Streams in the Desert, hiking the Sawtooth mountains

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2/25/24

Today, our last day hiking in the Joshua Tree area, we took on the most challenging hike yet, and one of the most rewarding: the Sawtooth mountain loop.

Yesterday, when we met members of the Coachella hiking club, we asked for suggestions for our last day. When they learned our preferences, hopes and dreams, they said you have to go to the Sawtooth mountains. It’s a part of a Wilderness conservancy land and less know because it’s not on the National Parkland, and on a Sunday, the park will be crowded.

So we arose before 6 am, and drove directly to Yucca Valley to a hip, or rather hippy cafe, that opens at 7 am. We were about the second people in the door and had our breakfast sandwich and lattes ordered. The place was well worth it, with everything made by hand with excellent ingredients. This was the perfect preparation for our hike, which lay 13 minutes away.

Inside the Frontier Cafe.

The them for today’s hike might be Recovery from fire, or Streams in the desert. You will see why.

We were the first car in the parking lot at 7:30 am , and temps 47 degrees, perfect to keep us from hiking in the heat on the desert floor.

The hike started with random and huge piles of rocks and what initially looked almost barren.

We chose to do the loop in a counter-clockwise fashion, taking the most aggressive climbing while we were in the cool shade

Our first observations were of the widespread fire damage, from a few years ago. Almost all of the Joshua trees had burned. We also saw signs of renewed life around many of these trees. As members of the agave family, we know that they can propagate via their root systems, and sure enough we saw “children” and “grandchildren” of the burned Joshua trees growing around the burned stumps.

Offspring of the burned Joshua tree or other agave species.

Our path took us to stream originating from a spring, and wound around the mountain. Many plants showed great vibor and new growth due to the unusual abundance of water. There were also many tracks, including bear. But we never saw a bear.

A stream flows through the desert.

Our path began to climb more aggressively. Our feet and poles slipped. We struggled to get stable footholds. But soon we arrived at the first of several hilltops.

Alice enjoys having reached our first hilltop. It’s still cool but we are taking off some layers as we generate heat.
In the moist sand at the water’s edge, footprints are sharp.
The landscape is dotted with burned trunks, and new growth.

We continued on from peak to peak. We saw no other hikers until we were approximately 2/3 completed. The solitude was delightful . Our only companions were the birds, some geckos, and a quail.

Due to increased water some of the plants are thriving.

Jojoba bush, known for its’ sticky oil. You may have seen shampoos marketed with jojoba.
There were couple of types of scrub oaks, that look like large bushes. Sometimes they are stung with wasps forming little orange balls that I first thought were a fruit.
The chuparosa flower, so bright and red.
Sometimes the new growth of Joshua trees is hopeful…
… and sometimes it looks like how a species ends as climate change increases fires , decrease rainful, and the old trees can’t be replaced.

After nearly 6 hours and 8.8 miles we finished our hike. A thrilling location and a great challenge. We thank you for your interest in our accounts of this journey. We head back to Grand Rapids tomorrow.

5 thoughts on “Streams in the Desert, hiking the Sawtooth mountains”

  2. Joanne

    I enjoyed seeing the various landscapes and hearing your descriptions. It is so different from West Michigan, yet beautiful.

    1. ebouwens

      For us Michigan natives, it can even be shocking, but I’m so grateful to have my world opened up.

  3. Paul

    Beautiful photos and commentary! Thanx for your effort to provide us with a wonderful exploration!

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