Bear Creek Canyon, South Fork, La Quinta

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND ONE

I want to be a morning person, I really do but it's more difficult than anything I've ever done. My body just doesn't want to cooperate. I wanted to get up and hike up to the Bear Creek Palm Oasis but I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough to be able to make it there and back. So I did something else. It happens a lot.

I headed up the Bear Creek Wash and got to where the trail heads up to the oasis. Instead of heading up the trail I just went straight into the canyon.

The canyon narrows and a large canyon--the main Bear Creek drainage--takes off to the right but I again just go straight.

The floor of the canyon is dry but there is water beneath the surface. This mesquite is a good indicator of subsurface water. It also makes passing through here tricky and I get pricked trying to crawl under the branches.

If the mesquite weren't enough to foretell water, this palm is. Palms have very shallow roots and require constant water to grow. There probably isn't much water, though, because this is the only living palm in the canyon.

A dry waterfall blocks my path and I wonder if I'll have to leave the canyon to get around it.

But when I get closer I find it's not that tough of a climb, only about fifteen feet. This is the view from the top.

This second dry fall gives me pause.

But only for a second. It's not too tough, either.

After a couple more dry falls--the last which was impassible--I head out of the canyon and take the overland route back to the car. Even though this wasn't the hike I'd hoped to do it may have actually been more fun. Being in the canyon helped because it was windy today and climbing those dry falls was really enjoyable. I may have also spotted another Indian trail but that will have to wait. There never seems to be enough time to do everything I want to. I guess I'm just gonna have to get up earlier.