Broken Nose Alcove

I hadn't hiked this area of Joshua Tree National Park since October of 2015, but I remember liking the hike and seeing some cool stuff, so I'm going to take you along with me to revisit the area. Another reason for the "revisit" hike is how interesting the area looks on satellite view (Google Earth). Lots of cool rock formations in an area that is rarely visited. Sounds like my kind of place!

So where exactly am I taking you today? It's a secret! I ended up finding a very cool alcove and I don't want to advertise the location. I'm sure you understand☺

Since over 2 1/2 years have passed since my last hike in the area, I was curious to see if I would be able to find the same sites. I didn't find the above eagle head (or perhaps American Indian head?) rock formation that I saw on my first visit.

Neither did I find "glove rock", which I thought was pretty cool when I spotted it on my first hike. Looks like a hand attacking a yucca family!!

Nor did I find "trash hole" rock where some old miners stored there trash all those years ago.

I also didn't find this cool rock with three little alcoves. The lowest one (far right) was large enough to crawl inside! So far I'm not doing to well finding key spots from my hike here back in 2015!

But I did find this cool little shelter. Very mysterious, I wonder who built it and why??

Here's a shot from the inside looking out, taken back in 2015...

Here's essentially the same shot from a couple weeks ago. Except for the sun flare and harsh shadows, things look identical!

So let's continue our hike. I'll just point out some of the weird and interesting rock formations along the way. Just stop me if you have any questions!

A big chunk of granite sticking up in the wash. Seems weird and out of place, so I guess that makes it worthy of a photo!

Mojave Yucca and Red Barrel cactus

Miniature arch!

Under-rock shelter. These rocks are HUGE, and the shelter is bigger than it looks!

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks! This area reminds me of what is called the "Wonderland of Rocks" in Joshua Tree.

Now that's just flat-out weird!! I'll have to remember to share this one again for Halloween!

Can you see the broken nose? Well, not so much broken as totally sliced off!

Here's a closer look at "Nose Rock". Pretty cool! At this point in our hike, I'm thinking about turning back. The sun is setting and I want to keep us safe. But that little hiker voice in my head is saying "don't be a wimp, just a little further", so, of course, I listen to the voice and off we go!

Whoa!! Turns out that little hiker voice was right. This is an amazing alcove and an exciting discovery just a short distance past "Nose Rock"! I've seen plenty of alcoves in my day, but none quite this large! It's easily 20-25' wide and close to 6' high, and it appears to be quite deep in some areas. I've never seen photos of this alcove or seen any posts or blogs about it, which makes it even more mysterious and cool!

The problem is, how can we climb up into it and explore?? I desperately want to check out the inside for human footprints, artifacts, petroglyphs, or who knows what we might find!

The rocks directly in front of the alcove are straight up and down, and about 10' above the lower rocks. It's beyond my climbing ability, and I would never attempt it alone (or even with you!). But what about dropping in from above? It looks like, with a bit of luck, one might be able to climb in from the opposite side of the alcove, directly behind the broken nose (see nose photo) and then drop down into the alcove from above. Well, perhaps more than a bit of luck will be needed, and it's not going to happen on our hike today! The sun has already set and we need to hoof it back to the Jeep quickly to avoid hiking in the dark. Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of "Broken Nose Alcove"!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!!