Facing the Elements: Joshua Tree Backpacking in a Rain Storm

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Join me for 3 days of Backpacking, Hiking and Desert Camping in the Rain while  exploring California’s Joshua Tree National Park.

For this winter desert camping adventure, I decided to do a solo backpacking trip in Southern California’s Joshua Tree National Park.  I chose the Maze zone as my primary area of exploration, with the added possibility of hiking along the storied Boy Scout Trail as well.

Due to backcountry camping permit regulations, I chose to obtain a permit for camping within the Maze Zone, with the possibility of hiking into and exploring the Boy Scout Zone by day.  This was mostly due to the fact that the Boy Scout Zone is the only JNP zone that requires you to specifically get a permit for 1 of 8 specific campsites, and I wanted to have some more flexibility to choose my campsites on the fly.

Getting a permit for the Maze zone allowed me to camp anywhere I wanted as long as I was at least 1 mile from an official trailhead, one half mile from any road, and 200 feet from any trail.  Prefect – that sounded like exactly the solitude I was looking for.

Being February in the Mojave Desert, my expected temperature range would be from roughly 40 to 75 degrees or so.  What about rain, you ask?  Well, 336 days out of the year, the answer would be a solid – “No need for rain gear over here!”.  I apparently arrived on one of those 29 other days.  No worries though. I think it provided a pretty unique opportunity to see the Mojave Desert during one of it’s most vital times for survival of plants and animals in this arid environment – a desert rain storm curtesy of El Niño.

For sleep and shelter, I packed in my Outdoor Vitals Fortius trekking pole tent, a 3-season sleeping pad and my Hammock Gear 40° down quilt.  Reliable drinking water is pretty much non-existent in Joshua Tree National Park regardless of the season, so I was tasked with packing in all of my drinking water for the entire 3 day trip.  For this reason, I decided to skip the usual dehydrated backpacking meal choices in favor of some cheap and easy ready to eat food options.

I also opted to ditch the stove and just go the no-cook backpacking food route, because why not?   Honestly, my pack was jammed to the hilt with water, and I just wasn’t in the mood to carry more fuel and cooking supplies.

Route Overview – Smoky Mountains Little River Gorge Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

A permit is required for backcountry camping in Joshua Tree National Park.  You can reserve them on the Joshua Tree National Park website here.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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My Wife Dropped me at the Mexican Border – Yuma County Backpacking

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3 Days of Desert Camping and Backpacking in Yuma County Arizona.

For this backpacking trip, I headed even farther south to a remote corner of Arizona not too far from border with with Mexico in an area known as the Kofa Wilderness.

For sleep and shelter I brought an ultralight trekking pole tent, 3-season inflatable sleeping pad, and a 40 degree sleeping bag, as the forecasted temperature range for this December adventure would range fro highs in the eighties down to as low as the upper 30’s depending on wind conditions and where I chose to set up camp in the vast array of mountains and valleys found in this corner of the American Southwest.

My choices for camping food on this backpacking trip would be pretty simple – mostly because there are no reliable water sources in this desolate sampling of the Sonoran Desert. Since I would have to pack in and carry all of my own drinking water from the start, there was little reason to spend money and effort on traditional dehydrated backpacking meals.

Instead I chose to hit the local dollar store for some calorie dense, if not nutritionally diminished, food sources. The end result? 3 days worth of calories for under twenty bucks, and no water or stove required. …there will plenty of opportunities to eat salad back in civilization. If I manage to get back there…

Trailhead Used:
King Road Access, 1/4 mile north of Yuma Customs Checkpoint on AZ Rt 95

Trails Used, Day 1

  • Horse Tanks Jeep Trail
  • None

Trails Used, Day 2

  • None
  • Random animal trail (?)
  • None

Trails Used, Day 3

  • None
  • Kofa Horse Tanks
  • None
  • King Road

 

 

A Strange Find in the Forest – Wood Stove Camping at 9,000′

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Backpacking & Solo Camping in the Snow Covered Mountains of Utah.

For this 3 day fall backpacking trip, I headed to the Wasatch Range to explore some snowy higher elevation trails in the mountains overlooking Utah’s Great Salt Lake.

The Wasatch Mountains span roughly 160 miles from the Utah-Idaho border down through central Utah, forming the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region. I chose to do an end to end hike for this trip, starting near Ogden, UT and utilizing a portion of the Great Western trail to hike along the ridge overlooking the Great Salt Lake nearly 5,000 feet below.

Route Overview – Wasatch Mountains Backpacking Trip – Sintax77

With a daily temperature range in the upper 70’s down to a bit below freezing at night, I decided to try my luck and still keep my backpacking load-out relatively minimal with just a 3 season sleeping pad , sleeping bag, and a light weight trekking pole tent. There’s nothing quite like wearing a t-shirt to keep cool during the day, only to wonder if you’ll be melting snow for drinking water later that night. Those desert like temperature swings really do keep things interesting.

