LAX to Desert Hot Springs
 

If there is one thing I've learned from CP is that the wealth of knowledge is far better than any TripAdvisor crap or similar site that you would scroll thru on the internet....usually... ;)

While we suffer thru our PM hangover today hoping the Packers win and on the last snap of the game Rogers breaks his pinkie ring finger I would like to pick your all mighty brains.

I live in upstate NY and I've gone North, South even across the pool to my Right but I gotta say I'm a Virgin to the west coast.

My wife has a company meeting in Palm springs but we land in the horror I'm told is LAX.
On top of that we land at noon.
Since we need to get to our resort quickly(if that is possible) in Desert Hot Springs we will not be site seeing.
Grab our rental at LAX and hit the highway.
It looks like a fairly straight shot on google maps..approx 2:30 travel time.

So my first questions are
LAX is truly a nightmare?
The surrounding highways...will I be at a stand still til I've cleared LA?

Google maps shows us I'll be using Highway numbers.. 105/605/10
Anything interesting to see on this ride?
I'm guessing I'll see some scenic views that I'm not used to which is interesting in itself.

Our list to dos are..

Soak up the scenery type(Rocks,cactus, desert terrain wildlife etc. that we've never seen before.
Going on the popular Palm springs Aerial Tramway.
Once were 8500 FT above the sea level..is it worth doing the 2 hour hike to the peak(10,000 FT)? has anyone been here or done this?

We're spending one full day at Joshua state park exploring.
Our plan is to leave there in the evening then go back near midnight and do the star gazing thing...I'm told it IS mind blowing with Zero light pollution.

Those are the typical things on the agenda the others are.

Buy our first Legal weed ever...my wife who rarely smokes anymore says to me... Ok so we land then we hit the highway then we buy a god damn Legal joint and burn that shit up!!.... I think I just stared at her and finally said..is there anyway we can leave tomorrow?! :)

Swim in the Hot Mineral springs at the hotel.

And of course Good Eats.

There is a Mexican place called South of the Border a walk away from our Hotel seems to have good reviews.
There is also a breakfast place in Palm springs called Cheeky's.

I should say our Hotel is 20 minutes from the Main Joshua Park Entrance at Joshua Village & we are 20 minutes from Palm Springs.

The location despite the Crime warnings seem to be pretty good.

Sorry to clutter the lounge with this but any tips or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

If nobody has any this thread will soon fall under the weight of the Injury reports & how long PM should sit threads.

Noon at LAX...you're ****ed.

But the actual airport is fine. Straight shot to baggage claim. But once you're out that traffic is brutal. The 10 will test your soul.

This may be the fastest way to get there.

https://orbicair.com/i-7335329-priva...m-springs.html

LAX: After getting off your plane and to baggage claim will take about 30 minutes. Last 2 times I landed at LAX it took from 30-60 minutes just to leave the arrivals terminal with the amount of traffic. If you’re driving on a weekday towards the desert-good luck. I was just out there a week ago and the drive was about 4 hours. I was also going from Orange County so it was about 30 miles less than what you have to travel. Everyone lives that direction because homes are too expensive in LA and OC and you’ll be in rush hour traffic.

Advice:Hang out in LA or OC for a bit unless you don’t mind a 5 hour drive.

Joshua Tree: Was just there. The park is nice. But it’s all the same and it looks all the same. Bring food/drinks with you. We saw everything in a couple hours.

Food: The best Mexican food will be in LA. Try King Taco along the way. You’ll have better food options in Palms Springs than Desert Hot Springs.

The area: it’s full of sand people. These are tweakers with no teeth and no social skills. They live out there for a reason. It’s a time warp out there, you’ll definitely be stepping into the twilight zone. I’m not a smoker so I have no advice about that, however there are weed shops everywhere and they will even deliver to your hotel so you don’t have to worry about driving.

Watch out for your cornhole.
Sec

Next time...fly into ontario....much easier, and probably much quicker to palm springs. Palm desert is actually much nicer than palm springs....just another 5-10 miles down the main drag. My only must-do recommendation would be golf in palm desert. Tons of great courses....and perfect time of the year where its not a billion degrees

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Definitely go the 105 route as far east as you can so the route you mentioned is probably right on the money. The 10 on a Sunday can be bad but hopefully you are going opposite of traffic. It is however some of the least interesting scenery in LA. Lots of industrial areas.

LAX operates pretty smoothly most of the time for all the traffic if it isn’t a holiday but in future should you come to the area again, I’d recommend the Burbank airport to you. It’s less likely to get overwhelmed.

