Today we hiked Black Rock Canyon Trail and the Panorama Loop (6.6 miles roundtrip). The joshua trees were in full spring bloom and the views were spectacular! The last time we hiked this trail we saw a big rattle snake. This time we saw a cute and harmless jack rabbit! Watch the above video.
This is our second trek at Lost Palms Oasis in Joshua Tree National Park. The weather was not as nice as last year's hike. The winds were blowing around 30 miles and hour and it was very cold to boot! I don't know about the others, but I couldn't wait for this 7.3 mile round trip hike to be over with. I made the mistake by not wearing long pants or warmer clothes. Watch the above video.
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One good thing about this hike though, we walked very briskly and got done quicker then any hike we had ever done! My hubby, Gordie, who normally lags behind, was leading the pack and we could hardly keep up with him. With his hood pulled tightly around his head, he looked exactly like Kenny, the animated character on the T.V. series called South Park.
This was our second time we hiked Ryan Mountain this year. Leo, wasn't with us the first time so we decided to hike it again. It's a steep 2.8 mile round-trip trail that climbs 1,000 feet to the summit. The hike is moderately strenuous, guarantee to make you huff and puff!
"The...hike up Ryan Mountain is a reaffirmation of life. The pulse accelerates, the senses become more acute, and one may renew the acquaintance of lungs and muscles previously taken for granted." Robert B. Cates, Joshua Tree National Park: A Visitor's Guide, 1995
The Arch Rock Nature Trail is a half mile loop located at the White Tank Campground in Joshua Tree National Park. We saw some pretty interesting rock formations.
We went to Joshua Tree National Park again for this week's hike because it was twenty degrees cooler than compared to Palm Desert. Rattlesnake Canyon was on our agenda until we saw the following sign:
In a way we were relieved we didn't hike Rattlesnake Canyon because there were plenty of other trails in this vicinity. So we drove down the road into Indian Cove and parked near a huge boulder. There we spent the morning hiking through a maze of beautiful rock formations that left our imaginations go wild. At one point we thought we saw a black snake coiled up sitting on a rock near a couple of stones. When we got a little closer, we relized it was just another rock. Some of the rocks looked like sculls or the heads of dinosaurs. It's a no wonder this place is called Wonderland of Rocks.
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We also took a nature walk down Indian Cove Trail. We were facinated by the desert's surrounding natural beauty. The Paperbag Bush is a shrub we never saw before until just now. We learned that the ground squirrels sometimes climb in the branches, collect seeds in their cheek pouches, and store them in burrows for later eating.
This Thursday's hike we went to Lost Palms Oasis in Joshua Tree National Park. We started at Cottonwood Spring near the visitor center just north of I10. The trail to Lost Palms was mostly flat and open desert. In some sections we came across huge boulders, plateaus, and canyons where the ground was covered by coarse whitish sand. This hike was more remote and at a higher elevation than our previous hikes. It was a moderate 7.5 mile hike out and back.
We saw many desert creatures and I was able to capture video of a few varieties of lizards. At one point I thought I saw a squirrel or bird in a bush, but was shocked to see it was a huge lizard!
We really enjoyed this hike and we highly recommend it! Leo said it was the best hike so far, however, he says that on all our hikes. LOL!
