Desert borderlands 3-27 to 4-12-18
Posted: April 20th, 2018, 2:43 pm
We did a spring trip down to the deserts of California and Arizona, hoping to enjoy the attractions in balmy weather. We got the blue skies, but temperatures were unseasonable and 10 – 15 degrees above normal. Our lowest high was 77 on our first day in Palm Springs, while our last day (in Phoenix) was a bracing 98! Tina put the damper on any aspirations on my part to design this primarily as a “hiking” trip and that, combined with the fact that she positively wilts on days above 75 degrees, meant that our outdoor excursions were more limited than I had hoped. Much of the time, we were down near the border and, although we never crossed into Mexico, we went through at least five border checkpoints and Border Patrol SUVs were omnipresent.
Note that under the "new and better" upgrade, file names are not automatically translating into visible picture captions as before. You can run your mouse over the picture to see the file name, which serves as a caption.
1. Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
My eyes were on the Skyline Trail, 10 miles and 7,000 feet elevation gain up to the end of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, but we were in the area with friends from Portland who had other ideas. One hike was on the Lykken Trail, from the beginning of the Skyline, which offered views of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.
We also hiked in two of the “Indian Canyons” on the Agua Caliente Reservation ($9 admission per person). The attraction here is the creeks shaded by California fan palms, the only palm tree native to the western U.S. Both of these areas were within the national monument.
2. Joshua Tree National Park
We made a day excursion to do some short hiking trails in Joshua Tree, and experienced the lowest temperatures and coldest winds of the trip at Keys View (5,185 feet, 53 degrees). This was the only three-layer day of the trip!
3. Mecca Hills Wilderness
These bleak hills near the north end of the Salton Sea have a slot canyon where ladders have been installed by a local hiking club to ease you up some vertical chutes. It was 95 degrees, so Tina found a patch of shade to read a book, while I headed up a scorching wash. Once inside the slot canyon, however, temperatures cooled about 25 degrees.
4. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
This is the largest state park in the United States. It is even more widely known, perhaps, as a staple of every generic nature calendar ever printed, the scene usually a brilliant carpet of wildflowers as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, the desert here hasn’t bloomed for a couple of years because they’re in a severe drought. I did entice Tina into another slot canyon on a 95 degree day.
We also enjoyed wandering through the creosote/cholla/ocotillo scrublands outside Borrego Springs visiting scores of life-size metal sculptures installed by artist/welder Richard Breceda.
5. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Out the back door of the Visitor Center, I almost stepped on a western diamondback. I told the ranger, who got excited and fetched her snake stick but ended up just taking pictures. We hiked a trail up in the Ajo Mountains; we were only four miles from the border, and signs reminded us that these canyons sometimes serve drug traffickers as well as tourists.
Note that under the "new and better" upgrade, file names are not automatically translating into visible picture captions as before. You can run your mouse over the picture to see the file name, which serves as a caption.
1. Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
My eyes were on the Skyline Trail, 10 miles and 7,000 feet elevation gain up to the end of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, but we were in the area with friends from Portland who had other ideas. One hike was on the Lykken Trail, from the beginning of the Skyline, which offered views of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.
We also hiked in two of the “Indian Canyons” on the Agua Caliente Reservation ($9 admission per person). The attraction here is the creeks shaded by California fan palms, the only palm tree native to the western U.S. Both of these areas were within the national monument.
2. Joshua Tree National Park
We made a day excursion to do some short hiking trails in Joshua Tree, and experienced the lowest temperatures and coldest winds of the trip at Keys View (5,185 feet, 53 degrees). This was the only three-layer day of the trip!
3. Mecca Hills Wilderness
These bleak hills near the north end of the Salton Sea have a slot canyon where ladders have been installed by a local hiking club to ease you up some vertical chutes. It was 95 degrees, so Tina found a patch of shade to read a book, while I headed up a scorching wash. Once inside the slot canyon, however, temperatures cooled about 25 degrees.
4. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
This is the largest state park in the United States. It is even more widely known, perhaps, as a staple of every generic nature calendar ever printed, the scene usually a brilliant carpet of wildflowers as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, the desert here hasn’t bloomed for a couple of years because they’re in a severe drought. I did entice Tina into another slot canyon on a 95 degree day.
We also enjoyed wandering through the creosote/cholla/ocotillo scrublands outside Borrego Springs visiting scores of life-size metal sculptures installed by artist/welder Richard Breceda.
5. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Out the back door of the Visitor Center, I almost stepped on a western diamondback. I told the ranger, who got excited and fetched her snake stick but ended up just taking pictures. We hiked a trail up in the Ajo Mountains; we were only four miles from the border, and signs reminded us that these canyons sometimes serve drug traffickers as well as tourists.