A Short Trip to the Mojave Preserve

I went to the Mojave Preserve with my friend Chad over the weekend. We stayed at the Mid Hills Campground. Its about a 4.5 hour drive from Los Angeles. Once in the preserve, you still have about an hour to drive.

Sadly, a fire decimated the Mid Hills area a couple years ago. Some sites were left unscathed and we found one that was quite excellent. There was always shade provided by the trees at our site. Also, we were able to hide from the heat because Mid Hills campground is over 5000 ft above sea level. It probably didn't break 85 in the sun.

Chad sat reading The Road under a tree. I wanted to see what the world of The Road might look like so I journeyed just a little ways outside the perimeter of our campsite. The bleak landscape was eery, but if this were a scene from The Road, I don't think we'd be seeing blue sky.

The little hill above seemed like a good destination for a short walk. Behind that hill there was a hidden device and a view into oblivion.

Did you know that the Joshua tree forest off of Cima Road is the largest collection of Joshua trees in the world? Also, did you know that Joshua trees will draw blood if you press against them hard enough? Chad knew and therefore only touched the tree gently.

Joshua trees grow as far as the eye can see. I am amazed by this fact in the picture below.

The trail we decided to hike was the Teutonia Peak/Cima Dome trail. It was late in the day when we started the hike.

The views were well worth the effort.

The next day, we drove around the preserve. The Kelso Dunes stood in the distance for quite some time.

We didn't visit the dunes on this trip, but I'm sure we'll be back.

The Mojave Preserve is a wild place. I went on a trail run the second morning we were out there. I chose to run a portion of the Mid Hills to Hole in the Wall trail. Unfortunately, this weekend was also the first weekend of quail hunting season. There were a couple hunters on the trail and you could hear them shooting their guns. They were leaving their shotgun shells on the trail. I'm sure this bristles any responsible gun owner's nerves. It didn't do much to help the stereotypes out there. Its a frightening feeling trusting your life in the hands of gun wielding strangers while running in a vast wasteland.

One of the best reasons to go out to the Mojave isn't really represented by photos well - the night sky. We had two good nights of star gazing. The light pollution from Las Vegas and Los Angeles is distant enough that you can still make out a great deal in the heavens above.