Hi, new to this forum but have spent a lot of time reading a lot of your posts and am glad to find so many good and knowledgeable people!

I'm hoping to get some ideas about some trails or locations to hike to at either of these two places. I'm hoping to do a 2 night trip with 2 or three other friends in May or June but I have been doing a lot of research to try to find some LESSER traveled, moderate to strenuous trails. I'm hoping to do some hiking where we can avoid accidentally stepping on horse poop or hiking alongside other people....

We have a bigger trip planned in Sept to hike the Hermit Trail down to the Colorado River in The Grand Canyon. This is an advanced and very strenuous trail in desert terrain and hope to get 2 or three desert "dry run" trips to prepare for that.

Any advise, suggestions on backcountry trails or destinations at Joshua Tree or Mojave National Preserve or other California desert locations would be very much appreciated!!!!!!


Thanks,
Joe J

May or June in the Mojave? It's gonna be pretty hot out there with no water sources. You'll have to carry all of your water or set up some sort of cache if you can arrange it.
You might take a look at this link and do a search or ask some questions about those areas that you want to hike in. There are several backpackers on the Backpacker forum that hike out there...though probably not in June.
http://www.backpacker.com/cgi-bin/forum ... =603107219

[quote="Gigaflare"]Hi, new to this forum but have spent a lot of time reading a lot of your posts and am glad to find so many good and knowledgeable people!

I'm hoping to get some ideas about some trails or locations to hike to at either of these two places. I'm hoping to do a 2 night trip with 2 or three other friends in May or June but I have been doing a lot of research to try to find some LESSER traveled, moderate to strenuous trails. I'm hoping to do some hiking where we can avoid accidentally stepping on horse poop or hiking alongside other people....
--------------------------

Hello There !

I was hot, pardon the pun, to visit and hike in the Grand Canyon, too.

Then, I read a book of case studies on all the people (known) to have died in the G.C. which was
written by a Government US Forrest Service Ranger who worked the area. To my surprise, the G.C.
is literally deadly. More people get into trouble there than I ever knew. Many people who got into
trouble have never been found. Others are found years and years later. Some are found but not
identified. The desert heat and terrain (cliffs) and snow and flash floods and the river itself KILL people there.

Before you plan any further, I suggest you learn from this book like I did. Learn from the mistakes of others.
By the time you finish reading it, you will be well informed as to what NOT to do while there. By reading how
other people died, you will bypass much of the opinions that you might otherwise get and see actual
risks that killed hikers and boaters.

"Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon."
by Michael P. Ghiglieri and Thomas M. Myers.

They also have a companion book of the same exact content but on Yosemite Park titled, yes, "Death in Yosemite."
That books details all the (known) deaths in the park from suicides, falls, drownings, murders, etc.

By the way, I'm interested in exploring Joshua Tree National Park this spring. If you're interested in a hiking partner,
let me know. We have common goals. I don't know that new members can contact one another without first establishing a lot of posts... but try to find a way through the board host, etc.

they say there are only 2 hiking trails in MNP ,its more of a car camping area,but JTNP has a large wilderness area, I would go to JTNP myself ,and personaly I would rather go to JTNP than Grand canyon ,Im just sayin'

yuccahead wrote:

May or June in the Mojave? It's gonna be pretty hot out there with no water sources. You'll have to carry all of your water or set up some sort of cache if you can arrange it.
You might take a look at this link and do a search or ask some questions about those areas that you want to hike in. There are several backpackers on the Backpacker forum that hike out there...though probably not in June.
http://www.backpacker.com/cgi-bin/forum ... =603107219

Thanks for the info Yucca. After further research I have decided to take two 3liter Platypus Hoser bladders along with my 1liter water bottle. Additionally I plan to do heavy hydration 3 days before the hike and then another heavy "dose" of water at the trailhead!
I plan to take my Katadyn filter just in case as all research points to probable water at Lost Palms Oasis and also at Summit Springs and Munsen Oasis JUST IN CASE!
Let me know your thoughts!

DayEarly wrote:

Gigaflare wrote:

Hi, new to this forum but have spent a lot of time reading a lot of your posts and am glad to find so many good and knowledgeable people!

Hello There !

I was hot, pardon the pun, to visit and hike in the Grand Canyon, too.

Then, I read a book of case studies on all the people (known) to have died in the G.C. which was
written by a Government US Forrest Service Ranger who worked the area. To my surprise, the G.C.
is literally deadly. More people get into trouble there than I ever knew. Many people who got into
trouble have never been found. Others are found years and years later. Some are found but not
identified. The desert heat and terrain (cliffs) and snow and flash floods and the river itself KILL people there.

Before you plan any further, I suggest you learn from this book like I did. Learn from the mistakes of others.
By the time you finish reading it, you will be well informed as to what NOT to do while there. By reading how
other people died, you will bypass much of the opinions that you might otherwise get and see actual
risks that killed hikers and boaters.

"Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon."
by Michael P. Ghiglieri and Thomas M. Myers.

They also have a companion book of the same exact content but on Yosemite Park titled, yes, "Death in Yosemite."
That books details all the (known) deaths in the park from suicides, falls, drownings, murders, etc.

By the way, I'm interested in exploring Joshua Tree National Park this spring. If you're interested in a hiking partner,
let me know. We have common goals. I don't know that new members can contact one another without first establishing a lot of posts... but try to find a way through the board host, etc.

Thanks for the info on the book! Haven't picked it up yet since it was not in stock at local Borders. Gonna have to try the local library instead of ordering online or something like that.... But everywhere I read about it I see excellent reviews. A lot of people say its pretty morbid but an informative read and I would very much prefer to read it and be prepared than to not and be one of the stories in their sequel!

After early May all these places can be almost dangerously hot for backpacking. We have backpacked both areas and find them stellar but in my opinion getting off trail is best in these parks for both solitude and the sense of discovery. You tend to find sights and scenes that are hidden but wonderful. Journeying through the desert landscape is the ultimate reward over an ultimate destination though there are some great destinations as well.

Not so dangerous. )

vision correctionкосоглазие

Meaning what?

Not so dangerously hot for backpacking u mean? you're by all means mistaking..