Twelve Circles

Day Fifty Three

Palm Springs averages about three hundred and fifty sunny days per year.  Today was one of the other fifteen.  It didn't rain nor was it windy.  It was just overcast, a perfect day for hiking.

I headed over to the Garstin Trail, which I have used several times to climb Murray Hill.  It's a great hike that offers what I think is the best view in Palm Springs.  A few years ago, when I was in better shape, I made it from the trailhead to the summit in under an hour.  Unfortunately, I am not in that kind of shape now and my time is somewhat limited so I'll be taking a different route today.

There's a nice, new, fancy sign on the trail.  I've never done the Henderson Trail.  I'll have to do that some day.

The Garstin Trail gains elevation pretty rapidly and you can quickly see what kind of views of the San Jacinto Mountains this hike offers.

I can look up and see Murray Hill.  It is the tallest point but will have to wait for another day when I have more time and maybe am in a bit better shape.

I come to my first trail junction and have to decide which way to go.  The Wildhorse Trail and Clara Burgess will lead me to Murray Hill but I decide to go the Shannon and Berns route instead.

A not so new trail sign for the Berns Trail.

Just off the Berns Trail is this large rock monument on the top of an unnamed little peak.

Looking down, I spot these rock circles on the hill.

Going down for a closer look, I have no idea what they are here for.  They could be some kind of shrine or some sort of solar compass or just something built by someone who has way more time than I do.  I count them and find eleven.

After leaving the rock circles, I can see the Bob Hope House and all the other homes on the hill below it.

The Shannon Trail is on a very narrow ridge which is steep on all sides.  

After dropping down rather quickly, I come to the Henderson Trail and it's not at all new trail sign.  I guess today will be the day I hike this trail for my first time.  This trail is obviously quite popular with the equestrian set.  I see more hoof prints and horse crap than I have ever seen on a trail.

And there are far more hoof prints in the wash below.

I really enjoyed doing this loop.  You get some great views and some good exercise.  And while I didn't have time to build a little rock circle, I did manage to do my own circle around the mountain.  I'll let that be my shrine in footprints.

Red Lady of Joshua Tree

Day Fifty Two

Joshua Tree National Park is only a little over an hour from my home but today the drive there seemed interminable. My two boys just would not stop bickering. I love those kids but sometimes I just wish I could hike alone, or at least drive alone.

I took the boys to do the hike over in Hidden Valley. It's easy, interesting and I figured I could herd the boys like these cattle if necessary.

It's very hard for boys to stay on the trail in this area.

Boys! Get down from there this instant! Your mother would have a heart attack if she saw you up there. Oh wait, those aren't my kids. Never mind.

If things get too bad I can always tie them to this tree.

We survived the hike and then headed over to the Barker Dam parking area. We stop to watch a climber finish "The Flake" on Intersection Rock.

When we get to our next stop Harrison, my oldest son, doesn't want to go but wants to sit in the car. Fine with me. So I set out with just Nikolas. From the parking area, we head out to look for some different artifacts. We see some petroglyphs, like the one above.

We also go look at the Red Lady of Joshua Tree. This pictograph is in an area that is very symbolic and has great importance in Indian tradition.

The rock in the foreground has a ceremonial mortero. On the day of the spring equinox at twelve noon a ray of light pierces the rocks and enters the bedrock mortar hole. This symbolizes the fertility of the season to come.

Here is a closer look at the mother mortar. It is surrounded by cupules, smaller indentations that are generally associated with girl's initiation rituals. They were also used to grind paint for pictographs.

Here is another rock in the area covered with cupules.

We walked over to Uncle Willie's Health Food Store and found it closed for business.

There is a little storage area near Uncle Willie's,

where we find another bedrock mortar,

and another pictograph.

It's nice to see that the park is environmentally conscious with wind power.

I wish I could stay all day but I'm afraid by the time I get back to the car it'll look like this. We've kept Harrison waiting WAY too long.

I do love Joshua Tree. I cannot wait to go back but next time--I'm going alone.

Going to the Dogs

Day Fifty One

I must be getting old.  Everything in life used to be better when I was younger, especially here in the desert.  Traffic wasn't as crazy and there were WAY fewer stoplights.  You could go places that are now closed off by country clubs. The trails were less crowded and unrestricted.  You could hike with your dog. Anywhere!  Ah, the good old days!