To deal with the cold nights and mornings I packed three supplemental clothing items – a pair of synthetic base layer bottoms, puffy jacket, and lightweight knit hat. I also made the smart decision to hike wearing mesh trail-runners. I may have regretted this once I ascended past 8,000′ and into the heavily shaded pine forests…

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Escape Your Comfort Zone: Backpacking Mount Rushmore

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4 Days of Solo Backpacking, Hiking & Camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

For this late summer backpacking adventure, I decided check out two places I had never been to before – the Mount Rushmore Memorial and the adjacent Black Elk Wilderness within the Black Hills National Forest.

I was surprised to discover that there’s actually a trailhead right at the base of Mount Rushmore, so it seemed like to perfect opportunity to create a unique backpacking experience.

Speaking of those looming presidential faces, I should make an important point – While the Mount Rushmore statue, parking lot and visitor center, etc. is a National Memorial  (managed by the National Park Service), the surrounding area is National Forest, so dispersed camping is all good!

With that in mind, I mapped out a roughly 30 mile hiking loop using the available trails, packed my tent, sleeping pad and some backpacking food into my backpack, and got a ride from my wife to the trailhead.

Due to the close proximity to the National Monument, the trailhead parking lot is closed off to overnight parking. This probably makes this a lesser used starting point for backpackers, but it’s well worth it if you have someone nice enough to drop you off and pick you up after a few days of camping in the Black Elk Wilderness.

Route Overview – Mt Rushmore Black Hills Backpacking Loop – Sintax77

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

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Camping in a Shutdown Wilderness

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3 Days of Backpacking and Camping in the Dolly Sods Wilderness.

For this spring backpacking adventure, we headed down to West Virginia’s Dolly Sods Wilderness are for some hiking, camping, good views and good times. Oh, and some seclusion – we got more of that than we bargained for on this one.

Dolly Sods is the highest plateau east of the Mississippi River, with a wide variety of terrain and ecology, covering over 17,000 acers. Despite this vastness, it’s still a pretty well known spot amongst east coast hikers. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, and a little stubborn determination to do a 3 mile road hike, this ended up being one of my most unique experiences in the Sods, as it was virtually void of other backpackers.

James and I both went with single person tent camping setups on this trip to give us more camping options in the windswept, treeless areas that cover much of the plateau. We also packed in a bunch of real food and a frying pan to try our hand at some fun camp cooking recipes.

Oh, and speaking of cooking – did I mention that this wasn’t just the emptiest I’ve every seen Dolly Sods, but it was also the driest? They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. In our case, we had plenty of lunch, but there certainly were no free water sources. We would have to work a bit for that….

Our goal for this trip was to really just wing a do a good mix of time at camp and some mileage as needed, of course. If you’re planning a hike of your own in Dolly Sods and would like some detailed info on the area, including GPS data, gear used and trail descriptions, check out this post, where I do a solo backpacking trip with a full loop of the plateau and hike the majority of it’s main trails.

Season: Spring 2023

No permit is required to camp in the Dolly Sods Wilderness, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the USFS Dolly Sods website here.

Trailhead Used: Bear Rocks Trailhead,  N39° 03.794′ W79° 18.197′
Public Rd 75, Davis, WV 26260

The Bear Rocks trailhead has room for many vehicles and is reached via a dirt / gravel road. The grade is not too aggressive and should be fine for most 2wd cars if driven carefully (I saw a couple when I was there). No parking fee or permit required. Loop begins behind the large info board.

Dolly Sods Printable Trail Map from the USFS

Camping in the Middle of Nowhere – Jeep Tank on Empty

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Cold weather backpacking and hammock camping in Central Pennsylvania’s Tiadaghton State Forest.

For this adventure, I decided to grab my tarp and hammock and hike into the woods with not much of a plan other than to do some random exploration, find a suitable basecamp, and maybe have a little fun with some campfire cooking. Instead of relying on dehydrated backpacking foods as I usually do, I packed in a bunch of “real” food and a frying pan with the intention of skipping the backpacking stove and cooking exclusively on a good ol’ open campfire.

My backpacking load-out for this trip was relatively lightweight and minimal, but I did spend a few extra pounds on some fun camping items like a hatchet, cooking gear, and some cold weather clothing to deal with the forecasted 20° temperatures at night.

In addition to the camp food, I’ll give you a full look at the items that I pack in on a typical colder weather backpacking trip as well as my go-to tarp and hammock camping setup.

While I didn’t really use an official trailhead for this trip, I did stumble upon Pennsylvania’s orange blazed Mid-State trail before going off trail to look for my campsite for the night. The nearest town was Waterville, PA, which does have a very nice general store and parking for anyone interested in doing a proper backpacking loop with Pine Creek as the center piece. It’s an awesome area for fishing, hiking and backpacking.

In my case, I ended up on the upper ridges of gorge instead of down along the creek where I usually go, but it did make for a memorable experience somewhere deep in the woods of Pennsylvania…