The elongated, swooping valley of Greenwater resembled what I would think another planet, or the moon but with color, would look like, maybe even an area like the Altiplano in South America. Although smaller in scale the curvature in every angle and tangent of this valley makes me feel so small. I relish in existence in these type of places. I diverted from the main wash and went up a gradual fan that was very grassy although burnt over by a plains fire. The scorched ground had skeletons of creosote roots and abandoned and hollow rabbit dens. I was surprised to see this type of desert--the high desert--from what I had been walkingly accustomed to so far. In Gold Valley, the sun angled over the high Panamints in the distant horizon gave a shimmering golden glow over the immense basin. Hidden from Badwater Basin, the Black Mountains plummet precipitously through a chaos of chasm from its peaceful island in the sky. A quiet was here I have not heard before, as if being sucked out from the gravity of the basin way down deep below. In Gold Valley I stood in a giant nest perched over the massive maw of Willow Creek chasm and the lowest point in the North America. The Panamints hearkened me from across the basin as proof.
I laid down to one of the best nights of my life, this whole stinking life...the lunar orb so full and resplendent creeping over a lonesome desert ridge, that most amazing blue again, a desert dusk blue; bright and big stars twinkling so nonchalantly, cool temps sunk to the valley floor, the chirping crickets echoing in the wash I bedded down in. I am invisible out here, no care for what the world really sees. It's all the basics: sleep, breathe, eat, drink, marvel. Eschew the herd, the horde of what everyone else does, the tribal shit, of what's the same and mundane; become invisible. No jokes, no lies...this is real. But what constitutes what's real in my life versus what's real in someone else's life? Nothing manifests itself from you to me. Maybe the other way around, but not that way. It's the essence of not ever even being here that matters. That moon creeps up over a lonesome desert ridge shining over whatever it always shines on until the phase of the goes black and delves into invisibility. We need that. Sink deep, then phase bright and back again, with no one around and become invisible. Get out into that immensity.
The picking up of the wind as I neared the mouth of Sheep Canyon whistled and I could imagine the wind having wings. The gorge was so steep and soft the last channels of the narrow gorge was like foot-punching down a gravelly dune or ramp. Plummeting nearly 5000ft of the lowest place in North America, Sheep Canyon had me dissecting the bones of a mountain, falling down the was weaving like the veins in a body, and within the narrows the marrow of our bones is nestled.
At the salt flats of Death Valley I began the arduous trek across the whole basin south to north. I spiral grass chute sprouted through a mud tile lifting and propping the tile on end showing the resilience of life. Small yet powerful, the birth of a water drop in harsh conditions, nurture with a sun ray, the beauty and the struggle for life. Then, the baking of the sprig, the impermanence of life, that precious beauty and harshness of existence. Among other textures of the salt flats different coloration, grains and layers, some parts affected by an isolated downpour, other tiles firm yet springingly soft, a give, exhibit the diversity of these massive mirrored and extremely flat surfaces. The crunch and coarseness of the planks and tiles, the random punch bowls sunk from thermal activity, the vastness and enormity and immensity of this place. Deeper than the Grand Canyon, the hottest place on Earth. The hardening of the mud, the evaporating and deconstruction of water and dirt, the sucking and squeezing out, the wringing out of brine. The pup fish who can live in these geothermal pools, the flies that bite, that fly in maelstroms like the ever-present dust devils. The blinding of eyes, the brightness. The dried and evaporated mud towers and the difficulty of walking through it and how the razor sharp and hard as stone mud towers shred your shoes. The dank and salty smell, the humidity after a downpour. This is it---Death fuckin' Valley.
Never change never change never change. Just endure time. The detritus of time, the constant and infinite grinding of rock and dirt to go from something enormous to something so microscopic as a speck of sand. Footprints are temporary. They disappear with the wind romantically like a fleeting and powerful love affair.
I walked from -282ft in the south to 8500ft on the white top summit of Last Chance Mountain in approximately 100m or more. I aged during this walk from the rubbing off of time scarred in the land and in the rock. Dunes to washes, to epic loneliness and incredible darkness of night, to giant stars and amazing sunsets and sunrises, to the heat, that squeezing heat sucking the life out of your brain demoralizing the spirit, the totality of the desert is----simply being.
As the temps soared I scaled up Last Chance Mountain following bighorn trails. I methodically paced it out to conserve my lack of water, although I sweated profusely leaving me a salt of desert, a mineral. I am a mineral after this, nothing more. Not flesh, rather salt-dried and cured. After the scramble across the crest I found myself at Willow Spring, the boundary of Death Valley National Park and the border with Nevada. A seep existed, water barely even noticeable, essentially dry, the dregs of of a spring. I turned and walked away containing my emotions. What am I after all besides containment? The deserts of Southern California and been dry, hot, and tough.
