Henderson, Shannon, Garstin Loop

December 21, 2009

With Christmas break, I had my hands full with bored college students. I decided to try to keep them busy with some outdoor activities. In order to humor old dad, we decided to take a hike. Because I was on stand-by duty at work, we couldn't go very far, so we chose the trails at the south end of Palm Springs for our hike. Since we wanted to get a good little workout, we chose the Henderson, Shannon, Garstin loop.

My hiking partners waiting at the trailhead

We parked off Bogert Trail and headed up the Henderson Trail. The temperatures were mild, but the humidity was up, so it seemed like a much warmer day than it really was.

Sign at the start of the Henderson Trail

The first part of the trail is fairly level, in fact the entire trail has very little overall elevation gain. It makes a short elevation gain and then contours along the base of the hills.

One of the prominent points along the trail

With the easy going we were able to have a good time visiting and enjoying the views while we were getting warmed up for the steeper sections to come.

We weren't the only ones out enjoying the day, horses in the wash

As always, we were impressed by the history of the trails in this area. Most of the hiking trails in the Palm Springs area were established by the Los Compadres horse riding group and we owe a debt of gratitude for all the hard work they have done over the years to create and maintain these trails.

An old sign along the trail

Before too long we were approaching the end of the Henderson Trail and we could see a sign in the distance. I've seen the sign many times before, but what I didn't recognize, was the two objects on the top of the posts.

Approaching the sign, note the objects on the posts

When we arrived at the sign we saw that someone had balanced some rocks on the posts. I've noticed that building rock towers is becoming more and more popular in recent years, I guess it's some sort of artistic/creative thing.

Rocks on the sign posts

Unfortunately the sign was too weathered to read. We stopped for a quick water break and and noticed that the sign for the Shannon Trail was missing and the only signs we did see were telling us that in order to help protect the bighorn sheep, dogs are not allowed on this trail.

Dogs prohibited signs

We then started up the Shannon Trail. One of the great things about this trail is how quickly it climbs in a very short distance. Of course if your not in good shape, you may think it's not so great. I'm of the mind that if I'm gasping for breath while hiking, everything is normal and I don't worry about it, I know it must be good for me.

View of Palm Springs from the Shannon Trail

Another thing that I like about this trail, besides the elevation gain is the fact that you go up a narrow ridge, which makes me think I'm climbing a big mountain in some exotic corner of the world. Come to think of it, some people think Palm Springs is an exotic corner of the world... .

The mountain drops off on both sides of the trail

As the trail started to ease off in steepness, we came across a large pile of rocks at the edge of the trail. I'm so busy getting my workout, complete with heavy perspiration and gasping that I don't know how they find the energy to build these things.

Rocks on the side of the trail

Soon after the rock pile we came to the Shannon Trail plaque, it seems like it's about mid point on the trail. This location has great views and we thought it a good place for a water break. I've been told that the Shannon Trail is dedicated to a teenage horse enthusiast who was killed by an automobile while crossing Palm Canyon while riding her horse.

The Shannon Plaque

We finished our quick break and continued along the trail. While the trail isn't as steep as lower, it still has some great exposure as it winds along the steep hillsides.

The trail along the steep hillside

As we looked down into the canyon below, we could see a faint trail below. We wondered if it was an old Indian trail or a game trail.

Trail visible in the bottom of the canyon

Soon we reached the final stretch of the trail and we could see the high point of the trails in the immediate area.

Looking at the high point on the Berns Trail off to the left

Even the last sections had some great views looking down face of the hill into the Palm Canyon wash below. I would not like to have to try and take a direct route on these steep and loose sections. It would be a recipe for disaster.

Looking down to the wash below

One thing about the steep trails, they tend to spread out the group. I'd like to go slower of course, but then who would take the pictures?

On the final section of the Shannon Trail

I have peak bagging in my blood, so we took a short detour onto the Berns Trail to go to the high point of the area. Dorothy was motivated to be the first on top, she took the lead on this one.

Dorothy next to the pile of rocks at the high point

We took a few "summit" photos and then headed down the Garstin Trail. This trail is steep, but not as steep as the Shannon. Of course they all have great views.

