Joshua Tree 2002
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Summary
On 09 Mar 2002, Terri and I drove to Joshua Tree National Park for an abbreviated
weekend of camping and hiking (Eureka Peak) in the desert. We saw a desert sunrise,
wildlife, amazing views, Joshua Trees, lizards, and other desert delights.
| Temperature | ~43°F Night to 80°F Day |
| Distance to Park | 210 miles as the crow flies |
| Eureka Peak | 5,516 feet |
| Waypoint | N 34°01'57.2" W 116°21' 01.0" |
| Distance | 10.8 miles roundtrip |
| Difficulty | Moderately Strenuous |
Detail
Terri and I left Santa Barbara at 2:00pm on Saturday 9 Mar 2002.
We arrived around 7pm at the Joshua Tree National Park.
Upon arriving, we found that all the campsites were taken. I
suppose because it was a weekend. Without too many alternatives,
we decided to sign camp out off of a trail. We started looking
for a backcountry board to sign in.
The park is a lot bigger that I had thought. Neither Terri
nor myself have any sense of direction, and it was night so
finding a backcountry board was not as easy at we might
have hoped. Eventually we happened upon a gate entrance to
the park. The ranger on duty told us to drive a mile back
and we would see it.
The backcountry board wasn't well marked. We eventually
found it down a dirt side-road. We signed up for the evening
then proceeded to walk the requisite 1 mile away from the
road and 500 feet from the trail. This was all at night
so our flashlights were busy. (Mine is always-on.)
The morning sunrise was quite enjoyable. Packing up our
gear, we headed back to the car to begin our hiking
adventure.
After some breakfast of energy bars (the breakfast of champions),
Terri donned my Spawn T-shirt, a WSU cap, and some cheap sunglasses
she found in a geocache and we set out to find Eureka peak.
As I mentioned before, both Terri and I are directionally
challenged. As such, we did the High View Nature Trail
before realizing that we weren't heading to Eureka Peak.
We did see Mt. San Gorgonio in the distance. It was the
only peak with snow.
Eventually we found the trailhead to Eureka Peak. The
weather was warm until the end when the wind
picked up considerably. It took Terri and I about 4 and
a quarter hours to do a hike they suggest at 6. Slackers!
On the way back we saw a lizard that was very difficult to see. It was only about
2.5 inches long.
See some images of our trip.
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