Maybe the bruised ankle bone was a blessing in disguise. I got to see my nephew take his first steps, spend some time with family, and prepare for the next long stretch of the Desert Trail even more especially with the impending heat. After 2 full days of resting and icing the ankle I embarked back out on route but not before placing 3 water caches at strategic highway crossings. I even dropped off 2 resupply boxes that otherwise I would have to mail out. All in all, it worked out.
As we were driving back out through the Mojave memories of a lifetime flooded in my head vision. I grew up in the big Mojave. The drives to and from LA to Las Vegas for family visits, riding in the back of a pick-up truck with my brother laying down hidden from view wrapped under blankets, riding in the back of my Granny's truck touring Death Valley in the summer and catching blisters on both my shins from the menacing heat, living in the town of Mojave and one day snapping my ankle jumping off a huge dirt mound and landing on a rock, and getting chased by 3 bullies through desert flats of creosote, the wind howling and a small pack of coyotes running along side flanking my strides. I even recalled my first memory of hearing about human powered travel and peregrinations. A family friend, Cade, rode his bike from LA to Las Vegas. I never forgot that.
Cruising up Summit Wash, the Mojave Desert is in, always has been. Traces of burro and cow, piles of horse apples and cow pies littered the wash, hoofed trail ribboned up the channel. Near small pour-offs of water worn marble the burros had dug small mud pits in an attempt to reach ground water in saturated areas. Probably a month ago I bet some water reached or pooled near the surface. Near Summit Spring 2 bulls scattered away from me. Fire scarred the land side and pinyon totem stood ghostly watch over the basin. At the spring a cow carcass, picked a part clean of meat with patches of matted hair against bleached bone, the eye sockets black and hollow, the horns yellow like rotten toenails. The spring was a muddy seep with the only water standing in hoof holes. Little bees hovered around the water pockets and landed on the ridges of the hoof holes to slurp some shitty sludge-water.
At the crest I could see Wild Horse Mesa and the basin badlands below. The basin held thick groves of juniper and pinyons. Sage and other typical Mojave cacti and brush plotted thick in the washes and pleats below. I marveled at this basin form the pass as the sun set, a sight so hidden and reeking of wilderness. In the evening I camped on a ledge and as i sat on my sleeping pad I could hear burros descending and moving precariously loudly on the cliffs above. Their eyes glowed a golden yellow as I shined my light on them. Loose rock spilled and rattled like ice cubes in an ice chest.
The next morning on the mesa I found my first rattlesnake under a deep crimson boulder. The mesa looked like spring and the morning sun rays felt good as they brushed my legs. A green tinge glowed in the surrounding hill sides and mesas. I entered Banshee Canyon and the porous cliffs. A neat little trail went through here but at the campground all that illusion of cooler temps vanished and the heat soared. The basalt and pyroplastic rock told of a 18.5 million year old blast. Intense heat showed instantaneous cooling which pockmarked the cliffs and hoodoos. The heat now resembled that furnace with no cooling in site. I ambled on after filling my bladders and walked across the burnt high plains of juniper and pinyon. Cattle munched on the sporadic sprigs of green grass.
The spigots were turned off at Mid Hills Camp. This caught me by surprise and turned my waterless stretch into roughly 40m. I got a little stressed. The stressful part is that I carry and drink water in heat without necessarily knowing I have a confirmed source ahead unless it is something I have cached. This spring has been real dry. And without any confirmations I sometimes embark on these long stretches without knowing where I will get my water from. So, I started from the camp in dire need of water. I took a chance at Burro Spring. Only a dug out hole had been gouged out in the hillside. A decent sized tamarisk sat right plop in the center of the spring source. I bet that tamarisk has something to do with how dry this spring is, let alone the drought and dryness. I soberingly continued on.
Cima Dome looks like a giant mole rising in the horizon. You can see the rise from miles around. Finally climbing up it I found a veritable desert cactus garden. Huge stands of Joshua Trees held up the slopes with their pom-pom spiky florets and thick barked trunks. An occasional bouquet of white flowers sprouted at one end of one pom-pom, the lengthy arm resembling the slowed-up stages of a shooting star. At Cut Spring I was surprised to see not only the cottonwoods and the water trough present but a makeshift cabin with a hay spread out in front had a good sized herd of deer feeding. Quail rambled about and fluttered away at my arrival. The deer scattered but I could still see their burro type ears poking above the shrubs. Game and motion sensors were set up in places and I slugged down 2L of water right in plain sight. I couldn't pass this source up. I tanked up and headed for camp.
