Photo: Desert Tortoise

Got up early and headed out from the campground on an old jeep track. Lovely cool morning again, trail filled with wildflowers and loaded down with water!

The first five miles were easy jeep track walking. Then the fun began. I had to cross over deep washes, slip and slide down steep sides and climb steeply up the other side. This went on for quite some time – at least four or five of these deep washes. I was getting exhausted. Hot work even though only mid-morning. I hoped it didn’t go on forever. Luckily, the deep washes stopped. I still had rolling up and down terrain, but it was much milder.

By noon, the heat starts getting oppressive. Only in the 80s this week, but for hiking that’s a lot for me. I tried to drink as much as I could and take breaks to keep myself energized. A lot of midday was spent walking in sandy washes of some kind and meandering cross-country in dry desert. Still amazed at finding new and interesting wildflowers!

I decided to stop at 3pm in what shade I could find and cook a meal. That way, I’d get a nice rest, fill up with soupy food, and I could continue in a cooler part of the day. This plan worked well. I had more energy and it began to get cooler. For a good while, I walked easily on an abandoned jeep track which went on for miles. I ended the day in – no surprise – a sandy wash! I could see the canyon that I’d be entering next day in the distance. I walked 17 plus miles this day. Only 7.9 miles tomorrow.

One more beautiful starry night. Cowboy camped again in the wash.

I was on the trail by 6:40am on Saturday. It was easy walking to the canyon. The canyon was a little rocky with sand – luckily more hard-packed. I had to zig and zag through rocks, brush, and ditches to move forward. A spectacular sight: a desert tortoise. Quite a rare sight really. I was thrilled to see this little guy. I had mostly seen desert jackrabbits and plenty of lizards. Coyotes were howling the night before, but I have not seen one.

By 8:30 it is already quite hot. I’ll be glad of a cool drink. Finally, I end up on a road and that is the route out. After a while, I could see dust and guessed Yeti drove in a bit. Glad to get the pack off my back. He’d had an unusual encounter with a security guy who wouldn’t let him park at the end of the road. The land was private, the road BLM access, so he was allowed to drive down it, just not park. The security guy said there was “an alert.” Hmmm, consequences of Trump’s unholy war??? Weird.

Off we went to Twenty-nine Palms just outside the northeast gate for Joshua Tree NP. We have a nice Airbnb booked and plan to do day hikes in the park. Lucky for us the great restaurant, Kitchen in the Desert, served brunch on Saturdays and we headed straight there for a great meal. We had to wait until 2:30 to get in the lodgings – a charming casita, one bedroom, bath, full kitchen, and living room. There is a backyard with a hammock, fire pit, table and grill. Very nice place to be for a few days.