I can't add more than the Californians can, but I'll point out that my wife and I went to Palm Desert a couple of years ago and really liked it. We stayed at some gargantuan resort (Marriott?). We drove from the Orange County airport and the traffic wasn't fun, but it wasn't stop and go or anything, just busy from door to door.

You didn't mention what day you are arriving?

Yes, LAX is a nightmare. Certainly right now, with all of the construction. It's a major pain in the ass.

Yes, you will be hitting traffic. I'm an Airborne Traffic and News Reporter for a News Radio Station here, I fly the freeways Monday-Friday. If you land at Noon during the week, I would imagine you will probably be departing LAX somewhere around 1:00-1:30 PM, maybe later. That is the getting into peak drive time during the afternoon, which lasts until 7:30, even later. Things start tapering off around 6:30 though.

Your route of the 105, 605 to the 10 will have the following traffic congestion:

105 Eastbound will be on and off slow from LAX toward the 605. If there isn't a wreck, it won't be locked up totally solid...but it will be slow...

605 Northbound will be slow from the 105 to the 5, and then on and off slow slowing will continue through the 60 freeway toward the 10

10 Eastbound will be slow from the 605 to toward the Azusa Avenue exit, and then get heavier from the 57 through Pomona - On and Off slowing will continue through Ontario and Fontana, and slowing through Rialto, San Bernardino and Redlands will also be a reality.

Actually, the path of least resistance would be taking the 405 Southbound to Artesia Blvd, head Eastbound on Artesia which will take you to the 91. You can take the 91 Eastbound into Riverside, onto the 60/215 (basically the 60) through Moreno Valley - the 60 Terminates at the 10, which you can pick up and continue to Palm Springs (10 to the 111) - The entire route will be slow.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is FUN! Bring a jacket, it will be chilly at elevation, especially this time of year.

Feel free to PM me for my cell number. I'll check out traffic for you and try to give you a heads up if anything crazy is going on.

Good Luck

Scott

chinaski seems to have a good resume for this thread.

Thx Rain Man. It's my job 5 days a week. :)

Once you get the rental car, drive as fast as you can away from LA, once you get deep in the desert pull over on adirt road and bang the ol lady for 10 minutes so you start your trip on the right note.

I knew you guys would not let me down!

I get in the future a better landing spot than LAX will be in order.

And yes I should've mentioned Arrival is this "Wednesday" Noon.

So normally LAX runs fairly smooth...but is currently under construction.
I can expect it to take til 1:30 before I'm pulling out.
My plan of taking 105/605/10 sounds about right to most but more because yes it'll get me there but maybe not the Best way.
And I don't want to lose my soul to 10.:evil:

chinaski Your Hired!!
Airborne Traffic and News Reporter for a News Radio Station...the CP brain trust is amazing.
Your information on the route/traffic is unbelievable!
I'm going to research your suggestion I just may drop you a line Thank you!

Also suggested..
protect my Cornhole.
bang my wife 10 minutes after departing the city.

I did notice while researching on the internet that we just may in parts feel like we've entered the twilight zone and feel like we've time warped into the past.
I've read there are stores towns bars and restaurants that still look as they did 80 years ago.

I also realize we may enjoy Palm springs a little more than Desert Hot springs..as in Food and walking around etc.

Tramway is a for sure.
I realize the top temp is what 40 degrees cooler than the bottom.
The big question is whether or not were going to hike to the peek.
We may feel that the top of the Tram is plenty.
But we do like to Hike.
Its more..spend 5 hours total to get to the peek or go back down and do something else.

Thx again for the information!!!

Well covered by the current experts. Don’t know how you could have gotten anymore relevant information.

For your Desert Hot Springs stay; anticipate weird noises (well not weird out there: https://www.29palms.marines.mil/Port...-29-161654-113)

I’m not counting any devil worshippers that you encounter at midnight at the Amboy Crater.... https://www.desertusa.com/desert-cal...ater-rt66.html. Enjoy your trip.

Palm Springs is terrific. Have Cuban food at Ricks.

Desert Hot Springs is methtown. You’ll want to hang out in PS as much as possible.

These guys pretty much covered it, but I would not fear the traffic. It isn't as bad as the legend states. but Grew up there, so maybe I ma used to it.

My advice is to get your bags and ge the rental car shuttle to the rental place, get your car and head out as soon as you can. 30 minutes difference can mean over an hour difference on the road.

Stay on the 105 as long as you can (to 605) and it will undulate speeds. Don't expect any good scenery until you are well out the 10 almost to the Palm Springs freeway (the 111?) and into the desert.

also, it may open up as you get closer to palm spring sand you may feels the urge to make up time by going faster than 75 MPH. I don't advise it. Cops lurk everywhere for that exact reason. Though, they may be more prone to pulling over a porsche audi or ferrari rather than a Kia Sorrento rental car.

