Hike Review: South Park Peak and High View Trail in Joshua Tree

Location: Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California  near Yucca Valley
Distance: 1 mile and 1.3 miles
Difficulty: easy, kid friendly
Elevation Change: 275 and 400
Time of Year Best: Year round (very hot in summer)
Recommended Map: Joshua Tree National Geo Map

Directions: The parking area is located near Black Rock Canyon Campground in the northeast corner of Joshua Tree National Park.  Just before entering the camp, turn right the dirt road and follow this until it dead ends into a parking lot.  A trail leading north out of the parking lot and into a wash is the South Park Peak loop.  The High View Trail heads south.  The parking area for these hikes is on the border of Joshua Tree National Park and Yucca Valley.  The High View Trail is in the National Park and the peak loop isn't. 

Summary: The South Park Peak loop is just under a mile and climbs 275.  The High View Trail is 1.3 miles and climbs 400 feet.  These are very short, easy hikes that are not without some good heart pumping up hill exercise.  Both are kid friendly and both offer great views.  I hiked this in December.  The mountains to the west were covered in snow.  The temps were perfect and the skies were sunny.


Source: Deserts Summits: A Climbing & Hiking Guide to California & Southern Nevada

Hike Review: Baker Dam Loop at Joshua Tree National Park

Location: Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California

Distance: 1.3 miles
Difficulty: easy, kid friendly
Elevation Change: none
Time of Year Best: Year round (very hot in summer)
Recommended Map: Joshua Tree National Geo Map

When visiting from the west entrance of Joshua Tree National Park, the trail head is nine miles into the park on the left.  Road signs will point you to the appropriate parking space.  The hike is very easy to navigate and there is minimal elevation change.  Much of the trail is on granite rock.  The highlights: water in the desert, dam, cattle watering trough, rock piles, petroglyphs, and blue skies (usually).

Book Review: The Hobbit

Title: The Hobbit or There and Back Again
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure

The Hobbit has captivated readers since 1937.  For generations it has fed imagination.  On December 14, those images will be presented on the big screen.  Enchanted lands, goblins, magical rivers, elves, lonely mountains, trolls, a dragon and much more...how will this idea in our minds compare to the image put onto the screen?  Will it ruin or reconfirm our imaginations?

Bilbo, a sedentary homebody, is dragged into an epic story of life and death proportions.  He is forcefully volunteered to accompany 13 dwarfs on an unexpected journey to reclaim the Misty Mountains where Smaug, an evil dragon sits atop an amassed treasure.

Personal growth, destruction, life, death, happy, sad, joy, fear, anger, selflessness, selfishness, greed, and generosity, the story of contradictions is the story of life.

Movie Trailer - The Hobbit

The Hobbit Official Trailer #1:

The Hobbit Official Trailer #2:

The Hobbit Official Trailer #3:

Hike Review: Grand Canyon Hermit Trail

Location: Northern Arizona
Distance: 9.8 miles from Hermits Rest (trail-head) to Hermits Rapids; 7 miles to Tonto Trail
Difficulty: strenuous
Elevation Change: 6,700 feet to 2,300 feet (Colorado River)
Time of Year Best: Year round (very hot in summer)
Recommended Map: Trails Illustrated Grand Canyon East #262

Summary:  The hike down the hermit trail is beautiful, steep and rocky.  There is not words for the wonders and beauty that unroll as one descends into the Grand Canyon.  But haste not and marvel not while hasting, there is ample opportunity to twist an ankle especially when laden with a heavy pack.  Park staff stopped maintaining this trail in 1931, but fairly consistent hiker traffic has been sufficient in maintaining  an impression that would be tough to miss.  There are several small stretches that have been covered by the flow of falling rocks resting until a time unknown. Carefully maneuver these obstacles and enjoy the beauty.  The hike to Hermit Rapids is 9.8 miles.  The hike to the Tonto Trail turnoff is a long 7 miles.