Owls hooted at night and I could see the lights of Las Vegas to the northeast. I slept soundly in the cooler temps up on Cima Dome. I awoke to a purple sky, then pink, and then orange. I found a full trough of water at Deer Spring. I had my umbrella out and open for most of the day as I walked through volcanic lands toward Interstate 15, where I had a water cache waiting. At Halloran Summit I laid in the shade for 2 hours and lazed about drinking water. I left in the late afternoon as temps became cooler. I even saw a wild burro which snorted at me sounding like a burst of a jet engine. I found reliable Francis Spring. The water tainted by burro and cattle, mucky and reddish brown with a steer's skull and horns laid sidelong up on the salt grimed shoreline. I filled 2L and left for camp. I slept deeply that night in the big wide open Mojave Desert.
Long day again. Kingston Spring has overgrown willows, cattails and tamarisk, even coyote tunnels into the thickets with bones strewn about, but no water in sight. I had a long and hot crossing of the Valjean and Dumont Hills. The wind blew incessantly, annoyingly. No shade; hot as fuck. I crammed under a large creosote in a dune field, umbrella and all, my legs sticking to each other. I then found a shaded rocky outcrop that sheltered the sand but filtered it so well that a small dune abutted the outcrop. I forced down an energy bar even though I needed food. After hours of staggering through the desert heat I found the Amargosa River. And there was more water than I expected! A real river! And I was down to my last half liter and I was completely under saturated. I filled up with 2 gallons for the night after slugging 2L right then and there. I walked about a half mile and called it quits. I set up my ground sheet but couldn't get really anything done. I simply wanted to sit. I laid back against my backpack and propped up a knee and marveled at the humongous dark blue and purple sky, the shades between ending day and oncoming night. I drank another 2L and watched the bats flit about the dusky sky feasting on insects. I worked so hard all day, beaten down by the sun, the ups and downs mentally, no shade, just fucking plastered, simply to get to this moment. I chuckled and said aloud to myself: you're a fucking idiot.
The constant sun; nothing is as ubiquitous as the sun. Even at night here in the desert. I am cramping, my finger nails glow with an eerie bio-luminescence, sun drenched, and the night inhales before the cauldron is open to flame again. From 6am-11am things are tolerable. I push with ease while starting slow and pursing on my water attentively. Then, the rage begins. I battle with a lion's heart only to fall to inner turmoil and guilt. I desperately seek shade while trying not to obsess about my water situation, or lack of or uncertainty or surplus of it. If I get shade, I tell myself, I will sleep for a few hours. That helps. But then times merely have no shade, the sun high noon, directly overhead, its apogee of terror, the mindfuck. I keep at it, trying to eat something, my belly bloated from water mixed with electrolytes. So positive minded in the morning only to be crushed by the heat. I get trapped by the head and I start to think about things, like ancient childhood things and my relationship with my family, how guilty I feel I am as a person, within the deep recesses of eroded beds of my heart. I begin to doubt myself while just believing it will subside by late afternoon. I peel back up after a brief spell of shady rest,even though my calorie intake is minimal. I am able to force down a bar but only by muscling it down. I keep going. All day. At 5pm, it is the worse. The sun is angled perfectly to wreak havoc on my brain and face. The umbrella isn't helping anymore. The incessant sun is making me mercurial, vacillating between morbid and positive thoughts. Back and forth. I keep at it. Plodding along. The a trickle of sweta ruins it all. Down my forehead, through the quad-wrinkles between my brow that shows when I am focused or intense, the squint that intimidates people, at the bridge of my nose, an awkward nose, the drop goes left on a protrusion on my bone and slowly weaves its way to the corner of my eye until the salty bead plunges right in stinging my eye. And I blink and I blink to get it out, to absorb the stinging, all to no avail. I rub my eye fervently. I use my index finger and it just makes it worse, even smearing my sunglasses, staining everything with salt. Salt is everywhere. I am stale with salt, aged. The mirage in the mind is becoming clearer while getting blurrier at the same time. Only the narrow focus of water, of finding water, of sometimes the exaggerated discovery of water, of a cold fucking soda, of pouring water over my head, dunking my shirt. And when I get there, I guzzle. So much so, the cistern in my belly is jiggling, no, swishing with water. My belly is protruded, extended with the beautiful liquid, no matter the color. Shitty, muck-tainted, pissy, green algae tinted, stained with decaying flesh and bone; it's all mine.
