Mars Training Grounds

Do you have plans to travel to Mars anytime in the near future? Looking for a place to train and get in shape before your trip? I have just the spot!!

 

Our friend Travis told us we should check out a remote area in Joshua Tree National Park he nicknamed "Mars Training Grounds" and "Yoni Bridge". Travis is a professional guide and has hiked JTNP more than anyone I know. When he recommends something, it's always worth seeing!

Here's where we start the off-road drive portion of our adventure. It's 10 miles of sandy road to get to where we will start our hike. The recommendations on these signs should NOT be taken lightly! Here's a closer look:

No water. No medical services. No gas. Most importantly, no cell service. Deep sand/4WD high clearance vehicles ONLY. If you can get a tow truck driver crazy enough to come out here and tow you back to the road, it will be over $1000. 

 

Some years back, a 44 year old Dutch music promoter and his 38 year old German girlfriend were in a rental car (2WD) and decided to take this road. Their rental car got stuck in the sand a handful of miles from here (no surprise) so they left their car and started walking back the way they had come. On this day, the high was 106. Someone out exploring came across their bodies along the road later that same day. They were only a couple miles from their car before they succumbed to the heat and dehydration. A very tragic situation.

 

The first 2-3 miles of our hike was flat and followed the base of these rocky hills. Then came the uphill part (photo above). It was quite a bit steeper than it looks. Look very closely and you might be able to make out Mitch and Nadine, my hiking partners for the day. I was in charge of route finding. I used Travis' route as a starting point, but Travis is 30 years younger than me and can cover a lot more ground and vertical elevation. I shaved off a couple miles by finding a more direct route up to the Mars Training Ground. It turned out to be steep and rocky but doable.

 

After a lot of climbing, we manage to make it to the top of a large flat-topped butte covered with rocks. But not just any rocks. Everything up here is volcanic rock. Back or redish in color and full of small holes. It's the kind of volcanic rock you would expect to find around a cinder cone, but I don't know of any cinder cones in the area.

 

This must be what Travis calls the Mars Training Ground, and I can see why. If you wanted to train for a trip to the rocky Martian surface, this would be a great place to do it!

 

NASA video clip of Martian surface.

 

In some areas the volcanic rock is tightly packed and easy to walk on.

 

About the only plant life are some scraggly, half dead creosote bushes.

 

From a distance, we can see another butte (left side of the photo) but it appears it will require another steep descent down and climb up the other side to get to the second butte. As we get closer, we see a bridge of land connecting the two. This must be Travis' "Yoni Bridge", and it makes the hike over to the second butte much easier.

 

Another view as we make our way to the second butte (left).

 

Nadine and Mitch crossing the "bridge". There is a steep drop off to the left that you can't see in the photo. With drop-offs on either side, it really does feel like a bridge!

 

On the second butte, we investigate this pile of rocks. Any guesses as to what it is??

 

If you guessed a Bureau of Land Management benchmark survey, then you guessed right! I checked my GPS app on my phone to see where to proceed next and noticed we were standing exactly on the park boundary. On one side of this benchmark is BLM land, on the other side is Joshua Tree National Park!

 

What a surprise to find Whitestem Milkweed growing up here!

 

Looking back toward the first butte (Mars Training Grounds)

 

Safely down from the buttes and heading back to the car.

 

Made it back just in time to enjoy the sunset!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

 

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!!❤️