They Lose Horses, Don't They? - Joshua Tree National Park
/Trek Date: May 31, 2020
Trek Location: Lost Horse Valley
Ok, maybe not the most clever title for a blog post, but did you see what I did there? Sometimes I just make myself laugh, which is a good thing. As Mary Pettibone Poole once said, “he who laughs, lasts.”
It happened Sunday morning in La Habra, Cal: “why not head out to Joshua Tree, take some late afternoon pictures, spend the night in a cheap hotel, and then hike into the Wonderland on Monday morning before it gets too hot and I drop dead from heatstroke?” So that’s what happened. Had I given it just a bit more thought, I would have thrown my gear into the truck and camped somewhere in the park. Oh well, I still had a great time. Here are some photos taken in and around Lost Horse Valley, most within less than a five-minute walk from the parking area at Hidden Valley Trail.
So if you’re in the park and have an extra hour or two, and don’t have any specific plans, park in the Hidden Valley Nature Trail lot and don’t follow the crowd into the that valley. Instead, head into Lost Horse Valley. Within 5 minutes you’ll be all by yourself and you’ll see some very cool rock formations. And some really big Joshua Trees. And if you search long enough and get lucky, you’ll find some petroglyphs and other signs of Native Americans from days gone past. There’s a bunch of well-known rocks in this shot, the closest being “Classic Curl Boulder.”
Can you spot what I call the “Praying Shark?”
Looking back from whence I came, that pile of boulders on the left is generally known as “Turtle Rock.” There are a good number of fallen Joshua Trees out here, in differing degrees of deterioration. Some of them appear quite artistic.
The classic “Thumb Rock,” so-called by the mysteriously intrepid 3-D photographer, Murbachi.
Chasing shadows and finally caught a good one.
And if you walk out there, in the right direction, there’s neat stuff! Remnants of days gone by, may they never crumble.
Game trail? I run across these every once in a while.
There are some really nice trees out here in the forest.
There are a bunch of vertical branches growing up out of the trunk that has tipped to its side.
The Houser Buttress area in late afternoon sun.
Who wouldn’t want to just start walking out there with me?
Nolina Bloom X3.
Zombie Woof Rock in the center. Check out the other side when you visit, some very faint pictographs might still be visible.
“Reety-awrighty, he da zomby woof”
And then it was time to head back to the truck. The end.
If any of the pictures struck your fancy bone, feel free to download and use however you wish. Credit back to www.cali49.com would be nice, but it’s not required. High rez versions available via me.
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Punk Rock was the Goal - Joshua Tree National Park https://t.co/jHbwyTjpwU -
They Lose Horses, Don't They? - Joshua Tree National Park https://t.co/R3JfkHhH09
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GoPro Stills, part 1 - Joshua Tree National Park https://t.co/eDDlv1v9S3
