[GaliWalker]

I was in Los Angeles over the weekend. Since this was a first time visit for me, I decided to take the time to make a quick trip to Joshua Tree National Park. Not only was this the closest National Park to LA, with unprecedented rains lashing California I was hopeful that I could get some respite from the wet weather in the drier climes of the Mohave Desert. I arrived at my hotel in LA around midnight, 2.5hr later than anticipated due to plane de-icing delays in Pittsburgh, followed by problems with getting a rental car. I managed to get one solitary hour of sleep, before it was time to depart for Joshua Tree. The time was 3:20am. Arch Rock and Heart Rock 2mi, 100ft gain I reached the Twin Tanks trailhead for Arch Rock around 6:15am. Even though I was resigned to missing out on a sunrise due to overcast conditions, I was delighted to see an intense splash of red painted onto the horizon. I quickly took one solitary photo before it was gone. The rest of my time in the park would feature a colorless sky.

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I reached Arch Rock just before daybreak and was extremely pleased to see that I had the place to myself. The setting was stunning, as was the arch.

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After taking the time to bask in Arch Rock's favor, I explored its surroundings: I began with making a clockwise circuit around the arch, which included a bit of light but fun scrambling on the gorgeous rock. On the way in I'd noticed a cool rocky rib, shaped like a dragon's back; obviously, I had to ride the dragon.

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On my way back to the car I swung by Heart Rock, which was cool, but a bit underwhelming after Arch Rock.

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Skull Rock This was just a quick stop because the feature is located right next to the road. I'd originally planned to do a loop hike there, but with only 6hrs in Joshua Tree at my disposal, I decided to skip the hike.

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Hall of Horrors 1.8mi Until now I'd seen some really spectacular rock formations, but the not the best display of Joshua trees. Hall of Horrors was reputedly a spot to get to see a great crop of them, as well as four or more cool rock outcrops. There are various slot canyons and scrambling opportunities amidst the outcrops, but time management concerns meant that I skipped all of these, and just walked around the place amidst the Joshua trees.

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Cap Rock 0.4mi This was another great place to see Joshua trees. I hiked the short nature trail, enjoying the desert vegetation.

13- Cap Rock

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Hidden Valley 1.2mi, 350ft gain My final destination was Hidden Valley. This is a bowl-shaped area rimmed by gorgeous rock cliffs. After entering the valley, I did a clockwise circuit of the bowl. At the far end I climbed up to a perch in the sky, where I was treated to a lovely view of Hidden Valley.

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By the time I was done with Hidden Valley and was back at my car, it was a quarter past noon and time for me to head back to LA. The drive was atrocious. Just 30min after leaving Joshua Tree National Park, as I headed down the jarringly lush green Morongo Valley pass, I ran into monsoonal rain. It took me around 4hrs - one more than my drive out - to get back to my hotel in Long Beach. What an amazing experience, even if I only got to spend 6hrs in Joshua Tree National Park.

[zephyr]

[GaliWalker]

[Hiker Mama]

Very cool! I'm just amazed that you got a full day of exploring on only one hour of sleep! That one is on my list of places I'm dreaming of going. Those rock formations are super neat!

[GaliWalker]

[Schroder]

Really good photos, as usual. We were there in December and managed to land a pretty nice campsite and decent weather

Another place worth a visit is south of there near Borrego Springs. The badlands