Pushawalla Canyon East Ridge Loop

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ONE

Today I am both thrilled and frustrated.

I am thrilled because I went back to Pushawalla Palms--where I was just two days ago--and hiked on a trail that I never knew existed. It's a nice loop that heads up to the plateau to the east of Pushawalla Canyon and offers tremendous views of the canyon and the Coachella Valley and its surrounding mountains.

My frustration is due to the fact that I don't have any good photos of it. First, I couldn't find my camera so I took pictures on my iPhone. Then, something happened during the download and I lost the majority of the photos that I did take. I have no idea what.

I'm going to try to see if there's any way to recover any of the photos and post them later. If not, I'll just add a trip report and plan to go back in a week or so for some pictures.

Well, I haven't been able to retrieve my photos (except about nine from the end of the hike) so I'll tell you about it.

You start going up the wash to Pushawalla Palms. In the middle of the last oasis, go to the right up the embankment. Then, go toward the Northeast to the wall of the canyon. The trail becomes visible as you approach the wall. It switches back up the canyon wall and it becomes obvious to me that this is a manufactured trail and not an Indian Trail.

The trail tops out on the plateau and weaves around near the rim in order to give the hiker the best view. I originally thought the trail might head over to Macomber Palms but it doesn't. It loops around and comes down into a wash east of the main Pushawalla Canyon Wash.

There's an old motorcycle atop the plateau and it looks like it almost might even start. It's an off-road bike and it has an old flashlight strapped onto the handlebars. I guess whoever was riding it crashed at night.

I come out into a little side wash and then it's back to the Jeep. I'll figure out what happened to my pictures so I don't do it again but I'll be back before the end of the year so I'll get pictures then.

I wonder if it had something to do with this last picture that I photoshopped that made the rest of the pictures just disappear. I'll never know but at least I'll be able to go back.