Big Morongo Canyon Preserve

Big Morongo Canyon Preserve doesn't get its fair share of recognition. It's just south of Highway 62 in the tiny village of Morongo Valley. It's not particularly well marked, and the vast majority of people zip by it on their way to Joshua Tree National Park with out even knowing what they've passed. But it's a very cool spot, and very much worth a visit.

The Preserve has year-round water. As you walk along the trails and boardwalks that crisscross the area, you frequently feel like you are a long way from the desert. It's easy to find shade and a bench to relax on, and it's rarely crowded.

These plants with small yellow flowers were in bloom all over the Preserve. I decided to carry only my 100-400 telephoto zoom lens for this outing, which turned out to be a good choice. I love being able to zoom in on things and get a nice blurry background.

Cottonwood trees are commonly seen throughout the Preserve. This one appears to be covered with a parasite, perhaps desert mistletoe? Blue skies with light cloud cover, so a perfect day to hike and explore!

Cousin Scott, the intrepid nature photographer, just spent a couple days with me. This was one of three great hikes we took. More to follow!

There are a number of trail choices at the preserve. This one took us into an area surrounded by mesquite brush. It looked like it would eventually take us up into the foothills, but we didn't follow it that far.

The Preserve shares its borders with the new Sand to Snow National Monument, which is very cool!

Here kitty kitty!!

I'll leave you with this shot of a woman cleaning the roof of the education center at the Preserve. Not a real mountain lion, but it made me do a double take!!

The Preserve is free, with plenty of parking, bathrooms, and trails to explore. Be sure to pack water and come prepared to spend a couple hours hiking the area. Because of year round water, the Preserve is a critical habitat for bighorn sheep, birds, coyote, and even mountain lion. Dogs are not allowed at the preserve, even on a leash.

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Spooky Desert Things...

Desert headstone?

Giant moon over Ryan Ranch

Truly one of the stranger rocks I've seen in Joshua Tree. The only editing was to darken the left "eye" a bit to make it look more like an eye. I think the "teeth" are very interesting!

Have you ever been hiking alone in the middle of nowhere and you can't shake that feeling that someone (or something) is watching you??

Minion

If you celebrate Halloween, I hope it was fun, scary, happy and safe!!!

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Quail Springs Pump House

I think this location qualifies as one of Joshua Tree National Park's "secret spots". I won't give away the location other than to say it's a mile or less from Samuelson's Rocks (which is itself somewhat of a secret location). No signs, no trails, no mention in any NPS brochures. Just a water pump out in the middle of nowhere! I had seen pics and a blog post or two, and knew the approximate location, but it was still like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. After scouring Google Maps, I noticed a very small square object and thought that might be the pump house. Then again, it might just be a square rock!

We had some dramatic skies for the hike to the pump house. The hike also included a visit to Samuelson's Rocks and an old homestead location, but those have been covered on previous posts.

I think it's somewhere over there!!

 In our search for the pump house, we crossed this wash which contained all kinds of interesting old pipe and other debris. I knew something had to be "upstream" from here!

Eureka! We found it!! 

Cousin Scott checking out the pump and mechanism. It appears it might have been belt-driven, with a belt turning the wheel on the pump (left side) to pump the water.

The really cool thing about this pump is that it still works!! Move the pump handle up and down and it pumps water out the black pipe to the metal water holder you see here. There was water in the container and I'll bet critters come by after dark to get a drink here on a regular basis. I was tempted to taste the water but decided it might not be too clean once it passes through the rusty pipe. Had it been a typical hot desert day, I could have soaked my head with genuine Joshua Tree well water!

I'm sharing a video from my friend Elliot Koeppel's blog post, which you can check out here. 

I took my fisheye lens on this hike, so I'm required to share a couple shots. One is barbed wire in the Samuelson corral area, and the second is the signed rock. Such an interesting and bizarre area!

Time to start the hike back. Look at these beautiful desert skies!!

During part of the hike, you can follow the old double-track trail. But it disappears after a while.

A final parting shot.

"Leave only footprints, take only photos"

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Boy Scout Trail

I hiked Boy Scout Trail back in March with my cousin, and I must say, it was a very fun hike! It's been on my "to do" list for literally years. One of the really cool things about the BST is I can start the hike at the trailhead deep in Joshua Tree National Park and hike right to my house! It's also great to hike with my cousin. We share many of the same passions (including hiking and photography) and really enjoy each other's company.

BST is not a loop. You can either start at the trailhead in the Park (just off Park Blvd.) and hike mostly downhill to the end of the trail in Indian Cove (which is what we're doing today). Or if you're crazy you can hike it the other direction going uphill most of the way. It's best to get dropped off at the trailhead so you don't have to worry about going back to get your car once you complete the hike. Starting at the trailhead off Park Blvd., you hike in a northerly directions toward the town of 29 Palms and Highway 62 (see map). Our hiking path is the blue line on the map. Please ignore the straight diagonal line. Not sure what that's all about, but it wasn't us!

Cousin Scott at the BST trailhead just off Park Blvd as we begin our hike. We had a rare cloudy day which was perfect for hiking and actually had some light sprinkles for a while.

For the first couple miles, the hike couldn't be simpler... straight, level trail through the Joshua Trees. Probably too small to see, but there are three ladies climbing the big rock in the middle of the photo. Look closely and you can see one standing on top of the rock.

A little clearer view of the rock climbers.

Hi, Scott!!

After a couple miles the trail starts dropping in elevation and moving in and out of rocky outcroppings. It roughly parallels the Wonderland of Rocks on your right (east). You never get too deep into the rocky Wonderland, but you get a little taste!

Gnarly, Dude!

Much of the second half of the trail follows a wash.

Left or Right?? Take your pick, I guess!!

Old livestock watering trough found along Boy Scout Trail

Cousin Scott striking a hiker's pose!

From this spot on the trail, you get a sneak peek of 29 Palms beyond the hills of JTNP

This is, in my opinion, the best view you will see from BST. It's really stunning, with the rocky mountains of Joshua Tree all around you and the town of 29 Palms off in the distance. Most of the photos from this post were taken with my iPhone because I didn't want to get my DSLR out of the backpack in the light rain we had for much of the hike. From this vista point, the trail drops steeply down into a wash. It's in this area you start to think "I never want to hike this trail in the opposite direction!!"

Looks like this wash gets a lot of water from time to time.

Nearing the end of the trail, with some nice views of 29 Palms. To complete the hike, continue to follow the trail for about a mile NE to Indian Cove Road. Scott and I will hike straight ahead, down into the wash, and follow it N/NW right to our front door. Now that's a great hike!

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