Thursday, June 7, 2018

Stirrup Tank Lookout

Like most of my hikes, this one doesn't follow any established trails. After following a lonely desert road in Joshua Tree National Park for about a mile or two, I ended up at a small sandy parking lot in the Stirrup Tank area. From there, it's just rocks and open desert. There are no established trails in the area that I know of.
I'd been studying Google Earth after my First Visit to the area and was anxious for a second hike. I noticed an area that looked like a ramp (yellow arrow above) that dropped off steeply to one side. Rocks on the left, rocks on the right, but this "ramp" looked like a smooth ascent up to what I was hoping would be a beautiful, elevated lookout point. The blue lines on the map (above) are my actual hiking tracks. I ended up hiking a ways past my designated lookout point because things got really interesting. But I'm getting ahead of myself!

Of course, as I've said before, things look much different when you're on the ground in the desert vs. at home looking at GE on your computer! My smooth ramp turned out to be steep and rocky, but still doable. On the map above, you can see the red line I followed heading up the "ramp" to the lookout point (circle/arrow).


On the hike around the rocks over to the "ramp" area, I was treated to some nice open desert views (two photos above). In the first photo above, I'm pretty sure one of those hills on the far horizon is the Crown Prince Lookout. At this point, I'm really enjoying the hike. After getting a short distance away from the parking area, I didn't see a single person for the rest of my hike.

Just before getting to the ramp, I spotted some large boulders that looked interesting, so went over to check them out. It looked like they would provide pretty decent shelter and shade in a pinch.

Let's take a closer look:
Wow, very cool! A remote shelter with fire ring. I have no idea how old it is, but the soot on the rock indicates the fire ring has been used.

Going a little deeper into the "Fire Ring Shelter", this is the view out the other side. A nice, comfy shelter!

Still heading up the "ramp" at this point in my hike, but these are the views that I was hoping for! Interesting how the Joshua trees seem to lean in to the hill.  

Finally at the top of the "ramp", things are leveling out and the views seem to go on forever!

Exploring beyond the lookout, the rock formations are beautiful and interesting, and the area had that remote feel. It's likely that this area sees very few visitors. Only one problem: The sun was setting (you can see the horizontal light in my shadow selfie) so I had very little time to explore or I would be hiking home in the dark!

Mohave Yucca and a huge view!

Nice little rock shelter.

Sharp Tooth rock??

Nope, not going to name this one. Use your imagination!


Mojave Yucca sunset.

Linking with Skywatch Friday.
 Hope you enjoyed joining me on this desert hike.
Thanks for stopping by!!

42 comments:

  1. You photos from every visit are completely different, it's awe inspiring to me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is such a beautiful area. I have a terrible sense of direction, so I admire your ability to navigate this area.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You always capture so well the unique beauty of the desert. Beautifully done. Have a marvellous weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I always enjoy a walk in the desert with you. I love your light photography - the sun in the bright blue sky.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Splendid. I do enjoy your images and stories

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very mysterious terrain and rock formations ... almost as if from another planet.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Superb the scenery and sunset were simply beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awesome shots. I like that unique vegetation too...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello, beautiful views of the desert. I love the rock formations, the Joshua Trees and the Yucca plant. Cool shadow shot. Lovely sunset. Happy Friday, enjoy your day and weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful desert scenes! Those huge rocks are amazing
    Have a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You manage to surprise every week again with those strange desert scenes.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What an arduous hike! Thanks for taking us along through your gorgeous photos!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love seeing these photos. The 5th one intrigues me as it is not from nature. It appears carved and part of something else at one time. The ring around it is what intrigues me.
    That must have been a wonderful day out taking those photos. Very very cool.

    ReplyDelete
  14. ahhh

    ohhh

    I wish I could trade some of my pine and oak woods for your views once in a while.

    ReplyDelete
  15. All wonderful desert shots ~ Favorite is the BW with your shadow!

    Happy Weekend to you,
    ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonderful photos! I visited Mojave desert two years ago and it was such an out of this world experience. Such a different but stunning landscape. Your photos brought me back to it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh wow! Incroyable images SPP, love the wide open views! The rock formations are fantastic too, some interesting formations 😀 The light in the just before and actual sunset is too too beautiful ✨

    ReplyDelete
  18. I admire your adventuresome spirit!! Into what looks like snake heaven to me.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Another great set of images and narrative!! Personally, I like flat....

    ReplyDelete
  20. you always have such beautiful places to share. I think you can hike the area for a year without visiting the same place twice :) Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love deserts ! Nice pictures !!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Our hikes are very different, but that's one of the glories of blogging - we each get to share the beauty of our own locales! It warms my heart to see that there are vast stretches of desert that ARE vast and unpopulated by anything other than a fire circle of indeterminate age!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I enjoyed hiking with you. What an adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thanks for this wonderful walk in the desert with you.
    Fantastic photos.
    Greetings
    Maria
    Divagar Sobre Tudo um Pouco

    ReplyDelete
  25. What beautiful lighting in your last few photos. I am so grateful that you take us with you, virtually speaking.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Amazing desert images, thanks for sharing.
    Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Your photo's are as always right to the point and beautiful in the grand splendor of nature. Love those desert shots. So different from our normal surroundings.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wonderfully, rocky scenery ! I really like your post good blog on site,Thanks for your sharing.

    ดูหนัง

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks for stopping by my Ocala blog and I thoroughly enjoyed your desert hike, having lived for a number of years in the Phoenix area. Glad you made it back safely.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Interesting rock formations. I love your previous post, especially the last photo, very effective :-)

    ReplyDelete
  31. I really likes your blog! You have shared the whole concept really well and very beautifully soulful read!Thanks for sharing.
    ดูหนัง

    ReplyDelete
  32. Yet another great post Pete! Great photos and a very interesting running narrative sure keeps my attention. It sure is a fantastic place.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Walks with you are always fantastic experience.

    ReplyDelete

  34. Excellent post. I examine something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It will always be useful to examine via content material from other writers and use a little something from other websites.

    Toaster in UAE

    ReplyDelete