Geology Tour Road Sunset & Moonrise

 Ha ha ha. You're joking, right? That was my reaction to Mitch's suggestion that we hike up to the top of Pushawalla Plateau in Joshua Tree National Park in the wee hours of the night. In the dark. About 7.5 miles round trip and 1600' elevation gain. In the dark. Why?? And how do we do it without killing ourselves?

 

It made sense in a strange, twisted sort of way. We would meet near where we want to start our hike on a night with a full moon. Take a short nap in our cars, set our phone alarms for around 2AM. And start our hike up to the top of the Plateau in total darkness, just relying on our headlamps and GPS for navigation. Our goal being to reach the top of the Plateau by about 5:30AM (before sunrise and moonset) to get set up for some (hopefully) beautiful and dramatic photos.

 

We had hiked up to Pushawalla Plateau recently, so all the challenges and sore joints were still fresh in my mind. Only some of the hike followed a trail, and we wouldn't be able to see any of our usual landmarks when hiking at night, so navigation would be an issue. In addition to the extra challenges of a night hike, we would be carrying heavy tripods and telephoto lenses. I didn't hold out much hope of a successful outcome. I barely made it last time with a lot less weight and when I could see!

Late afternoon view of Malapai Hill.

 

 

The good news is that the pre-hike desert sky didn't disappoint.

 

I came across this odd contraption while out taking pictures. Whatever it is, it appears to be solar powered. I think it's some kind of GPS/earthquake monitoring device. Or perhaps an alien relay station??

Finally we were able to see the moonrise. It was too hazy and cloudy to see it lower on the horizon. 
 

What a beautiful moon! With a lot of luck, we will get some photos of it tomorrow morning as it sets on the opposite horizon.

 

Cotton candy sky.

 

Final photo before going to "bed" (a short nap in the car). Double-check the 2AM alarm is set, and hope for some sleep!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Riiiiiiiing say my phone alarm. Add sleep deprivation, stiff joints, and sore back from trying to sleep in a car to the long list of challenges for this crazy hike! I was able to fall asleep pretty quickly, but the winds kicked up a little before midnight and woke me up. I had been awake ever since. We grab our gear and off we go.

Mitch took this photo of me using his phone. I'm guessing it was around 3AM, and it gives you a sense of how bright the desert can be under a full moon. Early in the hike he said "turn off your headlamp." He was right. As long as we stayed out of the shadows, we could see and navigate better by moonlight. What an amazing experience!

 

So did we make it all the way to the top of the Pushawalla Plateau? Tune in next week and I promise to let you know how this crazy attempt at a hike turned out!
 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by, and see you next week!