A Freewheeling Hike Up In The Rocks

Whenever we come in to the Park from the 29' side we always pass this one pullout about a mile and a half from the entrance that has an Information Board. In the distance, there is a large group of rocks cascading down the hill into a wash at the base, that has always intrigued me. Margie was game, so we parked and headed toward them thar' hills. You cross the valley and come to a wash full of brush that leads up into the Canyon of Rocks above. It seemingly goes on forever toward the back country. It involves a little scrambling, going over and under some rocks to get to the top, which makes it a real adventure. We only made it about three quarters of the way up this particular day and found a nice lunch spot in the shade. We definitely have to come back again and see how much further up we can get. It just goes to show, you don't always have to stick to the regular trails to find a nice hike in Joshua Tree National Park.

It was a blue, blue sky that day.

A hill of black rocks on our right as we ascended.

Looking up from the wash and boulders.

A heart shaped rock amongst the boulders.

The view up the canyon from our lunch spot. Next time...

Beautiful feathers caught in a crevice on the way down.