Looking down the Garstin Trail

This trail has a lot of switchbacks and so you get a variety of views. This is one of the things that makes our little playground so special.

Looking down at our car

With downhill hiking, you make good time and it wasn't long before we were back at the trail junction where we started our loop.

The Garstin Trail sign

From this point it's less than 100 yards back to the trail head and our car.

The final section of trail

We had a great workout with fantastic views and all just minutes from home!

Ryan Mountain

December 26, 2009

We are still in hiking mode instead of climbing mode. I had planned on climbing, but when Roy said he thought he would be able to belay me, if I climbed slow enough, I figured we'd stick with hiking. I had planned on Joshua Tree if we were climbing, so we stuck with that destination and decided to do one of the more popular hikes, Ryan Mountain. This is a hike of three miles round trip and it leads to a summit with some nice views.

Trail junction near the parking lot

The trail starts out from a fairly large parking lot and goes a short distance to "T" intersection. If you go to the left you'll end up at the Sheep Pass Group Campground. We took the trail to the right and up Ryan Mountain. The trail starts a steady but not too steep climb diagonally up the side of the mountain. From the trail you get some great views of the rock formations that Joshua Tree is so famous for.

We're gaining elevation and enjoying the views

One of my favorite views is of Saddle Rocks as you come around the corner. During the popular times of the year you will often see the rock climbers scaling the rock.

Saddle Rocks

As we continued up, we passed through some metamorphic rock that had some beautiful patterns to look at. We stopped just past a very rocky section of the trail, where the route through the rocks was threaded between the boulders. There was no other way to go and I couldn't help but notice that someone had placed a duck on the end rock. We joked about what the alternatives would be, step off the side for a nasty fall or climb up the cliffs on the uphill side, or take the obvious trail, hmmm, I wonder... .

Roy laughing in the face of danger

As the route curves around the mountain it goes into a wash and then up on a gentle slope that leads to the top. A few years ago this slope was burned and it's still noticeably more barren the rest of the surround landscape.

Burned area as we near the summit

Soon we are nearing the actual summit. It's easy to spot, since hundreds, if not thousands of people have each contributed a rock to a pile on the top. There is also a sign, just in case your not sure if you're on the top.

Nearing the summit

We have arrived

When we arrived on top, Roy went crazy and exhibited some bizarre behavior. He climbed up on the rock pile and started dancing. To be honest, I was more than a little frightened by this exhibition. Luckily he came to his senses and started acting like a normal tourist, looking at the views, taking pictures and all that sort of thing.

Roy dancing on the summit rock pile

Tourist taking pictures from the summit

After enjoying the summit for about fifteen minutes, we headed back down. The nice part about the hike down is that you don't have to stop to enjoy the views, since you are facing away from the hillsides most of the time.

Heading down with views of the Wonderland of Rocks in the distance

As we hiked down we saw several groups hiking up the trail. We had seen a solo hiker going down as we were going up, but now it was much busier.

More cars in the parking lot than when we started

Once back at the trail head we walked over to look at an Indian site. Fortunately there was a duck to mark the way. Roy thought it might have been an artistic endeavor.

Modern rock art

There is a park service sign pointing out the early man site and we went over and saw where a bedrock mortar, fire stained rock and a faint pictograph mark an overhanging boulder that would have made a nice camp site for the Indians.

Bedrock Mortar

Faint red on the rock is pictograph

After looking over the site, we called it a successful day and headed home, having had a very enjoyable hike.

Hayfield Summit

December 2009

Roy is still nursing his wrist, so we jumped on the excuse to do some more exploring. With the cooler temperatures we headed down to the the south end of Joshua Tree National Park, along the I-10 corridor. This area is well known for it's series of water sources that were so vital to early travelers, especially the Indians. We headed out to the Hayfield Summit area to see some petroglyphs. We started at the base of the hills, where we should have dropped into the wash.

Looking down into the wash from where we parked the vehicle

I have been reading Hal Summers blog, Hike Every Day and recently he has been spending a lot of time checking out old Indian trails. As we were getting ready to start hiking, I saw what I thought might be the remnants of an old trail in the hillside above us. We started hiking cross country and soon decided that there was no trail, but I did notice that there was a series of ducks.

