Hiking and exploring backcountry locations of the Western United States.
Joshua Tree National Park and surrounding area.
Pipes Canyon is a pleasant and easy hike. The trail heads out from the visitor center at the Pioneertown Mountains Preserve and follows the canyon up into a riparian habitat. Some of the plants you will see along the way are willow, baccharis, white sage, and mugwort. The canyon is usually dry, but water does occasionally surface to support this isolated oasis.
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With a tip from a friend, I went out searching for a remote set of petroglyphs in the backcountry wilderness of Joshua Tree National Park. I had a few clues in my search. I was looking for petroglyphs that were near an old campsite and hidden on the backside of a large boulder. That’s not a lot to go on in the vast wilderness of Joshua Tree but I had a couple of other hints as well.
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I found these solitary black pictographs hidden under a pile of granite boulders out in Joshua Tree National Park. The pictographs here are very faded. A casual passerby wouldn’t even notice them. You have to know what you are looking for and stop a minute to see them.
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Out in the area near Cary’s Castle is a fascinating pictograph site hidden under a large boulder. It took a few long hikes to track it down and, when we finally did find it, we didn’t get back to the trailhead until well after dark.
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This lone petroglyph boulder is way out in a wash deep into the Joshua Tree wilderness. We suspect it served as a signpost to Indians to find other sites which aren’t too far away.
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