National Park, not the U2 album

Taking my 16 year old son for new years. Like to take my kids on a coming of age/spirit walk, camping trip when they turn 16. Had an epic Big Bend trip planned for my oldest, but COVID shut everything down and she had to settle for a few days in the Laguna Mountains.

Anyone been to Joshua Tree? I stayed at 29 Palms once, so my only experience is seeing some weird looking trees.

I see there are 4x4 roads. Any good ones? Have a 4x4 Tacoma.

Favorite trails? He's a lazy teen, but you can't spirit walk without walking.

I hear there is a bouldering in the area. Anyone know decent areas? We are inexperienced, so with bouldering at least we don't need equipment and won't die.

Good camping? Got 3 nights at Black Rock Canyon just to make sure we had a reservation, but looks like it isn't a good camping area. We will car camp, but primitive is perfectly fine.

Can't really help.

We tried to include it in our Southwesr National Park tour we did this summer, but after seeing some really cool places no one wanted to stop. Just wasn't worth it considering it wasn't close to any of our destinations. It's basically unremarkable desert out of the way. And you can see Joshua Trees all over the region as far as Nevada, so it wasn't like they were only in the park. Only pro we could come up with was you could see the lights of Palm Springs.

Honestly, if you want a desert environment there's plenty of places that are much prettier and have better hiking and camping.

I hiked about 10-12 miles of trails in the black rock canyon campground, but I spent the night in Indian Cove. Indian Cove had some short trails and little nature walks. I saw people climbing up the small rock faces at Indian Cove. But it was legit climbing, no bouldering. They were definitely tied in, but it wasn't anything extreme either (hard to describe). There may be boulders nearby that I didn't see.

The trails in Black Rock Canyon weren't anything crazy in my opinion. There are some good scenic views though. Can see some of the big mountains nearby, as well as the great salton sea. If you spend the night you'll see tons of little kangaroo mice which are odd little creatures. Very clear beautiful skies at night. I went late Nov/early Dec.

Didn't do any off roading, so can't provide much info for you about that.

Wife and I did Joshua Tree as a day trip while I was in Palm Springs for a conference in May. It was really hot and we had a rented Volvo suv, so we didn't really test too much of the off-road trails. There are some cool short hikes to do, but due to the heat, we didn't try any longer ones. My feeling is that for what you are wanting to do, the Moab area checks off those boxes better than Joshua Tree. The bouldering is better in Arches, the scenery is better in Canyonlands, and the area is riddled with excellent 4x4 trails.

When I was stationed in Marines I've been a bunch of times. Would go camping and hiking. For bouldering there's Mel's Diner located in the Lost Horse Area. Pothole Rock you will go to Hidden Valley Campground and then walk south. Manx Boulders is southeast of HiddenValleyCampground Pothole Rock. The Womb is walking distance from Hidden Valley Campground northwest of Thingamajig.

For hiking check out Hidden Valley loop, Cholla Cactus Garden, Lost Horse Mine and Mountain trail, Mastodon Peak trail, Eagle Cliff Mine trail, Cottonwood Spring Oasis, Barker Dam and Indian Cove.

Also if your camping don't be surprised if you hear some strange sounds sometimes or see some strange lights . It happens sometimes out there

BurnetAggie99 said:

---

Also if your camping don't be surprised if you hear some strange sounds sometimes or see some strange lights . It happens sometimes out there

---

You can't just say this and leave us hanging. I'm sucked in now in need more info.

Arch rock trail. He will love it!

Myself and some of my Marine Corps Recon teammates while camping out there have heard & seen some weird stuff. Some of the weird sounds were loud growling/screeching/screaming sounds. Nothing like we ever heard before.

Also heard like what sounded like people chanting in the distance at night. Almost like it was some kind of Wiccan ritual. Also seen lights in the sky sometimes that would just move unnaturally and disappear like UFO type stuff.

Also there's the legend of the Yucca Man that supposedly roams the area and also 29 Palms Marine Base. There's been cases where Marines on duty at 29 Palms have reported encounters. Not sure if that one is true or not as myself or any of my Marine Recon teammates never had any dealing with that.

These guys were recommended by someone on this board a while back. I have them in my notes to call the next time I go back.

https://www.mojaveguides.com/

Joshua tree is nice. Can get the necessary peyote or mushrooms in the parking lot of entrance. Those also explain the strange noises

Guided rock climbing sounds awesome, but $350 a little too much.

Arch Rock Trail, added to my AllTrails list. Working through Burnets list. Hoping some of them can get strung together.

Ready for the ghosts. Will try to avoid the Marines though.

Yucca Man? That's good stuff right there!!

Quote:

---

The first sighting of the Yucca man was reported in 1971 and came from a source not normally given to believing in paranormal activity. A Marine on guard duty at the base in Twentynine Palms was found the morning after his shift with his rifle bent in half. Although he was barely coherent, the Marine managed to convey that a huge man had come out of the dark toward him. As the man drew closer, the Marine realized he was very hairy. He lifted his rifle and ordered the figure to halt, but the figure took his rifle from him, bent it in half and knocked the Marine unconscious.

