Joshua Tree NP: Hike to 49 Palms

We had chores and errands to do today, and our campground hosted a happy hour, dinner and dancing, but we found the opportunity to slip into the afternoon a hike to 49 Palms in Joshua Tree National Park.

The hike is a 3-mile round trip out-and-back to a fan palm oasis that features several stands of large palm trees, as well as numerous smaller ones scattered through a rock canyon.  The palm grove was a spectacular reward for a short hike that in itself was interesting because of the many formations of monzogranite through which the trail winds.  These rocks are formed by ancient upthrusts of molten rock which cooled underground and developed networks of vertical and horizontal cracks.  Water, ice and weather slowly eroded the rock and soil above these formations, then rounded the sections, softening the angles of their surfaces.  Eventually, the rounded formations were fully exposed.

Here's David at the trailhead, reading about the palms, rock formations and other attractions on the trail:

The monzogranite formations come in all shapes and sizes.  Here, Kathy shows off a particularly lumpy one:

Our hike was a steep climb up to a ridge, followed by a long descent into a rock canyon.  Along the way, researchers had placed a box with a video camera that was labelled with a legend.  The legend explained that the box counts traffic on the trail.  It requested that the box not be disturbed and we honored that as we passed, looking for more interesting quarry at the trail's end.

We rose quickly on the path and, before long, were looking down toward the valley floor beyond a large wash graced by a huge, monolithic slab of granite:

The higher we rose, the greater the expanse of our view:

National Park Service hike materials had advertised that barrel cactus could be found along the trail, and we were not disappointed in that regard:

Soon, we crested the ridge and started around the shoulder of a hill, only to be surprised with this stunning view of palm trees in the distance:

The closer we got, the more lush and impressive the palm trees became:

Eventually, we reached the grove of trees and marvelled at how high and healthy they were for being set in such a desolate, rocky place:

There were even little palmlets along the trail, nuzzling up to some cuddly looking monzogranite boulders:

We could see evidence of water flowing down the canyon at the bases of the palm trees.  The soil was damp, and in the shade of the grove it was very pleasant despite the heat of the afternoon sun.

Having feasted our senses in this tropical micro-heaven, we climbed our way back up to the ridge and down again to the trailhead.  Driving back to our campground, we marvelled at how much variety is available within short distances within Joshua Tree National Park.  We can't wait to explore some of the other wonders the park has to offer.