Anticipating the long weekend traffic we started off from the bay area
in early afternoon since it was a looong drive. Despite starting on
what we thought was a good time, we reached the Cottonwood camp grounds
around 11:30 in the night. Some of us were worried that since we hadn't
made any reservations we shouldn't end up without a campsite. To our
utter surprise there was not a single soul in the entire campsite
(later in the morning we realized there was a RV camped somewhere
deeper). So without further delay we managed to setup our tents and get
going.
Next day morning, it was difficult to stay in the tent past 6:30 since
the sun was so high in the sky that there was no way you could block
it. So we got up and had our breakfast, packed the tents and were set
for the first hike of the weekend -
lost
palms oasis. The trail seemed to be well marked at the start but
then it came at a fork and we realized that there was a small detour
loop involved and it looked promising. Giving in to the temptation we
took the loop and there is where we faltered. There was a sign to turn
to the right right in the middle of the trail but we
all missed it !!! We realized about
45 mins later that we had digressed from the trail. Then started the
speculations. It was decided to bear rightish so that ultimately we may
get back to the path. The sad part is there are lots and lots of
so-called paths that look like trails. They may mostly be the path for
streams in the rains. Hence it was difficult to know if we were really
back on the trail. The other bad thing was since we were literally
beating between the bushes (read cacti) we all were pretty much bruised
all over (you can't expect to wear trousers in 40
oC).
Finally after about 3 hours we decided that we have no chance on
getting back to the trial so as well go up the mountain peak that lies
in front of us.
This decision payed off since we got some amazing
views of the desert on the way and then from the top it was just
spectacular. For the first time I realized that a desert can be
appreciated for it's beauty (that too in the summer). It may sound that
we were just trying to make ourselves feel good, but the truth is we
thoroughly enjoyed the whole day and were pretty happy that we missed
the lost palms oasis. Finding an oasis, we thought, was not worth the
views we got from the summit of the rocky mountain we decided to climb.
We returned back to the campsite around 3:30PM and
headed to a nearby town to get some supplied. To get to the next
campground we drove through the Joshua National Park. We were planning
to camp @ black rock canyon but luckily at the check post we met a
ranger. He suggested that the black rock campsite is amidst urban
development and suggested us to get to Indian cove campgrounds. Also he
suggested taking the boyscout trial the next day instead of the dusty
Eureka peak trail which is shared by SUVs and ATVs. Going by his
suggestion we ended up at the Indian cove. Jean-Gabriel was in charge
of dinner and he made some tasty pasta for all of us. Tired from the
adventure of the day we savioured it much to our satisfaction. Overall
it was a satisfying day but we decided that we would be more careful
the next day and make sure that everything goes as planned.
All was well till we hit a trail
sign that pointed
to go straight. Unfortunately there was no trail to be seen in the
vicinity. We again speculated some trail like pattern in the
distance would be the continuing trail. So going up and down boulders
and through chimneys and after about 1.5 ~ 2 miles we finally hit a
valley between two Huge rock faces. There was no way there could have
been a trail through this rocks. Most of us guys went different way to
see any signs of a trail but to no luck. Finally we took a wise
decision to trace back our path and get back to the trail. That wasn't
any easier either coz there was no path to begin with. So relying on
our memory of things we saw en route to the valley, we made our way
back to the posted sign. From that it was couple of hours more back to
the parking lot. Though this trail was not as exciting as the previous
days it was not worth frowning. We looked at it as a out and back trail
rather than a loop trail. The view of the rocky mountains were the
attraction of the day. You couldn't help but marvel at the magnificence
of the entire region. Oh! btw, I forgot to mention that we came across
a lot and lot of Joshua trees on the trail (The previous day we didn't
see a single Joshua tree, may be coz it was to the south of the park we
were at the north today).
We returned back around early afternoon and decided
to catchup with some more places to visit before heading back to
campsite. First stop was the hidden valley. Though I didn't it that
appealing the view on the other side was spectacular with vast expanse
of land covered with Josha trees all over. It looked more like one of
the locations of the Lord of the Rings movie :). The next place was Key
View which gave a breath taking view of the Joshua tree wilderness. We
could easily make out the ill effects of urbanization in the form of
air pollution. One one side was the calm and clearness of the Joshua
wilderness and in the distance towards the LA region could be seen the
smog filled landscape. Then we headed for Eureka peak but after getting
to the connecting road we realized that it is a dirt road full of sand
and decided that our cars may work in the loose sand. So we finally
turned back heading to the campsite. Today's special was khus-khus (no,
not the Indian Khas-khas) which resembled some sort of rice porridge
with vegetables. Whatever it was, it tasted great and satisfying!
Day 3 was meant
for relaxation and fun. We planned to go the big bear lake but then
decided to got to lake arrowhead to save some time. However that too
was not a good decision. Lake arrowhead is mostly a private lake with
boats and Yachts all around. Finally we managed to ask for a lake
nearby that would have a shore and we could swim in it. We were
suggested lake Gregory by a local shop owner. Gregory was a small
lake but it was fun with the sand beach and swim area. We got our much
needed dip in the water (no shower for 2 days !!!). After spending some
time in the lake others had their lunch (I was saving myself for the
planned stop at the Indian restaurant, Namaste India, on I-5). We left
lake Gregory around 2:00- 2:30pm and that concluded the major
attractions of the trip.
I would surely recommend Joshua Tree to others preferably in cooler
weather and if they decide to be extra careful about the directions :).
Personally I n'joyed to whole getting lost episode, but others may or
may-not agree to that. So one more feather in the hat of lost but
turned good hikes !!!
Links:
Photos
Joshua Tree
National Park
Official site of JTNP
