This year’s trip to Shot Show took us on another desert adventure from San Diego to Vegas, last time we knocked out the driving on the front half this time we took a slower approach enjoying and exploring our “back yard”. Being based out of San Diego County we see our fair share of Desert and usually opt for the less beaten path, this trip we decided to make a stop in Joshua Tree and see what all the excitement is about…
So up front this is by no means the definitive guide to J Tree but more of mu impressions of car camping and a day trip which isn’t to uncommon for most of us. I know ow this is a destination for rock climbing; I can climb the stairs at the indoor climbing gym so this is not that article either, but mainly for San Diegans lured to the mystic of J Tree. I think there is a lot of press about this park but I personally don’t know if it’s worth the drive when we have Anzo Borrego in our back yard with improved and primitive camping.
Speaking of camping, we arrived Friday night on the first day of a government shutdown, luckily they roving bands of marauders had not begun searching the desert for the “precious juice” the visitor centers where just closed and park services were not available. Since we came up from the South the first campsite we hit was Cottonwood which turned out to be a good thing since every other site was full, so not the campsite furthest from LA is the way to go. The sites where first come first serve where we were at and not too expensive. I will say this though a lot of people trying to fit mini campers into tight spots and the sites are on top of each other so it’s not a remote camping experience but the facilities are awesome and these are great jumping off point to day adventures like…
The Cactus garden! I don’t know what possessed god to make this area but it is the heaviest concentration of Cholla cactus I have ever seen. It’s impressive and luckily they made a nice path (don’t take your dog, stay on the path). I love it they even had a ammo can first aid kit at the trail head with directions on removing spines.
Our next stop was White Tanks camp ground to do some hiking. This is where J Tree started to provide some cool stuff for me. Like I said I’m still hard to impress here but I did enjoy the trails and the Joshua Trees everywhere. The rock formations and climbers were also really fun to watch.
I know there is a lot more to this awesome place than my brief description of an over nighter, you should definitely check this place out I just really suggest doing it in the off season and if you’re coming from the south it is my humble opinion that Anzo Borrego might offer a little pore bang for your buck.
