The weather in Boron was tolerable but temps further along the highway looked uncomfortably warm. I decided to spend most of the day in the semi-shade and head out towards the next rest stop in the evening. The plan worked reasonably even though the temperature at the rest stop near Ludlow was actually hotter after dark than Boron was when we left before sunset. Still, I managed to get some sleep and we left early the next morning to head for the hills.
Mojave National Preserve has enough elevation to escape the worst of the desert heat in many places. I spent the rest of the day at a pullout in the preserve, wandering through the desert a bit before relaxing into the lack of pulsing heat. It was glorious. The desert is all kinds of amazing and this was the first of my "how have I spent my whole life not knowing how beautiful this is" epiphanies.
Yeah. I used to think John Muir was kind of a nut job since he drank tree juice and all that, but no, I think I'm beginning to understand how the beauty of the land affected him and wanting to become more like a sequoia now seems like a more logical next step when seeing what the world has to offer.
I went next to the information center at Kelso and based on recommendations from a ranger I headed to Teutonia Peak for a hike. It wasn't quite as flat as he seemed to remember but only the last 1/3 of a mile was more of a climb. The path to the peak passes through the densest Joshua Tree forest on the planet. The trees were named by early Mormon settlers who thought the trees (really yucca plants) looked like Joshua reaching up towards the heavens.
I want some of whatever those settlers were on.
Joshua Trees gave way to beavertail cactus when the ground started sloping upwards
and at the top there was only a scattering of cactus and other vegetation. The real draw was the view.
Another excellent place to spend a night.
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