Allof75
Pathfinder
This past weekend my girlfriend and I headed out for a quick overnight to Joshua Tree National Park. SoCal has been witnessing a very warm spell, and we saw temperatures into the mid 70s our entire stay. Not many things on the trip quite went our way, but needless to say we had an overall good time.
After about 2 hours of driving, we stopped at Hadleys, a famous stop off of 10, known for its date shakes and celebrity contact.
Shortly after that, we were able to stop into our final destination for the night- the Cottonwoods Campground of Joshua Tree. Unfortunately upon acquiring our passes for the night, we learned the route we were planning on taking (Pinkham Trail) was washed out by the November rains, and was considered "nearly impassible" by the Ranger staff. Even though I would still be one to happily see just how "impassible" it was with the pathy, our time constraints and both my and my girlfriend's patience would have been tested should we have tried it. Not only was the trail essentially closed, but so was the nearby oasis which made the Cottonwoods famous in the first place. Bummer. So instead of doing either of these, we went to a nearby short hike.
Along the way we saw rocks,
and cactus.
Among many other interesting plants,
and outlooks.
The terrain was singularly rugged and strangely beautiful at the very same time.
We quickly thereafter headed back to find a campsite, and chose one with an excellent view.
We set up camp and made a salmon dinner, to which I of course not only forgot to pack a spatula (critical when cooking salmon on the stovetop), salad dressing, and a good stomach. I started feeling sick right before we needed to make dinner. Convenient.
So we choked down some burned salmon, and chewy pasta, and tried to make a fire, unsuccessfully. Now this wasn't because of lack of skill I assure, but instead something to do with either the wood or the fire pit itself. Either way, no matter how much wood I could get to light briefly, or how much coal it might create, the fire would just not light. So we abandoned that idea and headed to the tent, to turn in for the night.
To add some spice to the situation, our fellow campers, who moved in after we had set up, became more and more rowdy through the night. Eventually blaring music, getting lost, and becoming so plowed as to wander into other people's camps, and being forced back into their camp. They created a nuisance I always dread when going into a communal campground, but eventually my girlfriend and I were able to get to sleep.
All was not lost, as we did witness a gorgeous sunset. :elkgrin:
The morning after, I was feeling a bit better, and the day seemed to be off on a good start- I hadn't burned the coffee, and we worked a way around the lack of a spatula to make gluten free chocolate chip pancakes. My new Camp Logic Everest stove worked beautifully.
Quickly we packed up the tent and hit the road, at least an hour ahead of schedule.
After about 2 hours of driving, we stopped at Hadleys, a famous stop off of 10, known for its date shakes and celebrity contact.
Shortly after that, we were able to stop into our final destination for the night- the Cottonwoods Campground of Joshua Tree. Unfortunately upon acquiring our passes for the night, we learned the route we were planning on taking (Pinkham Trail) was washed out by the November rains, and was considered "nearly impassible" by the Ranger staff. Even though I would still be one to happily see just how "impassible" it was with the pathy, our time constraints and both my and my girlfriend's patience would have been tested should we have tried it. Not only was the trail essentially closed, but so was the nearby oasis which made the Cottonwoods famous in the first place. Bummer. So instead of doing either of these, we went to a nearby short hike.
Along the way we saw rocks,
and cactus.
Among many other interesting plants,
and outlooks.
The terrain was singularly rugged and strangely beautiful at the very same time.
We quickly thereafter headed back to find a campsite, and chose one with an excellent view.
We set up camp and made a salmon dinner, to which I of course not only forgot to pack a spatula (critical when cooking salmon on the stovetop), salad dressing, and a good stomach. I started feeling sick right before we needed to make dinner. Convenient.
So we choked down some burned salmon, and chewy pasta, and tried to make a fire, unsuccessfully. Now this wasn't because of lack of skill I assure, but instead something to do with either the wood or the fire pit itself. Either way, no matter how much wood I could get to light briefly, or how much coal it might create, the fire would just not light. So we abandoned that idea and headed to the tent, to turn in for the night.
To add some spice to the situation, our fellow campers, who moved in after we had set up, became more and more rowdy through the night. Eventually blaring music, getting lost, and becoming so plowed as to wander into other people's camps, and being forced back into their camp. They created a nuisance I always dread when going into a communal campground, but eventually my girlfriend and I were able to get to sleep.
All was not lost, as we did witness a gorgeous sunset. :elkgrin:
The morning after, I was feeling a bit better, and the day seemed to be off on a good start- I hadn't burned the coffee, and we worked a way around the lack of a spatula to make gluten free chocolate chip pancakes. My new Camp Logic Everest stove worked beautifully.
Quickly we packed up the tent and hit the road, at least an hour ahead of schedule.