Joshua Tree: Skull Rock

There really is no doubt where this particular rock picked up its name.  It lives up to it quite well.  The late evening sun made it appear that much more awesome.  It was windy, cold and late, so unfortunately no time to explore the numerous other interesting looking rocks.  I found one I named The Elephant Man.

Joshua Tree: Hall of Horrors

Located across from the Ryan Mountain trailhead, we saw the sign for the Hall of Horrors, so we decided to check it out.  With a name like that, it begged for a stop of discovery.

The Hall of Horrors are essentially one of the many cluster of rocks the jut out of the plateau.  It makes for a nice scramble.  The sun was low, shining nicely on the surrounding landscape.  Yes, Joshua Tree is a pleasant escape for Southern Californian suburbanites.

Joshua Tree: Lost Horse Mine

The VPo Man needed some R & R from the Ryan Mt hike, so he dropped me off at the trailhead for Lost Horse Mine.

This made for a relatively easy four mile out and back.  The elevation gained was quite minimal (200-300 feet) and the trail was an old dirt road.  Another trail that would make for some nice running.

The scenery along this trail was quite fabulous.  Plenty of Joshua Trees along the way and some nice views of some of the mountains in the park.  After about a half hour, I made it to the gold and silver mine.  It operated up until the early 1930s when Joshua Tree became part of the National Park system.  It makes for an excellent easy walk in a truly interesting setting.   

  

Joshua Tree National Park: Ryan Mountain

Ryan Mt and a forest of Joshua Trees

At over 5,400 feet, Ryan Mountain is one of the parks highest points.  It's readily accessible with a 1.5 mile walk but with 1,000 feet elevation gained.  Today Ryan Mountain used and abused the VPo Man.

All smiles in the beginning

The VPo Man on the summit after some suffering

The trail was relatively steep and relentless, but it was not rugged.  The trail was well packed dirt and made for a perfect trail run.  Surprisingly the trail appeared to be quite popular despite the elevation gained.

Ryan made for a nice hike and afforded views of the surrounding valleys and the snow covered mountains of the San Jacintos.  Of course we enjoyed many Joshua Trees along the way.  I'll let the fotos do the talking:

Hall of Horrors

A feature of Joshua Tree are these rock croppings rising from the plateau

San Jacinto Peak

Baby Joshua Trees

Joshua Tree: Hidden Valley Nature Trail

While hanging out at my brother's in Claremont, the VPo man and I decided to head out to Joshua Tree for a day.  The VPo Man would take a personal day.  When it comes to the VPo Man, it's personal.

My brother had recently been to Joshua Tree and said it's like stepping onto another planet.  As we started out after stopping at the visitor center, we noticed right away the landscape and the trees are otherworldly.

The ranger at the visitor center recommended the Hidden Valley Nature Trail which is right off the main road in the park and only a few miles from the west entrance.  My guess is that this is one of the few spots that the average visitor to the park gets out of the car and walks on its trails.  It's a great introduction to the park.

Joshua Tree is a rock climbing mecca

The otherworldly VPo Man

We really enjoyed looking at the joshua trees up close.  At first, from the car, we weren't sure if they were really trees.  Up close they certainly were.  The trunk looks as if it has normal bark.  Further up the tree the branches are needle like.  We felt a few and they are quite sharp.  Joshua trees had many uses I'm sure.  The first settlers used them for fencing.  

Here are some up close photos of the trees in its different stages of development:

A very young one.  Does not look like a tree at all.

A young one, but it's thinning out.

The lower part is starting to form bark.

Another young one.

A young tree starting to look like a tree.

They are sharp

Some fairly young trees taking shape

Spring flowers

Most of the trees had flowers

The bottom has the resemblance of a real tree.  It apparently takes a few years to develop.