It will be beautiful there this time of year. And cold at night. your list of things sounds great.

I will just say that I have never been out to that area of Cali but in regards to your question about hiking to the peak from the tramway, remember the altitude. At 8500 feet you may well have issues and trying to then hike up from there may not be a good idea. Altitude sickness is a real thing (as they say in Denver, at "only" 5280 feet) and not to be ignored.

Otherwise, have fun and enjoy your first trip to the West coast!

And the Info keeps on coming THX

If I hear sounds in the night I'll know what it is.
My wife and I are 54 she works out daily still I work out BI monthly..Achem..and honestly we do realize Altitude sickness is real so we will be prepared and see how we feel at 8,500.

And again it seems everyone agrees play around in Palm Springs Not Desert hot springs.

This is true. It's Mount San Jacinto, which is the 2nd Tallest Mountain in Southern California after San Gorgonio. I have been up there in October, there was snow. Plan accordingly, it's total wilderness, so be careful for sure. Neat place though.

Indian Casino's in Downtown Palm Springs are actually not that bad, and the restaurants in the Casino(s) are actually pretty decent. Had a pretty good steak at one place after my wife hit on the slots.

For a breakfast spot, Michael's Cafe in Cathedral City had pretty legit Biscuits and Gravy the last time I was there, which is going back a decade or more. Silly place though, it's like an homage to Marilyn Monroe.

Maybe you could trade him 10 boxes of Mahomes Magic Crunch for a chopper ride from LAX to the desert for him and his wife.

Win-Win! :thumb:

You should get a Ford Tempo and just drive it. Forget the plane, be good time for you and the Miss. Cp could assist with your cross country trip.

LA traffic is 24-7. Just drive 80 mph.

I did Joshua tree with a hummer tour.

On 10...there is the In and Out burger store.

Palm desert etc is a great place to be. Have fun.

Concur. West coast driving etiquette is completely different from I 95.
Keep up or blow up.

And another thing , kids. Safety first in the desert.


This time of year, these guys seek warm holes like sleeping bags at night. Be more vigilant after sunset. Or folks sitting quietly in a car in the desert, before stepping out. They’re not looking for a scrap and unless stepped on usually rattle a warning. They will stand their ground and cause you to scream and jump like a little girl. Or so I’ve heard...


“Even though all rattlesnake species are venomous, this species is particularly dangerous to humans. The Mojave rattlesnake has the most potent venom of any rattlesnake in North America. Its venom is about 16 times more toxic than that of the Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes) and surpasses even that of the tiger rattlesnake (Crotalus tigris).”

Don’t want you to adjust anything just be aware. The majority of bitten Marines are the clearly due to the Marine’s fault. Never fails but 1 or 2 a year are bitten on the Mouth/face. Figure that one. Not sleeping. They’re protected on the combat center. Doesn’t help much just increases the fine

https://snake-facts.weebly.com/mojave-rattlesnake.html

I think I know who he is. He's a legit news guy flying all over So Cal.

I'm a bit surprised no one has advised the OP on the best place to buy pot and what strains to look for.

Shrooms in Joshua Tree will change your life

See my replies above.

If you really want the lost in time experience check out the Salton Sea next to Joshua Tree - look for a bar called the Ski-In in Bombay Beach. The burger are pretty good considering where you are.

Next door is also Slab City - where a bunch of snow birds and squatters have created sort of this anarchic compound on an old air force base (but they're very friendly). There is a lot of art made out of old car parts and stuff for sale.

If are hungry for good Mexican - check out Consuelo's in Banning, CA. It's on the way to Palm Desert. Very authentic.

Suzzer reminded me of a couple amplifications
1) Banning Pass is the start of the transition in terrain to the high Desert.
2) Likely won’t hit to many Snowbirds yet. They migrate enmass after Thanksgiving but you may hit some early, particularly Canadians. “Slabbers” are unique.

My father in law and his wife is there now. No need to say hi.

If you posted this before you bought tickets I would have told you to fly in to Burbank and take the 210, both are incredibly superior to LAX/10.

That said LAX won't be as bad as people say.








but the 10 on the other hand...thank your lucky stars you land at noon. Get on the road as fast as humanly possible. If you get caught in rush hour you're turbo****ed.



I've done this. It's a completely different temperate zone up there. Bring winter clothes, seriously. Also it will be a whole day thing but it is absolutely worth it.

Palm Springs is really kitschy and super cool in a midcentury antique shopping Marilyn Monroe Wearing White Sunglasses kind of way. Do a house tour or just go shopping. Spend time in the pool.

don't do anything I wouldn't do like do a bunch of molly and then go dancing in a gay bar. Allegedly.