Those days were amazing.  I was able to hike twenty miles or more and never get tired.  The only nudists in the canyons back then were beautiful women, never the old wrinkly men you stumble upon nowadays. Wild animals ate from your hand and birds sang in harmony just for you.  It really was better back then. At least, that's how I remember it.

And while not everything might be exactly as I picture it in my memory, you were able to hike with your dogs back then.  Now there are several restrictions due to the Bighorn Sheep. Biologists think that dogs remind sheep of their natural predators and frighten them away from their traditional breeding and foraging grounds.  I don't know if that's true but it makes sense and so the places you can hike with your dog are quite limited.  Fortunately, one of those places is right here in La Quinta.

Back in the day, I had a great hiking dog, Shasta.  That dog went everywhere with me.  She climbed Mount San Gorgonio, Tahquitz Peak, Martinez Mountain and did most of the peaks along the Desert Divide.   I had to put her down a few years ago and our new dog, Kahlua, just doesn't quite measure up.  It's not really her fault.  We just don't have as many places to hike.

Here's Kahlua, ready to go!

We head out on this trail.  Thankfully, this is the only concrete on the whole thing.

Trails across the sky.

Some nice person put this birdhouse out here.  I guess the trees just weren't cutting it.

Someone also built this nice, uh, I think it looks like a compass.  We're heading South.

Obviously, this wasn't a very good place to park.

Dog owners never cease to amaze me.  You'd think they'd feed their dogs dry food on a hike or at least carry their empty cans back out.

Kahlua is going to be a good hiking dog after all.  She's so excited to climb up this peak.

At the top of the peak, Kahlua proudly surveys all she sees.  Sure, the peak is only about thirty-five feet high but that's over 200 in dog feet.  I know she is looking forward to going again.  I just have to find out where else we can go.

Moving on up.

Day Fifty

I am really drawn to the Martinez Mountain landslide area for several reasons.  One, it's close to my house.  I can get there in about fifteen minutes.  Two, no one goes there.  It's an area that I am pretty sure I can hike in utter solitude, which I like.  Three, there's a lot area to explore there. Four, the potential discoveries are almost limitless.  

I went out there a couple weeks ago and found a trail and what I think might be some kind of graves.  I went back today to see where the trail goes.  Read about my previous visit here.

I follow the trail to the mouth of the canyon but it seems to end there.  I scout around to see if it went up a ridge or just ends in the canyon and it appears to end at the canyon so I follow the canyon.

Once up the canyon I decide to go up the side of the canyon to see if I can get a better view and maybe see where the trail went.

Whoa!  What's this?  If I were in the mountains I'd call it a meadow.  I don't know what I call it in the middle of a HUGE rockpile.  Maybe a flat.

I wonder around the flat for a while but do not see much in the way of signs of human activity.  It probably wouldn't be a place Native Americans would have lived because there's no food or water.  I did find this cairn so I know someone's been here.

I also found this old shoe.

This also could possibly be another grave.  A lot of times graves were marked with stones like this and it's the right size.

If anyone thinks they can't grow anything, they should try cactus.  These Red Barrels are going quit well right in this rock.

After wandering around for quite a while looking for more trails or signs of previous visitors I have to head home.  But on my way down I spot yet another trail.  I'm sure there are many more here to discover when I can spend days exploring rather than just a few hours.

Boo Who?

Day Forty Nine

Today I set out to hike on the Boo Hoff Trail here in La Quinta.  I've done this trail a couple of times but it's been a few years and I always do it from the North end starting in the La Quinta Cove.  This time I'll be starting and ending on the Southern end.

I start hiking near this trail sign at the edge of the wilderness.

The trail splits and I decide to take it to the right.  I know this is not the way the trail goes but I am curious to find out where this other trail heads.

My curiosity is not well rewarded.  The trail just loops around this little mountain and I end up right back where I started.

Finally I'm on the real trail.

The trail heads up a little bit and then drops into this wash.  The wash narrows and then splits.  I follow the wash to the left.

It becomes obvious after climbing several small dry waterfalls that I am no longer on any trail.  It's a nice day so I just keep going.

I get to the end with this rock and mud wall about twelve feet high.  I could easily climb it but I don't really want to climb back down it so I decide to head back at this point.

As I'm hiking back toward my Jeep I have an epiphany.  The Boo Hoff Trail is about a mile south of here in Devil Canyon.  So if I haven't been on the Boo Hoff Trail, what trail have I been on?