Driving approx. 75 miles round trip; about 1.5 hours. Hiking between 4 and 6.5 miles on established trails. Depending on terrain, route, group ability, and interest; approximately 6 hours in the field. Participants will be required to carry a minimum of 2 quarts of water in their day pack for each hike.
In the resort meeting room, we’ll enjoy a buffet including a daily egg dish, breakfast potatoes and meats, oatmeal, toast, and a selection of fresh fruit, plus juices, coffee, milk, tea, water. After breakfast each day, we will pre-order sandwiches for the following day and assemble our own lunches from the available fruit, chips, cookies, and other snacks as desired.
After boarding our passenger vans, we’ll travel into Joshua Tree National Park. There are numerous hiking trails and destinations in the park and beyond. All of the hikes traverse through interesting and scenic landscapes with excellent natural history features. Depending on weather and current trail conditions your Group Leader will start the week with hikes on one or more trails today including 49 Palms, the Maze, Hidden Valley, Pine Valley and Big Morongo Canyon Preserve to name a few. Along with the Group Leader’s expert commentary, today's hike will be a great introduction to the park and the Mojave Desert ecosystem as we hike through a maze of granitic outcrops. As we walk, we will doubtlessly encounter and discuss the famous Joshua Trees and Mojave Yuccas, but we will also consider in depth the geology and geography of the park. The sheer magnitude of the geologic backdrop of the park, which is a jumble of monzogranite boulder fields, can often surprise visitors with its origins and striking whimsical forms.
Along the trail, we’ll stop at a pleasant spot to enjoy the sack lunches we prepared after breakfast.
Continuing our hike we’ll make our way through some sustained portions of the hike in sandy washes. Upon completion in the late afternoon, we’ll return to the resort.
Resort plated meal.
In the hotel meeting room, enjoy a presentation on a topic of regional significance by a local expert.