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| | | Split Rock Loop - Discovery Loop, CA | | | |
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Split Rock Loop - Discovery Loop, CA
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| Hiking | 3.59 Miles |
481 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.59 Miles | 2 Hrs 10 Mns | | 1.92 mph |
| 481 ft AEG | 18 Mns Break | | | |
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| Partners |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Kelly and I had planned on this trip in Nov but the weather didn't cooperate and I'm sure glad about that. Our reward would be blooming Joshua Trees and many wildflowers! This would be my first trip to the park and it was well worth the wait. Fortunately, Kelly has been here a couple times so she knew her way around and that would make a big difference throughout our stay. We selected our itinerary based on the temperatures. We got to the Park at a decent time so we decided to go to Split Rock for lunch with a hike after. Kelly had not been here before so this would be new territory. We were lucky to find a very convenient parking spot and that would continue for our stay; it's been my year for that.
Our hike would start to the east side and within a minute I would get my first picture of a Joshua Tree. The trail is nice and wide for the most part so it's a walking-hiking/gawking feast. And of course, there's the rocks/boulders every which way you look. The geology is formidable but the rock lines (dikes) within the boulders are most interesting. And then there's lots of windows as you look about. We would also get to witness some wildflowers along the way including Chia, Poppies, Phacelia, Wiry Lotus, Desert (Canterbury) Bells and Scorpionweed. Needless to say, I was walking double-camera for this hike. We heard a big aircraft noise; it was three Ospreys and we would see them three times.
We came to an intersection with two junctions: Face/Skull Rock Discovery Trail and Split Rock Trail. We opted for the former and this would work great as we would see two popular formations on one hike; thus not having to stop for Skull Rock. We continued hiking for a short time and then arrived at the Face Rock which I didn't really notice at first save for the group of people there who said it was. The one gal thot the Park was glacially formed. I told her it was under water a couple of times and then there was seismic action involved. I suggested she watch the video online or at the visitor center https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.ht ... CF1091FA62.
We went between the boulder hallway and walked by some Joshua Trees that had blooms I could touch so I gave the bloom a little squeeze; it seemed plushy. Joshua Trees don't bloom every year but 2023 is the year so we got to see more than our fair share of JT blossoms. We eventually arrived at Skull Rock along with the masses of people. Behind it I noticed a window so we climbed up a rock for a closer look. Kelly headed back down before me and somehow managed to get a peopleless Skull Rock photo. We continued on the Discovery Loop and once again saw the three Osprey aircraft. Above us in a grouping of rocks we saw an unusual shaped rock on a bit of a pedestal of rocks and then between two large boulders as we headed west. There were more interpretive signs explaining some of what we were seeing.
We got back to the intersection and this time took the Split Rock Trail west. We saw additional flora but it was the boulders that were the star including a few we could sit in so we got some fun pictures. A little further along we saw a few Chuckwallas; I filmed one and got some good close-ups and then we saw a couple more. There was a boulder grouping that seemed to have a separate rock layer ramp up along its side. We made our way around to the end of the loop encountering various hikers along the way but not too crowded. The scenery was a little less bouldery on the west side. It was fun to come up to the backside (west) of Split Rock as it is cave-like and very cool. I bet most people who come up here don't go completely around the rock to see this. We told some other people while we were having our beers on the east side of the rock.
I think our pictures turned out pretty well considering full sun and the time of day. It was a little warm but an occasional breeze would refresh us... well mostly me as this is a piece of cake for Kelly. I was still recovering from a cold and I felt it a little from time to time. We drove to camp, found our spot and set up our tents. We had brot deli-lunches and I had a Red Grapefruit wine in a can I had bot in Chiricaco Summit. And for dessert I had a little Huck Whiskey and Fresca carbonated water; it was really a good combo. Then it was time for star-gazing. Sadly I had not completed the download process of my app so I only could use Night Mode to try and get a few pathetic pictures, including of the Dipper. Venus was shining brightly as well.
It was fun to edit photos and videos as I could study the boulder formations more closely. It really is fascinating and most of what we see occured underground. I've been watching Voyages of the Continents and that really helps to understand geology so much better. Here are two links to more info about the geology of JTNP: https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecolog ... ional-park
https://www.nps.gov/jotr/learn/nature/g ... ations.htm
Three videos as I took a lot of movies and there were a few chuckwallas:
[ youtube video ] Split Rock clockwise - Discovery Trail to Skull Rock
[ youtube video ] Skull Rock - Discovery Trail back to Split Rock Trail
[ youtube video ] Split Rock Trail (haven't reviewed this video yet) |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Many of the JT were in bloom  . Other blooming flora was limited. |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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