A duck on a boulder

Even though by this time we could see a well defined trail on the other side of the wash, we just had to follow the ducks. After about a quarter of a mile we found a mine site. It was well marked by a large pile of stones.

Pile of stones marking the first diggings we found

There was a small dig, not more than about eight feet long and only a few feet deep. As we were looking around from something more interesting, we noticed that there was an old trail on the hillside we were standing on. Needless to say, we just had to check it out. The trail was in disrepair and grown over in many places, but it switched back up the side of the hill until we arrived at a more extensive dig.

Roy on the old trail in one of the "better" sections

This dig was several times larger than the first one

This second dig was much more extensive than the first, but still wasn't too interesting. However, the trail continued on up toward a saddle about another hundred feet above us. Naturally we just had to continue to follow the trail and soon enough we found the workings of an old mine.

Remnants of the old mine

Now we had some artifacts to look at, this was getting to be more of the entertainment level we had been looking for. As we continued to explore the site it kept getting better and better until we found that actual mine itself. It looked good, but not good enough for Roy to go into, so I stayed out to keep him company. Actually neither of us would ever dream of going into a hole like this, the danger is just too great.

Vertical mine shaft

While looking around the site Roy found the claim, dated 1986, so I guess it wasn't that old after all. I find it hard to believe that 20 years ago that all this work was done. I think that it was an old mine site that was "rediscovered" and claimed in recent times, because I don't think that modern miners would build the trail that we followed. It was designed for mules and I don't think anyone is mining with them in these parts. One interesting thing about the claim was that as a reference point it mentioned the Hayfield Summit Spring. We could see another trail on the other side of the hill we were on that seemed to lead to the spring, so we decided to head over and check it out. We figured that the reliable water supply would have some sign of Indian visitation.

Heading out to find the spring

The route to the spring turned out to be very intimidating looking and surprisingly easy. There was quite a bit of exposure and you certainly wouldn't want to fall, but we didn't and soon were overlooking the spring and at the saddle that joined the trail to the spring.

Looking down the steep slope to the area of the spring

Soon we were down in the bottom of the wash at the "spring" which turned out to be a small concrete dam across the wash. From the dam we hiked up the canyon and it soon became very steep and rocky. I was wishing I had on my climbing shoes in places. Since Roy had followed the trail, he got ahead of me and soon I was struggling to catch up to him. I saw him a few hundred feet up canyon from me, taking my picture. I continued on up and never could catch up to him. As a matter of fact, I never saw him again. The route up was very interesting and challenging and I was enjoying myself a little too much to stop. I figured out that he wasn't ahead of me when I entered a narrow sandy section with no footprints.

Rocky and steep terrain

After working my way up through house sized boulders, steep little headwalls and narrow slots in the bedrock, I came out into a flat section of the wash. The wash was wider and had lots of large clumps of mesquite growing in it.

Wide flat section of the wash, mesquite growing along the sides

At about this time I came upon the bones of a bighorn. At least most of the bones were there, animals had carried of some parts. I followed the wash until it again became narrow and rocky and I decided that since I hadn't seen Roy in over an hour, I should head back.

Horn from the dead bighorn

I was surprised that on the way back down the route hadn't gotten any easier. I did get a message from Roy, he was back at the car and waiting. He mentioned that he had seen some petroglyphs by the dam and followed the wash out. I checked out the rock art, it consisted of a few faint markings in one small place. I then started out the old trail that we had seen on the other side of the wash, when we had been hiking to the mine.

Old trail along the hillside, leading to the "spring"

This trail turned out to be only a little better than what we had been on going to the mine. Once down at the car, we decided to drive along the powerline road just to look around. While driving we did see some much more significant rock art. We stopped and checked out several dozen petroglyphs.

Petroglyphs

Since it was getting late, we headed back down the road and while driving and talking about what a good day it had turned out to be, I saw a tarantula crossing the road. I yelled to Roy to stop, but he kept driving and I kept yelling at him to stop. Finally I told him we had probably run over a tarantula and then he stops and says, "Why didn't you tell me?". We then got out and walked back and much to our furry friends luck, we had just missed him, by less than a quarter of an inch.

A very lucky tarantula

Seeing the spider was a great ending to a very enjoyable day.