Hiking the Maze Loop

The sun peeked a look through the ceiling vent over the bed this morning, filling the area with a soft orange glow that woke me up. Sleepily, I opened the curtain next to me to expose the views that we had missed last night by arriving in the dark. All around the campervan, mountains of heavily-eroded rock, their strange stacked layers looming above and all around the campsite. It is truly a sight, one that we can't get enough of. From the moment I wake Mario, we are both gawking at the landscape that surrounds us. Still brushing sleep from my eyes, I throw a coat on and head out, juice in hand, to greet the morning in this new place. Nearby, a small nature trail beckons, and so even before having breakfast, Mario and I are already out hiking, following the markers that teach us about the local vegetation we are seeing, telling us about the wildlife that we do not. The vistas that open up before us and spectacular - we had not realized we had climbed this high in the mountains! No wonder it was cold last night!

We settle at the outdoor picnic table for a bowl of yogurt and granola with apples and cinnamon. No sooner does he take his last bite and Mario is gone, scrambling up the massive rocks at the back of our site - of everybody's site, really. This campground is very much tucked into every small nook and cranny in an otherwise very rocky desert mountain range. It's gorgeous. I sit at the picnic table and work on the blog, and suddenly Mario is talking to me, in a hushed voice, from the top of the rocks, and it turns out I can answer him the same way, as though he is standing right next to me. The acoustics here are incredibly bizarre.

Mario's view of our campsite

We waste time until about 11, then head back out to the Walmart for a few things that didn't make the list last night, plus another warm blanket. It was cold sleeping last night, but then I discovered this morning that Mario had opened the vent at the back of the van, letting in the cold night air. Could be why. Regardless, we are entering a very busy Joshua Tree Park gate by noon, waiting in line with what seems like everyone else in the area, cars idling while drivers wait to pay the park entrance fee. I have enough time to get up and make us sandwiches while we slowly crawl our way in. 

So the park is very busy, pullouts and parking areas full to capacity, but we head to one of the first trails we see and manage to snag a spot on the side of the road, brushing against the scratchy branches of a dead-looking desert shrub. I may have done some research on the trails here sometime in the past 3 months, but I did a lot of research, and the details of the hiking trails obviously didn't get saved anywhere important. So we hit the trailhead for the Maze Loop, taking the North View leg of the trail first, not really knowing what to expect. And there is very spotty cell reception in the park, so no access to AllTrails...so what do we do? We head off on adventure! We'll figure it out - we always do.

Hiking round the world!	Mario and the Joshua Trees
	A brilliant pink cactus

 

The hike is a mix of sandy flat sections mixed with small stair-like climbs and crumbly sloped descents, weaving its way in between the heaps of monzogranite(big words!), and climbing its way up and up and up, until all we can see is this vista of the mountains, the rocks and the valley beyond the park. As we crest one of the passes through the rock heaps, Mario suddenly gets reception, so we check the map. So far, we have traveled about 1/4 of the way. In 1h 45m. And the sun will set eventually, leaving us possibly in the dark, without flashlights. Important lesson: be more prepared - check the trail BEFORE leaving next time! Mario asks me if I want to turn around, since there is no certainty that we will make better time going forward. But I am feeling good, the trail is enjoyable, the views incredible. I keep walking, refusing to abandon the hike, and Mario concurs. Eventually, we make it to the junction where we rejoin the actual Maze trail, slowly descending back down towards the valley. The trail follows a wash, a run-off when there are heavy rains and the water has no where to go. It is soft and sandy, like walking on snow. But it is flat and easy-going, and it takes us as long for the rest of the hike as it did for the first quarter. By the end of the hike, we are so happy that we decided to continue on the trail, as it was really a beautiful hike, and despite the moment of panic, very enjoyable. 

Check out that dramatic sky!	Getting to the top of another mountain pass
More Joshua Trees	Intrusion of harder granite in the middle of slowly-eroding rocks

Back at the van, we now have the option to get comfortable, grab snacks, change clothes and shoes, and begin the trek out of the park. Tonight's camping is outside of Joshua Tree, on BLM land(Bureau of Land Management) just south of the park. It's like Crown Lands at home, completely free to use, just respectfully, and this area is considered the unofficial overflow camping for the National Park. We make it to the turnoff just past sunset, and turns out the place is almost like a campground itself - pull-thru "sites", basic fire rings that people have built themselves, and many other campers in the area, so we make our way through by the light of our neighbours.

We pull into a relatively flat site and park for the night. Again, tomorrow we will be treated to a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains, but for tonight we close the curtains and get cozy in our our little world. We even try out the shower for the first time, a tiny cupboard of a thing, where you can barely raise you arms, but it does the job and we both get to be clean and comfortable after that challenging hike. Dinner is a strange burrito sort of thing, with the leftover chile vegetables getting mixed into a mexican-style rice side dish packet, which we roll up into tortillas with melted cheese, salsa and plain yogurt. It is delicious and filling and oh-so-messy that we both need a fork to eat the half that spills out of the tortilla wrap onto the plate. 

I try to blog, but with so much fresh air, sunshine and great outdoor activities today, I am beat, and can barely get a sentence completed before dozing off. After several failed attempts, I finally give in to the call of the soft warm bed and let sleep take hold.