Part 2: Joshua Tree

This is Part 2 of my Road Trip Across America story.

    After I left Gatlinburg, I took I-40 all the way to Arizona and got on some small highways to eventually reach Indio, California. This got me very close to Joshua Tree National Park. I’ll spare most of the details of this drive because it was three whole days of driving on I-40, but there are two things I want to say before getting into detail about Joshua Tree.

 

            First, I went to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a quick stop. My friend and I love the Breaking Bad TV show. If you haven’t watched it, the show was based in Albuquerque and filmed there as well. The main character, Walter White, and his family had a real house in the show. I drove past this. The house is recognizable, but has been altered somewhat since filming. There is a sign outside that says “Please do not disturb us. Take pictures from across the road.”

 

Second, after getting off of I-40 I took California Highways 95, 62, & 177. These were some of the most remote roads that I have ever been on. Desert all around. There were other cars, but they were few and far between. I felt lonely and paranoid because what could you do if you broke down? There was no cell coverage that I can remember. But it is an experience I guess. All right, on to Joshua Tree.

 

            I woke up at 8AM and went to get breakfast. I got to Joshua Tree and got my camping backpack all situated and started out about 10AM. I was doing what is called backcountry camping. Joshua Tree is a little different than most parks. It is located in the Colorado Desert and most of the park is open to backcountry camping. All you need to do is fill out a backcountry permit and drop it in one of the trail boxes. From then on, you can wonder the desert. This is what I chose to do. I started out on one of the day trails, but eventually ventured off, compass and map in hand, to head for the Eagle Mountains.

 

            The Eagle Mountains were about 4 miles from my turning off point on the trail. Pretty much, you walk through rocky, flat desert until you get to the base of the mountains. It was roughly 90 degrees during my time there. That might sound hot, but there is no humidity. For me this felt really nice. It is pretty light hiking through the desert. At one point I heard the rattle of a snake. My heart sunk and I got a little panicky. My backpack was around 55 pounds so there was definitely no running from a snake. I saw the snake about three feet from my right foot. It was curled up under some brush; there was no way I would have seen it if it didn’t rattle. The snake and I locked eyes. I carefully watched it until I was clear out of its way. 

 

            It took me about 5 hours to get to the base of the mountain with breaks included. I thought there may have been at least some trail up the mountain that someone else may have taken, but I could find no sign of one so I made my own. The Eagles Mountains are 5000 feet tall. The base of the desert is 3800 feet. So, lucky me, I had to climb 1200 feet. And when I say climb, I mean climb. Fortunately, this was not the type of climbing that requires ropes. I just had to go up and climb many loose rocks and test each path to figure out how to slowly advance upwards. Each step I would test the rocks beneath my feet and many would go tumbling down. There was never a danger of falling to my death or anything. But it was more of a frustration sometimes. Several times I would go up and slide back down further than I advanced. Many choice words were used. I’ll let the reader add their own flare here.

 

            Eventually I made it up. It took a little over an hour to reach the top. I took a break at the first available spot. There was a desert tree with the driest and hardiest bark you can imagine. I eventually found a flat, soft spot to place my tent.

 

The view up there was pretty impressive, especially considering the effort it took to get up there. I could see the desert all around me. I-10 was way off in the distance. I could see transfer trucks just barely with the naked eye and cars with binoculars. I could also see the small Cottonwood Visitor Center.

 

I was assuming that I’d run into at least one other person out there but I didn’t. I could see some cars driving through the park, but I could not see the roads themselves. After a while I had a very isolated sensation. I was alone. Very alone. I sat up there and looked around with my binoculars a bit to see if I could figure out some landmarks, but it’s hard when most things look the same. I also read quite a bit. I was reading “The Hunt for Red October.” Eventually the sun went down and I got some great pictures. But after the sun goes down everything changes. It became extremely windy and the temperature dropped 20-30 degrees. Some small birds also come out and fly around really fast. I’m not sure what types of birds those were. I also saw some quails with this weird feather that droops down off of their forehead. I eventually called it a night.

 

            Initially I was going to spend another night on this side of the park, but I changed my mind because it was so desolate. I imagine that I was at least 10 miles from the nearest person. I made my way down the mountain. I tried going down the same way that I came up, but it was similar to pinball because you test the rock below you each time and your path becomes somewhat random. It took even longer to get down. Eventually I made it. Now I just had to go southwest to find a trail

 

            The trail takes you to a place called Lost Palms Oasis. In the middle of the desert is a small bunch of big palm trees. It’s pretty strange that they are in the middle of nowhere like that.

 

            Afterwards, I made my way back to my car and drove to the north side of the park. This side is more lush, if the word lush can be used to describe a desert, because there is more vegetation out there. The Joshua Trees are all over as are desert shrubs and dry grass. I camped in one of the open areas.

 

That was my trip to Joshua Tree.

Eagle Mountains

My campsite on top of Eagle Mountain

Lost Palms Oasis

A Joshua Tree