Suitable For Framing

Day Twenty Six

The Palm Springs Desert Museum is a local museum that has been here in the desert since 1938. It is set up against the San Jacinto Mountains and is the starting point for the aptly named Museum Trail.  This trail is short but steep.  It climbs directly up the mountain face and joins both the Lykken Trail and the Skyline Trail.  

I found the trail to be in not very good shape.  A lot of hikers use it to access the Skyline Route and, in an effort to make time, have created several of their own use trails by cutting the switchbacks on the official trail.  This has caused considerable erosion and difficulty in finding the actual trail.  Far worse than going up this trail is coming down.  Due to the erosion, there a large number of loose rocks on the trail and the potential of tripping and falling are great.  While I highly recommend the trail, I would suggest that unless you are extremely sure footed to consider coming down the Lykken Trail and then walking the surface streets back to your parking area.  That's just my take.  

On the drive over I stopped to take a picture of the Desert Angel.  See it?

Maybe this will help.

The beginning of the Museum Trail.

Think someone is trying to get a message across here?

OK, we get it already!

Steep and rocky.

Some picnic tables make a great place to stop anytime for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

A warning about the Skyline Trail.  Each year, several people ignore the warnings and are rescued.  At least, the lucky ones are.  Some hikers have died on this trail.

Another more potent warning.

The Museum Trail affords some of the best views of Palm Springs available.  It just needs a little work.  Maybe we can get a infrastructure grant in the government's forthcoming stimulus package to handle this.