Beat the Heat
I decided that I wanted to do something with my daughter on the Fourth of July. Normally I have to work most of the day, but this year I didn't have to work until 4 pm. My daughter returned from a trip to South Africa with the Palm Springs High School band last week and we hadn't spent much time together since then. She liked the idea and asked me what I wanted to do. I told her I'd like to take a hike, but wasn't too sure about it, since the weather has been hot and humid, for us. She suggested an early start, I said sure but when she said 4:30 am, I was back pedaling very quickly. She then asked if I really wanted to go, so I reluctantly agreed to the early morning start.
Morning came all too soon and at 4:15 she asked if I still was planning on going. I said yes and staggered out of bed and by 4:40 we were on the road. As we headed down the road in the dark, I kept wonder how warm the high desert would be. Charlene asked me if I still was planning on hiking out to 49 Palms Oasis and I said yes. I picked this hike because I thought that trying to hike locally in the low desert would be too hot. I liked the idea of going up on the mountain, but I didn't have time to pick up an Adventure Pass. Fourth of July crowds on the tram would be unpleasant. That left Joshua Tree National Park, I thought about going to Ryan Mountain, but decided that again, I wouldn't have time to pick up a park pass. That left me with two options, hiking one of my favorite hikes in Joshua Tree, Rattlesnake Canyon, or 49 Palms. We have done Rattlesnake Canyon several times, so I thought she might like to go someplace different. As we drove through Yucca Valley we noticed some clouds in the east with alpenglow on them, very pretty.
Shortly after 6 am we arrived at the locked gate. 49 Palms is a day use area and they lock the gate at dusk and reopen sometime in the morning. We parked by the side of the road, got our gear together and started hiking up the road. We hadn't gone very far when Charlene let out an excited whisper "Bunny rabbit". Well, sure enough we saw a rabbit and took a picture. Then we went on up the road. Two minutes later we met a retired couple out for their morning walk, we said hi and wished each other a Happy 4th of July. In no time we reached the trailhead and left the pavement. I was surprised at the number of stair steps that had been installed, someone had gone to a lot of work. After about a quarter of a mile I noticed the stairs stopped and the trail became more of what I'm used to in the wilderness.
Bunny Rabbit
Trail Head
We were glad that we had left early, because even at this hour the temperature was starting to heat up and there was some humidity in the air. We had a pretty good climb to begin with and then the trail kind of leveled out and then started going downhill. I had last done this hike at least 15 years ago and my memory wasn't too good. I didn't recognize any part of the hike, other than I remember going downhill to the oasis. I thought the trail had been different, came in from the other direction and ended in a box canyon. Boy was I off. But that's OK, because it made the hike seem that much more worthwhile to me, plus the excitement of something new is always good.
On the trail
Trail starting to go downhill
The oasis coming into view
Once we arrived at the oasis we took a look around. Someone had been doing some trail maintenance and clean-up around the palms. We watched the birds, bugs and checked out the pools. After a quick snack and some rehydration it was time to go. While the oasis was still in shadow, the trail on the hike out wouldn't be.
The oasis
Wildlife in the oasis
Checking out one of the pools
Snack time
We had been hiking back towards the car for only a few minutes when we stopped to check out the view down canyon. Charlene asked me if I could see it. See what I replied. She said that she could see a Bighorn Sheep on the hillside across the canyon from us. I still couldn't see it and she pointed it out till it moved and then I saw it. We took pictures and watched it for several minutes, it was amazing how fast it could move on the steep and rugged terrain. Our video just didn't do it justice, but does give an idea of how fast it was. Then, with the temperature never far from my thoughts we started hiking again.
Can you spot the bighorn on the ledge?
Again we had only hiked a few minutes when we came around a corner and saw two more bighorns. These were a ram and ewe and the ram had a tremendous curl. Again we stopped and took pictures and watched for several minutes. I was surprised that they didn't run away, since most of the times I seen bighorn in the wild they are very skittish. These were only about 100 feet from us and just went about their business, almost as if we weren't there.
The ram is looking towards us, the ewe facing away
The ewe looking at us
We then continued on back along the trail, we saw what may have been a geocache in the the distance and more small creatures like lizards and rabbits.
Lizard
Checking the web back home told me that I probably just saw a mylar balloon in the distance. When we were almost back to the parking lot we passed a group of three hikers who were on their way in. They said hello and complimented us on getting our exercise. They looked like they were in good shape, which is important when hiking in the heat.
Back at the parking lot
We were back at our car about ten minutes later, almost exactly two hours to the minute from when we left. While it was a great hike, I don't think I would have wanted to be out hiking in the heat any later in the day. Charlene, thanks for picking the early hour to leave.
Back at the car
To view some video from our hike,
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