another adventure: pioneertown, ca

If you blink, you will miss it. Pioneertown was our last major stop during our time in Joshua Tree. We had spent two days hiking and exploring the park and we kept hearing about Pioneertown and Pappy and Harriet's. Everyone kept telling us there was an old Western movie set built by Roy Rogers and Gene Autry that was still in use today and next to it was the coolest bar ever. 

This was weird to us because people kept telling us it was right between where we stay out in the desert and Joshua Tree. The boy grew up out there and he had never heard of it. There is not much out there so we thought people were making it up or that it could not possibly be as cool as everyone was saying because we would have heard about it from other locals by now. 

But sure enough, there is a little road that winds through the desert and takes you right to Pioneertown. You can't see it from the road and there are some signs but if you aren't looking for it, you will miss it. It's off the road and well maintained, on the weekends they do little shows out in the town area and some of the sets are working stores (like the one pictured above which is an actual saddle shop.) 

Some of the buildings are just facades and some even have people living in them. We met a couple locals since we got there on a Monday afternoon and it was pretty quiet. We walked around, took pictures, made some friends, and learned all about the old sound stage, the movies they filmed here, and the current uses of the area. 

We then grabbed a drink at Pappy and Harriet's. This place has become somewhat of a legend now and it you want to eat you need a reservation (you can thank Anthony Bourdain for that.) We managed to sneak into the bar right when it opened and enjoy a couple pints while the place quickly filled up. On Mondays they have Open Mic night and it is a trip. You see all levels of talent and styles and the rumor is that it is a fairly regular thing for famous musicians to come in and play a quick set on Mondays. We did not see this happen and it could be a legend they have created to get people to come back but even without famous musicians they have amazing food, a perfect desert atmosphere, cold drinks, and live music. There is little else I need in life. 

I can't wait to go back and have more of their BBQ. It is amazing. 

xoxo,

kat

another adventure: lost horse mine loop in joshua tree

This was the last trail we did on our trip to Joshua Tree and it was by far my favorite. The 2 mile trail (4 mile out and back) to the Lost Horse Mine is popular. We saw a lot of hikers on the trail heading up there, all a wide range of skill level. The less traveled trail is the Lost Horse Loop Trail which continues on from the Mine and then loops back around to where the trail begins. We felt ambitious and ended up doing the full loop and for us, it was challenging but completely worth it. 

Sometimes it feels like every corner of Joshua Tree Park is an entirely different desert. While the park does span across the Mojave and the Sonora desert, we stayed in the Mojave part. But when you look at all the trails we did (49 Palms, Wall Street Mill & Barker Dam), the terrain is varied and that is part of what makes hiking in Joshua Tree so fun and exciting. It gives you a clear understanding of how much life is in the desert and how the term 'desert' doesn't just mean endless sand dunes like they show in the movies. 

I actually did not take many pictures on the first part of this trail or of the Mine itself. It is a decent climb up to the Mine with some expansive views of the park for a good part of the trail. When we got to the mine it offered great views of the trail and the valley and ended up being a great place to stop and have lunch. We snacked on peanut butter sandwiches while ground squirrels became very daring and tried to find ways into our packs. They wanted our sandwiches and they tried to look really adorable to con us into giving them some (we stayed strong and did not give in.) 

We saw the marker for the loop before we headed up to the Mine so we had to back track just a little to get to the trail head. Within the first ten minutes on this trail we hit the first major view and it was incredible. There was no way to get a good picture with our phones or the point and shoot. It overlooks a part of the park that has no roads in it, just trails. It is gorgeous and unlike any other part of the park or any of the other trails we did.

It was breathtaking and incredible. One of those moments in the National Parks that is difficult too put into words. We continued on with the loop and it definitely had some rough patches. The trail  did not appear to be as well maintained as the main trails in the park so we did run into some loose parts here and there. There were a few points where we regretted leaving our hiking poles in the truck but we were overall okay without them. It was gorgeous though, we stayed on the ridge of some hills for a good part of this trail with great views of the valley (shown both above and below.)

Once we got around the hills we ran into another abandoned mine. This one has been dynamited shut but we could easily see where it once was. Right by the mine we found this fireplace as well, there was some abandoned furniture here as well that must date back to the 1950's at the latest. 

At around this point the trail turns into an old dirt road that was used to get to the mines. It didn't have any more grand views but it did give us this sense of being very far out and alone in the desert even though we were just a few miles from the truck. It was the longest we went without seeing anyone the entire time we were in the park. And again, it was one of those moments in the National Parks that are difficult to put into words. The grandeur of the wilderness under us sank in on this trail.

