you’re not sure you’re really supposed to go that way, but as soon as you get over some big rock, you can clearly see the trail on the other side. There are also some cool petroglyphs to see along the way, as well as informational signs telling you facts about the plants and animals. We learned that Juniper berries can indeed be eaten, so now we will know how to survive in the zombie apocalypse.

All around this area, there are climbers going up named ascents. We saw lots of people hiking out with giant crash pads. We can’t figure out how crash pads are supposed to help. If you fall, how in the world would you be able to land exactly on that little pad? It could be used to lay your dead and broken body on something, I suppose. I don’t get climbers.

Rather than try to pack in one more hike at Hidden Valley, we decided to return to Dory, pack it up, and head out of the park. We had no regrets whatsoever. We love this park and are pretty sure to return. Winter is a nice time to be there, even if there is the risk of low overnight temperatures. We had perfect weather while we were there. It was noticeably colder up at Jumbo Rocks than in Cottonwood, which was noticeably cooler than Anza Borrego. We would like to do the trip in reverse order one time, maybe starting at Black Rock, moving to a couple days in the Ryan Campground, and then stopping in Cottonwood. Black Rock and Cottonwood both have dumps, so that would make logistics easier. We could then end in Anza Borrego to live it up on electric hookups and service. We can hang with “camping” for a while, but it sure does feel luxurious when you’re in a place that has it all.

Now we track back home, and not in the way we tentatively planned. It worked well to not have reservations for the jump days, because flexibility has been key. And since our stopovers have been in places we’re not worried will fill up, we can make decisions on the fly. It’s best to secure reservations in the national and state parks though. I don’t think we could have stayed in the same site for 3-4 night stretches like we did, unless we had those booked early. Nothing beats the desert in winter, and we are enjoying it more and more, each time we come.

Total miles from Cottonwood: 34.2, 15.4 mpg, 1 hour 22 min. Site 11 – pairs with site 10 where there are a total of 3 parking spaces. 2 trailers and their 2 tow vehicles fit just fine by not worrying about where the painted lines are. No cell in the campground unless you climb up the highest rocks by site 85. You can also walk up the Discovery trail about a half mile and hit service there. Or you can climb Ryan Mountain if you feel extreme. No water, no dump, no hookups. Vault toilets.