Then, it's dusk. I forget all that has happened. The day a dream, fuzzy. It's all unknown, all of it, the epitome of ignorance. Just unknowing. I find myself in a small town. I'm shy, shell shocked from the desert blasting. I speak my order to the waitress and feel the cool air on my neck. I shake my head of the mirage.
Across Joshua Tree, I have been following game track----deer, jack rabbit, coyote, fox, rodents, bighorns. I stumble upon skulls and sun-baked bones, even a tortoise shell here or there probably dropped from a raptor high above lies empty within. Near the calcified tortoise shell, sometimes square, opaque shell tiles and bone fragments are scattered near the main shell body. Across the vast distances, through huge boulder mounds of granite stained with a pinkish-brown desert patina, long expanses of gradual alluvial fans, erosion on an ancient scale, amidst large creosote and the occasional tall ocotillo, I amble. In a random drainage between a low pass, the rock has a blue tint, some of the sheen in the wash sprinkled even a bit druzy, even looser in stability too. Once the desert patina is washed and scrubbed and rinsed away a beautiful gneiss and blue rock is left behind. Along the gradual slopes, flat and compacted gravelly strips line and groove the desert floor make walking pleasant. Other times I find old fire pits, probably from miners and surveyors, partially buried in the sand, wind-piled. Old, rusted tin cans will litter the adjacent area of the rings, of times past where people sat and entertained themselves the old-fashioned way.
The sky is enormous, both day and night. My views show range upon range that resemble an undersea spectacle of lonely islands. The constellations and stars twinkle on a magnificent scale, as light pollution is scarce. A highway signifies the northern boundary of Joshua Tree. The route weaves through volcanic cones that have filtered out the blowing sand, a pediment impediment, creating blowsand dunes. Chilly nights, big and clear, black, let me sleep comfortably and restful under the great wide open. Broad high points start a new basin. Some of the terrain is like pavement, then the ripples of the sand within tiny ribbons of washes showing show that the wind is alive resembling finger-dragged marks, ephemeral and delicate, create an artistic wave, the hand of water in an invisible air. Then, the holes and burrows lie in wait from underworld dens. The dens show a swollen desert where activity from rabbits and rodents show their toil. Brushes and dried stalks chollas sprout up as the root system has been eaten and scraped from below. I punch through, sometimes buckling the knee, hyper-extending the joint.
I am purposefully ignorant on this route. Just a tad. I've researched as much as I can, walked with the visuality of the route, of the desert, but knowing too much prohibits the flexibility I need to employ on the fly. Trying to hike the Desert Trail in a 'thru-hiking' fashion has its challenges, especially if only one other person has hiked it (Buck Nelson, '12). Information can be hard to find these days on a forgotten route. Time has passed, the land is managed differently now, some springs have run dry or the towns have different or abandoned amenities. With that in mind, flexibility is crucial, as I don't have the freedom and availability of having water and food readily available. So, what route has been 'created' usually I see what is most scenic and most full of highlights as not being most achievable and practical without having these crucial cache points, especially without natural and reliable water sources. I have already seen my resupply strategy change due to the long waterless stretches and the carry of the appropriate water needed for safety. Here's a quick recent breakdown and example:
Facing a 60m waterless stretch through Joshua Tree I trimmed up the route with a 'reasonable yet still scenic' 40m waterless stretch. I did this with the section after that in mind----another 60m waterless stretch, which at the highway crossing I was able to cache 2 gallons of water. Based off my needs due to weather, food weight and length of section, and knowing how much water I need to replenish for my body. So, my plan by trimming the Joshua Tree route and waterless stretch would hopefully leave me with at least 2L, leaving me with 2.5 gallons to do the next 60m. Unfortunately, I showed up at the highway with half a liter, for the incessant wind had dried me out.
I decided then to hitch into 29 Palms to replenish and rest up a bit, which was totally unexpected. So, to make this route achievable as a thru-hike I need to adjust the route a bit, trim up some of the old maps where the termini are located for the sections which were mainly used as parking or shuttle areas, as well as adjust the resupply and water strategy. The trick is tip-toeing that fine line between what is safe and scenic versus what is unreasonable and scenic for an achievable thru-hike.
On the way into 29 Palms, I hitched in with a couple, the dude from Ireland and the chick from Britain, both of whom moved from LA to live in J-Tree. We had a great conversation about the impact traveling has on one's life. We spoke of India and her experiences there, even Southeast Asia. I spoke abut hiking, of course and the good-natured folk associated with hiking and how if you're in the dumps about the world going for a walk is a good refresher on how good humanity is. As I was climbing out of the car, Dave threw me a fist bump and in his Irish accent said, 'Hey, do us a favor.' Not a question, not asking, but an assertion, a true sentiment.
