I checked out the Fall Creek trail that was restored by Kristin and her Tujunga Posse crew. It was officially completed a week ago. If you start from Hidden Springs it's only 3.3 miles one way.
I went last week and had a late start. Temps were supposed to be in the 70's but it was actually 81-degrees according to my Inreach.
It's mostly exposed with one sweet, shady spot under a tree. The trail was nicely groomed. Pink flags were placed along the way, on the ground on a few of the tree stumps which was very thoughtful.
Anyways we hiked through it & admired the surrounding views. A few wildflowers & huge yuccas along the trail made it look pretty.
I spotted a cute Horny Toad and a strange mushroom.
After the hike we soaked our feet in Mill Creek which was very refreshing.
A few weeks ago, I re-visited these two areas and brought along two friends including a new hiking buddy.
It was a cool, overcast morning and the CCC ridge was filled with wildflowers. Still a bit overgrown but it was nice. We hiked down to the mini waterfall and I showed my friends where the BM was that most hikers don't take notice.
We found mushrooms and the Humboldt Lillies that where there last year hadn't bloomed yet. But by looking at the amount of long stems it will soon be very plentiful along this portion of the trail. I'm looking forward to going back soon.
After a short break at the waterfall we started to hike up the ridge. The trail was very loose and the trail gets lost almost impossible to follow but we carefully got through it.
The fog was so dense that we couldn't see the other big waterfall from the top but we could hear the water flowing.
After descending the ridge back to the highway, we walked a short distance to Dark Canyon trail.
I met Bill Bovard who was doing trail work. He's the one who restored a trail from Clemons Saddle.
We were surprisingly amazed by more wildflowers and an abundance of Rockrose flowers that are quite often mistaken for Matalija poppies. There were many varieties and the bees were loving them. The Rockrose wildflowers were all along the fire road for quite a long distance.
Last time I was there, I didn't see any. It was such a beautiful sight to see. Of course I took tons of pictures.
Anyways, we did a loop and met Bill Bovard at the saddle as he continued his hard work on the trail.
Last weekend we decided to drive to the Joshua Tree and camp overnight. We headed out after 1pm. Since we were headed in that direction, I wanted to see the the Transmission and Simi Dabah sculptures. So we planned accordingly, to check them out before we drove to our camping site a Covington Flats.
The plan was to camp Saturday then wake up early on Sunday to summit Quail Mountain.
Well, once we arrived in the town of JT, it was very cold and windy, Our first stop was the Simi Dabah sculptures. He is a self-taught artist/welder ad has been creating sculptures for over 50 years. He is now retired and living in Los Angeles.
Supposedly there are over 487 steel sculptures, but clearly that was not the case from what we saw once we visited the site. The sculptures were created since 1970 until he retired in 2018. They are all for sale now.
Anyways, they were really cool. We took a few pics then drove to see the Transmission Sculptures that I was really excited to see.
The Transmission Sculptures are on private property located at the Mojave Moon Ranch.. But there is a small trail that they created a distance from the private property to view the sculptures. Only guests of the ranch are allowed to view the sculptures up close.
The artist Transmission Sculptures are meant to "truly speak to you when you are in her presence. She reminds us that we are all rooted in love, unity and the divine, always"
As the sunset we did some last minute shopping and headed to JTNP to our campsite at Covington Flats.
It was so cold but rain was not in the forecast. As Sean set up camp, I waited in the car.
We sat outside sipping hot chocolate as we gazed upon the starts on this very dark. cold and windy night. We decided to go to sleep early in anticipation for our big day.
During the night the wind was howling and the winds were non-stop. they had to be between 30-40 mph. We tried to keep warm. Sean had brought some earplugs so that we could block out the sounds of the wind but it didn't really help. I was struggling all night tossing and turning. Finally around midnight I decided to sleep in the car and Sean opted for his tent.
Around 5 am, I was awakened by a loud thump on the side of the car.. Freightened and half asleep, I didn't know Sean was trying to get all the snow off the car.
Luckily, the car started and in a hurry Sean threw everything in the car and we bailed.
By this time everything was covered in snow. Apparently it had been snowing for some time but we didn't hear it.
We were able to drive away from the camp safely and found a nice dry turnout. We slept a few hours in the car.
After breakfast and a change of plans we found a nice trail to hike on by the lower Covington Flats
We went off trail and hiked through a beautiful slot canyon. The colors and cool rocks were amazing.
We ate lunch on a cool flat rock, and soaked in the views of the gorgeous surroundings. There was not another soul around.
After an amazing trek we drive up to Eureka Peak. We hiked less than a mile up to the summit. It was freezing at the top. Eureka peak elevation is 5518. My hands were freezing and almost felt like frostbite.
I struggled to take photos of the panoramic views surrounding us. After a quick selfie, we headed back to the car.
We called it a day and drove home..
Despite the sleepless night Saturday evening. It turned out to be a fantastic day!
