Sanguine Tenacious Tidings

Lost Palma Oasis Trail

Hiking a trail in Joshua Tree National Park with Andre"

LOST PALMS OASIS

We aren’t to ambitious today. We picked a trail that was well marked and not VERY long. It is suppose to have lots of wildlife on it.

Reference from Wikipedia: Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees native to the Mojave Desert. Originally declared a national monument in 1936, Joshua Tree was redesignated as a national park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act. Encompassing a total of 795,156 acres – slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island – the park includes 429,690 acres of designated wilderness. Straddling San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, the park includes parts of two deserts, each an ecosystem whose characteristics are determined primarily by elevation: the higher Mojave Desert and the lower Colorado Desert. The Little San Bernardino Mountains traverse the southwest edge of the park.

Andre’, Darla, and I chose the LOST PALMS OASIS trail. Temperatures here are possible to climb as high during the day as 107 degrees. Andre’ is outfitted with some open air sandals with lots of cushioning and support for the trail walk. It did not take long for him to decide the Spiky Joshua trees were not to his liking for climbing.

Joshua trees come in lots of sizes, from short and bushy to tall and spindly. The amount of limbs they have depends on whether they have ever blossomed. In the spring they get a white-green blossom. Since this trail is in Joshua Tree National Park. We are seeing a lot of these trees all over the park. The Mormons gave the tree it’s name. There are different stories about why it was named after Joshua in the Old Testament of Scripture.

The tree has a symbiosis with the Yucca Moth. The Yucca Moth pollinates the trees. When the larva hatch inside the blossoms they eat some of the seeds as there primary sustenance.

Joshua trees, Yucca brevifolia, were used by the Native Americans to make baskets and sandals. They also added the flowers and baked seeds to their food supplies. Later settlers used the wood to fuel steam engines and built fences or corrals. You can buy the seeds on Amazon and Etsy among other places.

Our walking trail today takes us a little more than 2 miles to the Oasis and back 2 miles. We brought umbrellas to protect us from the sun. I hope it works. Although the trail is fairly well marked, we have been warned to be careful to follow the markers and not move off onto any branching trails or we could get lost. I’m curious as we see quite a few branches off out trail. They are actually closed with rows of rocks to help keep us on the trail to LOST OASIS.

Walking along the scenery is really special. You can see different wildlife forms as we go along. Our guide book says there are 57 species of mammals. With lots of Joshua trees along the trail we see nests in the trees built by the yellow and black Scott's Oriole. I’ve been busy noting the different bird species I see. The hummingbird is so different from ones I see at home. This one is larger and brown striped with some reddish feathers on the head. We stop for some rest along the way. There is a desert tortoise watching us along the trail. Also, seeing rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks running from us toward the nearest Joshua tree for cover. Several different kinds of lizards are along the trail. I’m surprised to learn there is a kind of equana that lives in the park.

At one point Andre’ saw a rattle snake several feet off the trail. It curled and rattled its tail. Then it slithered away. The incident, made Andre’ jump onto Darla's shoulders and ride for a couple hundred feet. She said it wasn’t to bad, because Andre’ held the umbrella which left her hands free to take pictures.

As we approached the Oasis, it turned out that the trees growing near the water were very large Joshua trees. We crept in quietly so not to frighten wildlife at the watering hole. There were a couple coyote there. You think of the word Oasis, when you see one for real it shows you how special an oasis is, a cool spring with shady trees in the midst of sandy heat and dryness.

The oasis was partly surrounded by a ridge of high rocky soil. Our guidebook says there is a branch trail that goes up to an overlook spot, where you can look down on the oasis. It is cooler here slightly, a peaceful stopping place within the surrounding scorching, desert scenery.

The trip back was more down hill, as we had to climb some rising areas, when we walked in. The scenery along the way took us through some dry washes. We also, had to walk along within a wash to get to the oasis. That was one place on the way back, we had to be careful to enter the wash and leave it at the proper place to pick up the trail.

Andre’ has a knack for following trails. He kept us going the right way both out and then back. A little over 4 miles out and back. We had lunch at a picnic table in the shade when we returned.
The scenery here is amazing. Very alien when compared with the North Eastern states, where we are from. I’m going to remember the environment forever. The Joshua Trees are really special when you see them up close.

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