For the first major hike today I drove outside the park & back in to the north-central most point at Fortynine Palms Oasis. Temps were starting to climb but overall today was beautiful and stayed around 80 degrees tops. Not bad for December, eh?
The trail climbs sharply up the mountainsides right from the start. You’ll do this twice each direction with around 600 feet elevation gain.
Atop the first climb you can see down into the canyon. The trail is quite clear for such a wild area.
Views along the way are nice but mostly you will be concentrating on climbs & descents without tripping until…
You reach the oasis & see the 49 palm trees hidden way down in the canyon. These appear alien when contrasted with the rest of the landscape.
Below the trees is the small oasis pools. Due to the season pools are quite small but contain crystal clear waters.
Signs are posted along the area warning against vandalism…
And yet people still carve their names into the trees. Humans can be real assholes sometimes. Let’s keep things nice for future visitors – remember to Leave No Trace!
One last shot of the palms before I have to make the trip back. For a 3 mile hike this one will totally blast your legs & glutes.
Hiking Data
Notice the elevation profile looks like camel humps- this hike definitely earns it’s “moderate” rating with two major hill climbs. Allow yourself plenty of time and take extra caution if going during hot weather. There was a famous case of a missing hiker who was never found last year but multiple hikers each year need helicopter rescue – be careful if you have health conditions!