'Never stop.'
Needless to say, I am thoroughly enjoying this challenge, especially without much up-to-date resource information. I am happy to be purposefully ignorant.
I hit a high wash. The plant life more fecund, the desert appeared shagged with a thick green carpet from afar. Large willows straddled the wide wash at curvy bends, large and robust, full of birds and jackrabbits, aromatic with the drying-out white blossoms delicate as a flake of a skin cell. Ephedra, or Mormon tea, became more prominent. Rotund shrubs with a sweet smell. The sand is of a different sort. Decomposing granite from the high points above peltered from downpours, careening down gullies until settling in the beds for who knows how long. Dusk is different too. A different type of blue rather than a deep purple associated with the blanket of a usual oncoming night. The dusky blue is the most beautiful color I have ever seen. Spring flowers stood in a newness. Pinks, yellows, purples, and whites, all popped up in disturbed soil, loose for growth.
I am so fascinated by this planet we inhabit. Every ridge line, every vista, the countless contours, the serrated horizon shapes, the infinite spectrum of shades and colors, whatever it is, an unending curiosity, beyond the innate exploratory nature, the ceaseless wonder, I just need to see it all. With vision I learn as I walk experientially. It all ties in to my understanding of the world, of my self, and defines me as a wanderer, a traveler. And, right now, the Mojave Desert is the epitome of my sentiments. Startling scenery coupled with an intense lonesomeness is stirring the spirit. It's times like these where I wish I could look into a fishbowl, or gaze from a distance and see the dark silhouette of a wanderer roaming the vast and empty land. No footprints but my own.
That night I laid my bed down along an old dirt road. Around 2am I somehow woke up out of a deep sleep to headlights staring me down. Befuddled, I looked around blankly for what I do not know. After a few seconds I shook out of my slumber. A man walked towards me. A grizzled beard and dressed like a desert traveler, turns out Dave is a student of rock, a geologist. Out here in the middle of no where where he field researched his dissertation on a pyroplastic event some thousands of years ago, he comes back every year to keep verifying and validating his research and others. We connected in that sense. I related in that I am validating Buck's route and research. At 2am in the morning, we talked of the age of rocks, the earth, the lonesomeness of the desert, the animals of the desert, and management of public lands. The stars glittered above us and I felt a mutual connection with this scientist in the middle of the desert, of no where.
I spent the next morning walking to a rendezvous with my grandparents at an Interstate 40 exit. My family has made this desolate stretch much more doable in the scope of things. After a day of eating, getting gear situated, and just relaxing and hanging around with my grandparents they dropped me back off the next morning. The Granite Mountains and a 3000ft ascension and cross country scramble stood in the way. This blockade proved to be more than a challenge. Massive granite piles, remnants of spillage from the higher reaches, lay around like a pile of marbles made for giants, all patina stained with a spackled rust. Budweiser Spring, first on trail water source dripped slowly from a pipe into a very shallow mud puddle. The cattails around and in the corral and cement tank were dry and tinder-like. I gathered 4 drops in a cupped palm and tasted the sweet water. Birds chirped within the cubbies of the shaded, sun-drenched boulders. Up the drainage I went solving the maze of willows choking the canyon floor. Within the cattails a game trail showed the way. A cliffed out amphitheater, smoothed and enormous slabs of precarious granite loomed over me and made travel difficult. Once on a long ridge line the real climb began. I negotiated my through some of the bushiest terrain I've experienced. The jaunt through the Granites showed the typical rugged burliness and overgrown nature of a high desert range, except only heightened on so many levels. Down water-worn chutes and craggy pour-offs, weaving foot paths amid catclaw, cholla, and Spanish bayonets, and slurping pothole water sludge; this route is getting better and better.
In the evening, after finally getting out of the tangle of Bull Canyon, I strode towards camp. Evening slunk down with coolness and a beautiful deep purple hugging the western horizon, I stepped on a rock jammed in the dirt. No twisting or spraining motion occurred, but I flipped the rock up with my footstep. With a quick strike like a rattlesnake, the rock smacked right on the tip of my ankle bone. I felt that nauseous light-headedness associated with quick blood movement traveling through the body and yelped out. I limped into camp. A few hours later, I awoke suddenly writhing in pain. The ankle ballooned up and I forced down some meds to alleviate the pain and help me sleep. The next morning I hobbled through the Kelso Dunes to the Mojave Preserve Visitor. Once I assessed my situation I knew what I needed to do. Begrudgingly I put out my thumb and hitched to Baker, CA.
