Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert
This is the highest in elevation of the four deserts in the American Southwest. The boundaries are loosely defined but is generally considered to include Southern California, parts of Western Arizona and the area around Las Vegas Nevada.
Top of Page and right: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

	The most obvious symbol of the Mojave Desert is the Joshua Tree, a unique plant that is found nowhere else in the world. The most striking feature is the Kelso Dunes, a 45 square mile dune field found in the Mojave National Preserve. Our first hand experience though is limited to the two big national parks.
	Left: A Joshua Tree at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada

Death Valley National Park
The best place to take a photograph in the park is at the Racetrack Playa, a dry lake with the famous sailing stones. Its in a remote section of the park and requires at the very least a high clearance vehicle and preferably a 4WD. The park's main attraction is not photogenic, its Badwater, a vast salt flat that at -282 feet is the lowest spot in the Western Hemisphere. Its also not far from the high point of the park, 11,049ft Telescope Peak.
Right: The Devil's Golf Course, a vast field of rock salt that has eroded into innumerable jagged little spikes, located near Badwater.

	The Rangers made noise about needing a 4WD to get to the Mahogany Flat trailhead which would have meant hiking the last 1.6 mile of road (each way) however we persisted, and despite having a sub-compact for a rental car, we made it the entire distance. Hiking Totals: 14 miles return, 2916ft gain
	"Despite gaining nearly 3000ft of elevation the trail was moderately graded and we made good time covering the seven miles in about three and a half-hours. We didn't encounter snow until the last half mile and then it was more of a nuisance than a real hazard. The view from the summit was vast and somewhat hazy with dull brown desert as far as the eye could see. The only trees ironically were the ones along the mountain ridges, including ancient bristlecone Pines."
	Camping at Mahogany Flat was very pleasant, cool temps, and the trees provided much needed shelter.
	Left: First view of Telescope Peak from the trail

Camping at Furnace Creek Campground was brutal. There is a private campground there but it doesn't allow tents. Thus the swimming pool is off limits to anyone without an RV. They do offer expensive pay showers but only during a brief time window in the afternoon.

The park service campground is little more than a gravel parking lot. The wind here was wickedly hot and relentless, permanently bending our tent poles and scattering pieces of our gear out into the vast expanse of the desert.

Needless to say we didn't do any hiking down in the valley. Even in March daily temperatures are in the 80's, and high winds mixed with sand is common.

Right: Popular roadside attraction, Zabriskie Point

We eventually gave up on camping at Furnace Creek and moved to Stovepipe Wells. While still hot, the wind was manageable as long as we didn't use a tent fly.

There were a few positives to the high winds. All the particles of the sand in the air made for an incredible sunset. The next morning, the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, a short distance from Hwy 190 near Stovepipe Wells, were immaculate as the daily imprint of footprints has all been erased.

Left: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Joshua Tree National Park

We went to Joshua Tree National Park in hopes of catching the annual spring bloom of the Joshua Trees, but we were too early for that (March 14th 2001) and to make matters worse we were too late to get an established campsite. We had to camp in the backcountry, basically hiking in one mile and setting up a tent at least 500ft off the trail. While most desert plants are rather sharp, here they are spread out and the ground is perfectly level so it's not all that difficult to find a spot.

We hiked up Ryan Mountain which has some of the best views in the park, although a pollution generated haze makes everything look dull.
3 miles return, 700ft gain

The story of this park is the detail in the desert plants themselves. There is an incredible variety of cacti which changes with the elevation.

The southwest end of the park is at a lower elevation and features Beavertails instead of Joshua Trees. The reason is that part is actually part of the Colorado Desert, itself part of the Sonoran Desert which covers much of Arizona. The Sonoran Desert has a hotter climate and thus has its own unique flora like the giant Organ Pipe Cacti and unique fauna like the rare Gila Monster. In contrast the Great Basin Desert north of Las Vegas has a cooler climate. The Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico and West Texas is yet another distinctive environment.

The best place to take a photo in Southern California is at Antelope Valley during the spring poppy bloom. This preserve is just north of LA, near the town of Pearblosson. The bloom varies wildly from year to year although the peak is usually in mid-April. This town is also the home of the Devil's Punchbowl, a small canyon that is actually part of the San Andreas Fault. Interesting if you are a geology buff or just want to see a bunch of small lizards. It only takes a half hour to walk the loop trail.
The area directly surrounding Los Angeles is mountainous, part of the Peninsular Ranges. Several of the peaks are over ten thousand feet. There are trails to the summit of all of them, none are all that challenging and 10,834ft San Jacinto even has a tram that lets you start your hike at at 8516ft. However they do hold snow in the winter, and even lesser summits like Tahquitz Peak, at 8,846, can have snow and ice in early spring. Nearby Suicide Rock, 7528ft, is also popular with both hikers and sport climbers. Tahquitz Peak via Devil's Slide, 8.6 miles return, 2400ft gain Suicide Rock via Deer Springs Trail, 7 miles return, 1700ft gain.
Hiking to Suicide Rock: "The trail was pleasant, no tree roots, no rocks, no mud and mostly in shade. The lookout was OK but kind of a tease since all you could see was Tahquitz Peak and that looked like a far more interesting hike"
Right: Tahquitz Peak from Suicide Rock