Ladder/Small Painted Canyon and Indian Palms

Our first hike last week was the into the Mecca Hills to the Ladder Canyon returning through the Little Painted Canyon.  It was the start of Thanksgiving week and as we pulled into the parking lot there was about 20 cars. There is usually only a few ahead of us.  The slot canyon is fitted with ladders to negotiate the steep, narrow trail but with all the people you end up waiting for your turn to climb up to the top.  There are at least 5 ladders so you get to have a breather between each one.

We met a young family out for adventure, a father and two of his children.  A cute precocious 9 year old girl and 2 1/2 year old boy that handled the ladders pretty good with his short little legs.  Some of the ladders are close to 20 feet tall so it was good to see he had the strength and courage to do it.

Many hikers have a hard time finding the entrance to the ladders. I wonder why?

One of the waiting areas. If you look closely the ladder only goes up about two feet and you have to scramble through the gap as best you can.

Part of the canyon as it opens near the top, less claustrophobic than the lower area.

This little bird is sitting wondering if he will get a handout.  

This Ocotillo is standing sentry over the start of the little painted canyon.  Brian calls the plant re-bar with spikes.

This canyon is narrower than the painted canyon and has many different features.

There is also dramatic colour changes throughout the canyon.

Everything goes through here in a rain storm

The canyon is this wide...

Mesquite tree with dried up bean pods

Smoke tree holding it's ground on the canyon floor

Our second hike of the week was to Indian Palms.  It is located in the Coachella Valley Preserve and is one of the least visited trails.  It is less than 2 miles round trip and hasn't many dramatic views.  We visited the palms to satisfy our curiosity. You can see them from other hikes we take and we wondered what was there... more palm trees.  Well there were a bunch of ravens hanging out at one oasis. I think they were feasting on the small date fruit.

Our view to the south. The city is on the other side of the ridge.

Indian Palms

A species of Saltbush commonly known as Desert Holly

Some of these trees have been subjected to fire but still seem to be growing

Portrait moment with the San Jacinto Mountains in the background

Trees with their capes of dead palm fronds sheltering their trunk.

Clusters of fruit hanging down.  There is a thin covering of fruit on a small pit.

View of one of the oasis from the center ridge.

Horse Thief Creek and Big Morongo Preserve

These two hike are as far apart in the valley as you can get.  Horse Thief Creek is to the west up on a mountain pass in the Santa Rosa range that leads to Los Angeles and the other trail is to the east at the entrance to the San Bernardino Mountains. 

November is the last month to get some fall scenes as well as an opportunity to see some birds.  As winter approaches some birds and greenery disappear.  

Horse Thief Creek Trail is covered in chaparral (shrub land or heath) and slices through rugged canyons.  It is a 5 mile trip in and out with many hills and valleys to hike up and down.

Prickly-Pear Cactus among the rocks

Rain water and traffic have beaten this trail up.

This agave plant is possibly a century plant as it is very tall and the leaves appear to be dying.  The plant lives from 10 - 30 years and dies after it flowers.  A new plant will grow as a sucker from it's roots.

The scrub oak has many of these orbs on their limbs.  I believe they are acorns that have been bored into by insects and used as a nursery for their eggs. This one is about 1 1/2 inches across.

It is interesting how this tree is both alive and dead at the same time.

Horse Thief Creek Canyon

Agave close-up

California Fuchsia graced the side of the trail where there was some partial shade. 

Prickly-Pear Jungle?

 Our second hike, Big Morongo Preserve located in the Morongo Canyon has been visited by many birds and animals.  Fires have occurred here quite often and you can see how the native plants have tried to grow back.  One of the unique features of the preserve is the changes of vegetation with the elevation changes.

A Scrub Jay perches over our heads in a Mesquite tree.  He is hoping for a handout. 

View of the marsh area from the upper trail shows just how dramatic the vegetation changes.

A 4 + mile Canyon trail starts at the top end of this photo. 

Our hike took us around the hill and along the marsh area.

View from back of the hill looking to the community of Morongo Valley

Mesquite trees and shrubs slowly growing back in a burned out hillside.

This area is covered with alkali goldenbush, a dominant perennial shrub that gradually replaced non-native weeds after a fire in 1992.

Berdoo Camp and Horseshoe/Hidden Oasis

The first hike of the week was just a small trek up an old paved and washed out road to Berdoo Camp, a ghost town.  This camp was set up in the 1930's and was used to construct the Colorado River Aqueduct. The shaft or adit goes in from this site over 2000 feet. This camp was responsible for the construction of 5 1/2 miles of tunnel. The road that passes by the camp is used by 4 wheel drives to access Joshua Tree National Park.

The road below the camp is used for a firing range and strewn with empty cartridges, shot-up targets and garbage.

The hills in the center are a level platform where the tailing from the tunnel were dumped.

Not sure what kind of bug was running around here but is had what looked like a fuzzy sack attached to it's back end.

Good to have Brian back hiking with us this year...

Photo looking out to the Coachella Valley from the center of town...

The foundations have certainly crumbled over the years

In this photo I have sketched around where the shaft opening was and also where a trestle was located.

View up the canyon and the way to Joshua Tree Park

There are a few companies that offer 4 X 4 tours through this back road. I don't know if they provide a kidney belt but the paved roads must feel very smooth after 24 miles of this.

The second hike of the week was to Horseshoe and then Hidden Oasis.  This hike is part of the Coachella Preserve and is just under 5 miles long.  The day was very hot and I am sure it was at least 90 F out on the open trail.  The palms you see in the oasis are all California Fan Palms and are the only naturally occurring palms in the state.  They are usually found in the center of a geological fault line. 

This oasis is along the San Andreas Fault

We walked the ridge above the Horseshoe Oasis

Our hiking group at the eastern end of the Horseshoe Oasis

A view over the cliff of the bottom end of the Pushawalla Oasis

Picture of the center of the Hidden Oasis as you will see below it is hidden when you walk on the trail but if you drive up Washington Avenue from Indio you will see the oasis from the road.

The oasis is just around the corner to the left but the main reason for the picture is to show the air quality when the wind blows all the sand around.  Anyway, hope it is sand and not smog.

A parting shot of Indian Palms in the distance before we head back down the hill to the car.