Prior to leaving Australia, whenever discussing my travel
plans with someone the mention of Joshua Tree would go in one of two
directions: ‘OMG amazing’ or ‘…what is that?’
Hiking in Joshua Tree was one of my bucket list items and I
was determined to make it happen.
For those unaware, Joshua Tree is a national park in California,
just shy of an hour drive from Palm Springs. Very much in the desert!
I took a bus from LA to Palm Springs and hired a car to
travel to JT. I spent a couple of hours wandering Palm Springs which was a sweet
place, lots of shops and café’s along the main streets which lie
underneath the desert, but also snow-capped, mountains and unsurprisingly the
streets are lined with palm trees. This would be a great place to spend a
weekend. It was also quite hot here; I questioned whether the upcoming hikes I
had planned were a little ambitious and needed to be scaled back so that I don’t
end up needing the US version of the Westpac Helicopter. Holy guacamole that would be
embarrassing.
My stress had been running a little high since getting off
the bus as this was the cue for me to pick up my hire car and start my
driving journey on the wrong side of the road. I had to take a short uber
to the airport and my uber driver had me in fits after he asked if I had checked
in for my hire car already? Obviously not, is checking in for a hire car a
thing? I’ve never done it. Urgh America. Apparently, Coachella is still on,
and every influencer and their dog were in town and hire cars had become scarce
and therefore my car may not be available even though I’d booked it. But, sheesh
what a drama llama I got my car straight away no issues! Yas! FYI you need to
drive to JT, there is no public transport that takes you inside the national
park and its far too far to leg it. Even for trail runners. Although I suppose
if you are a PCT participant then maybe no big deal, but they’d eat normal trail
runners for breakfast.
Whilst the first few minutes were strange and a little
stressful, driving in backwards land wasn’t as bad as I had expected. The
crazy-near-psychotic amount of stop signs had me questioning my knowledge of
the road rules not to mention the strange right hand turn situation whereby if
you are making a right at a controlled intersection you can go on a red as long
as no one is coming. What are traffic lights even for? (Rhetorical question) By
the time I handed the keys back over I was feeling really comfortable with it.
Happy days for if I want to hire a car again!
My drive to JT was straightforward (and the landscape
beautiful) and I went straight to the national park for an introductory walk!
Not as hot in the desert as Palm Springs, phew! I live to
walk another day. Still around 30ish degrees but I got through my first short
walk with ease! Tick!
Even from this short walk I had already formed the opinion
that JT is spectacular. The desert landscape is unique and beautiful and
honestly there was a spiritual sort of feeling about the place. I don’t have
the words to describe how beautiful it was nor am I a good enough photographer to
do it justice. But my new Samsung certainly helps! Photo’s at the end!
The following day I did a few walks, a bit tentative to tackle
a long walk on my own. Not because I doubted my limitations but in-case I saw a
rattle snake (because those slithery danger noodles are about here) and I lost
my shit entirely. There is safety in numbers when you have a phobia! Its very
draining when you enjoy hiking but are terrified of snakes. Anyway, I was happy
with my choices in the end as doing a few different walks allowed me to see the
various terrains of the desert and some of the other landmarks in between! There
were plenty of people along these trails, so I never felt too isolated despite
being in the heart of the desert! I was very impressed with the park itself,
there are so many trails and every fitness level is catered for. Camping and
overnight hikes are also available (but I opted for air conditioning and a plunge
pool because I have my priorities in order). Most trailheads have toilets and
drinking water available too.
I didn’t do any running here because its hot and I am
Tasmanian.
JT, the town, is quite small but has everything you need –
food, drinks, a bar and a visitor centre! Even the coffee spot was great! Following
my second day of hikes I was a bit hot and bothered after taking on my last
walk in the heat of the day (temps were up to mid thirties), so I figured a tequila
in the desert would be good way to start cooling off. Turns out the local
saloon (naturally, the desert has a saloon) has live music every Saturday so I
very much enjoyed my tequila mojito and good vibes that afternoon! I
also met a lady here that has completed five marathons, including Boston
(legend), so I had a solid chin-wag with her and her son about running and
travelling etc. I have found the people here to be both friendly and helpful.
A cruisy evening taking in the desert views from the spa
bath with a glass of wine (the bottle I bought for $5 from the convenience store
haha) thinking how lucky I am to have experienced this magnificent place. And
to do it in style. There are hostels in my near future so I am lapping it up
while I can!
Leaving from Palm Springs was also a genius move as it meant
that I avoided LAX and enjoyed chaos free travel at Palm Springs Airport. So
good, in fact, that my flight was 22 minutes early.
Onwards to San Francisco!
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