This is an incredible trail. It was the most challenging trail we did in the park and it is not for everyone because of the challenges it presents. I loved the views it offered, how far into the park we were able to get, and how it offered a different part of the park for us to see. Of all the trails we did, this one stuck with me the most. 

xoxo,

kat 

Disclaimer: I am not a fitness or outdoors expert and do not claim to be one. Everything stated above is my opinion, not advice. Always consult your doctor before starting a new fitness routine and always consult experts before heading out on a new adventure. 

another adventure: 49 palms oasis trail in joshua tree

I spent a couple days in Joshua Tree National Park recently with the boy. We ended up doing a decent amount of hiking, especially considering he is still just getting back on his feet post surgery. We used this great guide (Joshua Tree: The Complete Guide)* which I talked about here and picked a few shorter trails than what we normally like to hike. The first trail was 49 Palms Oasis and it was the perfect way to start our trip into Joshua Tree. 

We were very nervous about this trail, not because it was difficult but because there was a huge sandstorm happening in the valley to the North of the park and as this trail is right on the North facing border between 29 Palms and Joshua Tree City, we were worried we might get caught in the high winds and sand. Not only did we not get caught in the sandstorm but we saw some amazing wildlife on the trail. Literally, on the trail.

This desert tortoise was sunning himself right in the middle of the trail, we may have tripped over him if another group heading down the trail hadn't warned us he was there. On our way back, he was just off the trail eating some wildflowers. Later on this trail, we also saw a pair of Chuckwalla's sunning themselves but it was impossible to get a picture of them. 

This trail leads you up over some hills back to a naturally occurring oasis. Yes, like the kind you see in movies where there are suddenly palm trees and water. It is a very popular trail, we ran into a lot of groups of all ages, families, an elderly couple, a group of people our age down from Seattle, and tons more. It is 3 miles round trip but is rated as moderately strenuous because both in and out there is a 300 foot elevation gain since you have to go over a set of hills to get to the oasis. 

The pictures don't really do this trail justice. I just had a little point and shoot camera with me and it was really hard to capture the landscape and the oasis. It is absolutely beautiful when you come over the hill and see the oasis nestled in the hillside. It is so unexpected and really gives you a sense of how rare and valued water is in this desert 

All in all, this was a great hike and it gives you amazing views of the valley below where you can see the cities in the area as well as the desert sprawling towards Johnson Valley. It also offers a very different terrain than the other hikes we went on and we heard from several people in the park that it is the best place to find Chuckwalla's and the desert tortoise. 

Have you been to Joshua Tree National Park? What was your favorite part of your visit?

xoxo,

kat 

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another adventure: exploring the desert part II

(A dry lake bed in the afternoon.) 

For people who have only seen the desert in movies, it seems like this endless world of nothing. Just sand and sky and not much else. But really, the desert is full of insane versatile life (snakes guys, snakes are crazy) and some amazing adventures. Our past few weekends there have included dry lake beds, adventures on some dirt roads, and a little climbing (though not so much me climbing, I am still a little too novice for the outdoors.) I decided to share some of the pictures from our trips.

 

(I am pretty sure this is considered more than bouldering.) 

 

(The dry lake bed. Doing it's thing and looking like art.) 

 

(nbd. Just some old volcanoes in the distance.) 

 xoxo,

kat

another adventure: exploring giant rock

Lately, I've been in the desert a lot. The boy has a place out there and we can't seem to stay away too long. And in a couple of weeks I will head out to another part where my family goes every Thanksgiving. I love it. The silence you can feel out in the desert is unlike anything - well, at least it's unlike anything you find in the suburbs of Southern California. 

The last two times we went out there, we went to Giant Rock. It is the world's largest free standing boulder and it is hard to explain or even take pictures of. You think, "yeah, ok, a boulder, that's cool." But then you drive up to it, you see this giant round boulder just sitting on it's own in the sand, yeah there is a hill covered in rock next to it, but it is out there on it's own and it's so massive and all you can think is..."how?"

The huge piece you see in the foreground and in the picture below is a massive part of the boulder that fell off at some point. There are stories all over the internet of a man who lived underneath it at some point and the government having to bomb the shelter he built underneath the rock because people kept going in it. There is still an area under it you could crawl into but just looking in, there is mostly trash and twisted rebar.

The thing about Giant Rock (and any major rock formation near a road or recreational area) is the graffiti. I don't get it. I do not understand how people can go out into nature and think to themselves "HEY! I should deface this natural wonder because I am so much more important than everyone else and everyone needs to know I was here!" I know there is this mentality of thinking it's just rock but that's so sad. The fact that people can look at things like Giant Rock (or any rock formation) and just see a place to cover in meaningless spray paint is so depressing. They can't see the millions of years it took to get that rock just as it is. Climb, explore, hike, crawl, Instagram it like it's going out of style, but don't deface it.

A hundred years from now, no one is going to look that rock and think "Oh wow, Sally and Tim were here. How AMAZING." Well, unless of course you are someone like William Clark...you know, from the Lewis and Clark Expedition. But unless you are traveling to space at the moment - you are not doing anything nearly as world changing as Lewis or Clark. None of us are Lewis or Clark and this is not the Corps of Discovery. Stop painting and carving things on rocks guys, just stop.


xoxo,
kat