This hike like the last one gets its interesting features from being alongside the San Andreas Fault. In my hiking book it describes a 6 mile hike but we left out a portion where you walk through both the Horseshoe and Hidden Palms.
The Pushawalla portion covered 4.3 miles and elevation gain of 350 feet. I wish the hiking books would describe the elevation as a factor of change instead of gain. We started this hike at about 500 feet and the highest point was 860 feet but we went up and down twice over that distance for a change of elevation about 630 feet. This isn't a rant but it helps determine the amount of energy you need at the start of the hike.
On this hike I prefer to take the reverse direction than the book as it has a more spectacular ending and gets all the slugging through the a sand covered Wash out of the way when you are at your freshest.
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| Toughest part of the walk - like walking on a soft sandy beach |
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| Brittlebush blooms throughout the year after periods of heavy rain |
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| First ascent |
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| View north - the top of the ridge is the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park |
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| Our first descent into the canyon, looks like the trail just drops off |
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| A bit of a rock scramble on the way down. We had only one scraped knee and he faired a lot better than the car in the next photo. |
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| Ford? |
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| After scrambling down the hill you are welcomed by a great view of the palms |
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| The canyon walls are quite close and they recommend that you don't hike down here when it is raining hard. |
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| The small creek flows almost all year and you can see the palm roots dipping right in the creek bed. |
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| I like this photo as it reminds me of an old African movie where the lion jumps out of the tall grass. No lions today but we did see evidence of some carnivores, probably a coyote. |
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| View of San Jacinto Mtn and the start of our hike along the Bee Rock Mesa |
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| View west to Banning Pass |
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| This is a view of the visitor center at the Coachella Valley Preserve (on right) and our vehicles are parked just to the left of centre of the photo. |
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| I think these are the Hidden Palms but not hidden from this ridge |
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| Looking east is a view of both Horseshoe and Hidden Palms |
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| Our last descent to the parking area |
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| First attempt of a panorama of the Coachella Valley |
Looks like you had a really nice hike and a beautiful day to do it. Makes me wish we had stayed longer in the Indio area.
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