Indio Hills Exploration

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO

One of these days when I get a few hours and the temperatures cool off a bit I'd like to do a traverse of the Indio Hills from Thousand Palms Canyon Road over to Dillon Road. I'm sure there are some Indian Trails in the area and it's something I've never done so, why not?

This afternoon I went over near MacComber Palms to see if I could get up on a ridge and check out a possible route. Going to the Indio Hills can be depressing. There is so much garbage. There are sections that look like a war zone with everything in sight having been shot up or burned. Shotgun shells and bullet casing litter the ground and broken glass is everywhere. It hardly seems like a place someone would want to go hiking but once you get off the flat land that is accessible by car things get better quickly.

There is nothing people out here won't shoot and it makes me reluctant to leave my Jeep alone for long.

There's a bit of a trail heading up the ridge so I think maybe I'll be able to find something up here besides rocks and dirt.

Nothing but rocks and dirt yet but getting up higher I get a nice view of the palm trees that are common in the Indio Hills due to the water which bubbles up to the surface due to the San Andreas Fault.

I had hoped that this ridge would connect with some other ridges and get me to the main rib of the Indio Hills but it drops into a wash instead.

There is what looks like a decent trail heading up to the top of this hill so maybe I'll find something interesting at the top.

Just what I suspected: rocks and dirt.

And the sun setting over Mount San Jacinto.

I head down a different ridge hoping to find something interesting but all I find is a ridge that's a little steeper than the one I came up.

It's also been used as a shooting gallery with broken glass all around. I am extra, extra careful coming down this because as much as I don't want to fall on rocks, I REALLY don't want to fall on broken glass.

I think the Indio Hills have treasures to discover with exploration, I just didn't find any today. I'll be back, though. I just want to find a better place to park.

Desert Hillbillies

Day Thirty Four

I'm always looking for new places to hike.  Fortunately in the desert, you can hike about anywhere.  Just pick a ridge, a canyon, a wash and go!  Today I picked on old road.

Although the most popular hike in our area is an old road and I think it's a terrible hike sometimes you have to take what you get.  I was out scouting for a future hike and found a road to explore and since my wife had my Jeep, it was time to walk.

It's State Park land so that's a good sign.

This is the road I head up.

Looks like more than a few people come out here for shooting practice.

There are several of these holes dug along the road.  I guess they must be test digs for mines which didn't yield anything worthwhile.

At least there's a nice view from the top.

It looks like someone was less impressed with the quality of this parkland than I am.

Wait a minute!  I'm I seeing a mirage or what?

In case of a major flash flood here in the desert, I know exactly where I'm going.

I talked to a local and she told me about an old mining camp called "Dirty Sock Camp" that's up one of the washes in the hills near where I went today.  There's also a Hidden Gold Mine and several other things of interest to make me want to come back.  I don't think I'll be hiking the road again, though.  God made Jeeps for a reason and hiking a road is like kissing your sister: if you like it, you're living in the wrong place.