Reportedly, both the FBI and the CIA were brought in on the investigation. There were at least two other sightings of similar figures that night. One report described one as being about 12 feet tall with a smaller figure accompanying it. People reported being alerted by their barking dogs to the presence of something unusual in the neighborhood. That same year, there were also reports of sightings from employees at Joshua Tree.

---

Yea the fellow Leathernecks at 29 Palms tell this story like it's tradition and must be handed down to any Marine at 29 Palms or any Marine that is there for any training. Why I mentioned it in my story.

Well, had a good trip planned. Canceled due to weather. Torrential downpours and 50+ mph winds is closing the campground.

Someday!

Been there. It's awesome. Gets pretty damn cold when the sun goes down.

Sorry to hear that! I've been in that boat before and it sucks.

BurnetAggie99 said:

---

Myself and some of my Marine Corps Recon teammates while camping out there have heard & seen some weird stuff. Some of the weird sounds were loud growling/screeching/screaming sounds. Nothing like we ever heard before.

Also heard like what sounded like people chanting in the distance at night. Almost like it was some kind of Wiccan ritual. Also seen lights in the sky sometimes that would just move unnaturally and disappear like UFO type stuff.

Also there's the legend of the Yucca Man that supposedly roams the area and also 29 Palms Marine Base. There's been cases where Marines on duty at 29 Palms have reported encounters. Not sure if that one is true or not as myself or any of my Marine Recon teammates never had any dealing with that.

---

Can confirm. We did multiple training exercises in 29 Stumps. Heard and saw some weird stuff that weren't dumbass lance corporal related shenanigans.

Watch out for meth heads. They used to roam some of the ranges trying to get brass and UXO.

Don't touch the land tortoise. They freak out more about those than they do whooping cranes here.

It wasn't Joshua Tree, but we went this past weekend to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.



We stayed in Tamarisk Grove campground. No water or electricity, but flushing toilets.



I made him set up his own tent. He did Cub Scouts so he knows how, but still had to help.



Supper I grilled hamburgers and we sat around the fire and talked. Our drive up we talked about government and conspiracy theories. This evening we talked about family and school.

I got up early on Saturday and went for a short hike along a nature trail and was treated to a nice sunrise.



Our goal was Whale Peak. About 8.8 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain. I read about it on a website called 100peaks, which catalogs 100 peaks in San Diego county. In the write-up, the author wrote about getting lost and taking the wrong wash. I made note to not do the same.

The trailhead was on a 4x4 road. I put the destination in Google Maps and took off. We drove to the end of the dirt road and found a trail head. Got out of the truck, watered a tree, stretched, then got my pack on and started hiking. My All Trails app said "dude, you're lost!" I studied the map for a while and realized that indeed I was. This trailhead wasn't the trailhead we wanted.

So I read the descriptions of the trailhead in the app. "Don't follow Google maps!" they all said. Figured out where the trailhead was and drove to it.

At the right trailhead, I pulled off the 4x4 road and a Honda Pilot pulled up next to me. "I think this is what they call the slot," the driver said. I responded that I was going to park here because I was climbing Whale Peak. He was too and told me that if you go through the slot and take the first road to your right, there is parking. So we followed his advice and shaved off 3 miles total.

Hitting the trail, you immediately hit a rock wall that you have to climb. A little tough for me and I climbed while holding my hiking stick, but my son has 9 inches of height over me and made it look like children's blocks.





The trail traverses multiple ridges and valley, but has a steady incline the whole time.



After about 2 hours, of hiking, we hit the final rock scramble up.

We made it.









Great hike and I didn't take the wrong wash! Just road...

Getting back to the truck we decided to see how far the road went. After crawling over a rock, I turned and found a wrangler going through a gap that had maybe two inches on each side. His crew was out navigating him inch by inch. Seeing as I have a Tacoma long-wheelbase crew cab with a 6-foot bed, it was the end of our trip, I took a 100 point turn in the road and headed back the way we came. He took a well deserved nap on the drive back to camp.

After a great day, a rewarding sunset in camp.



Supper was beanie weenies and we spent the evening around the fire talking.

This morning I cooked up some sausage and eggs, loaded up the truck, and headed for one more hike. This one was pictographs. It was down a 4x4 road and my son was scared when I navigated some rocks, holes, and mud in the road wrong and the truck got stuck. Even in 4x4 high, the tires just spun. Dropped it into 4x4 low and walked it back out, then had him get out and guide me through the obstacle.

Got to the trail head and there was a Subaru parked there. I guess I just suck at negotiating the road we just came down.

Hiked to the pictographs, which was his favorite thing of the weekend.



The map showed a "viewpoint" about half a mile further, so we walked down the wash until we got to it. It was a sheer drop off and absolutely beautiful. My panorama photo doesn't do it justice.



We went back to the trailhead and driving out, I took a different line in the road and had no problems. I saw on the map a palm grove which sounded interesting, so one more dirt road and hike and found some palm trees in the desert. It seems appropriate, yet also oddly out of place.





Take your teenage boy camping, just the two of you. It'll be good for both.

So, I take it you found what you were looking for?

Nope. He says he wants to try rock climbing, so we'll have to go to Joshua Tree at some point.