Palm Springs, and most of the Desert in Riverside County is Low Desert actually. Palm Springs proper is only 100 feet in elevation...of course the mountains make the topography incredibly impressive. :)

210 is definitely "better" but I wouldn't say it's that much better. I drive that slog frequently as we have a cabin in the San Berdoo's. Regardless, I would rather be on the 210 over the 10, 60, 91 etc. Those freeways, for lack of a better term, suck.

Heed this advice OP, it's sound. It's a completely different climate.

I live in Studio City and work in Century City. The difference in getting to Palm Springs is "less than two hours" compared to "three to four to kill yourself" based on the time of day.

That's all I was trying to say, it's easier to avoid that traffic nightmare.

If you're going to do a satellite airport then fly into Ontario, or Palm Springs.

Ontario isn't bad. And the drive to PS is great. PS airport is easy.

Heard Ontario airport was in trouble financially, but that was some time ago.

The good advice just keeps rolling in THX

I'll be flying out of upstate NY(Binghamton) at 6 A.M to Detroit.
At take off the Temp will most likely be near freezing.
So between that and the AC on the plane we will be dressing in what we would hike to the top of the peek in.

So in a span of 36 hours we will go from 32 to 99 to 32 and it'll be like home.

I've been told the top of the tram its 30-40 cooler than the bottom.
So I'm guessing the final 1500 drops it a bit further(obviously)

I've jotted down all the food suggestions and some good ideas where to go.

The comment about being cautious in Joshua of the Rattlers is some good advice that I probably needed to hear.
Basically keep your spider sense active & don't make a dumb ass mistake that could've been easily avoided.

So I plan to wear my Chiefs hoodie on the flight ..should I make sure to take it off quick in LAX or risk getting stabbed? :)

Sigh. Nobody's going to stab you. No one cares about sports here anyway. You'll probably get a bunch of Chiefs/Mahomes shoutouts before you leave the airport.

I wish you had more time I'd take you all over LA and show you normal people outside having fun, exercising, eating meals - in nice neighborhoods as well as blue collar neighborhoods. The most incredible cheap food from 100s of cultures. Perfect weather. Endless stuff to do in every direction. White hot job market. Best looking women in the world.

It's not quite the wasteland most of the country thinks it is here. The traffic is very real. And there are lots of homeless but they tend to stick to certain areas which are pretty easy to avoid. The rest is mostly propaganda.

Thank you and I believe you that the area has a Ton to offer.
I wish I had a lot more time as well.
I am curious your thoughts on the fact were staying in Desert Hot springs then?
Keep in mind we thought the locale was good as far as 20 minutes from Joshua and 20 minutes from Palm Springs.

Roger. Thanks. And the Salton sea is 225’ below. Hence my words: “Banning Pass is the start of the transition...”

You know how the Riverside smegma stops at Banning and clearer air begins eastbound or the reverse, the ceiling East of Banning stops in the pass there and the LA basin smegma begins. Either way Banning is a transition point and usually sanctuary forward if coming out of LA basin.

It's very nice this time of year. You'll love it.

Wow, Chinaski. What a great guy.

If you're going to Joshua Tree and you want to hike around my first suggestion would be Jumbo Rocks. Don't miss it.


Here's saphojunkie walking around it.


https://i.imgur.com/u8BDyhm.jpg

Hey all my wife & I are back safe and sound.

I was given a lot of insight & help on this thread so I'd like to say thx and give an update.
Pictures were mostly taken on our Real camera/not cell so I need to upload them I'll post a few of them down the road.

So one of the biggest conversations on here was the travel.
I was supposed to land in LAX at noon on Wednesday.
Many of you gave suggestions on highway route,how traffic would be etc.
Also a few said you should be landing in Palm Springs.
That said...

We arrive at the airport 5 AM here in Binghamton go thru TSA.
While sitting at the gate the Captain comes out and tells us after an inspection there were metal fragments found in the tires and he has determined this plane is unsafe to use.
This is a small airport.
He says the Delta mechanic and tires are at least 8 hours from being there.
So many of us have been in this position(delayed,Cancelled) but a bell went off in our heads..maybe we can make this work for us.
Get to the closest airport that has a Delta flight going into Palm Springs.
Delta cooperated. And shuttled us to an airport an hour away.
Our car had to stay in Binghamton where the return home flight was landing.
Two pit stops on the way to Detroit and Salt Lake...but hey were now landing in Palm springs And we should arrive in Palm Springs an hour before our original plan.

I mentioned I was going to wear my Chief hoodie for the travel & some said I'll probably hear Chief shout outs PM shout outs even in L.A.
Well I gotta say on the plane to Detroit random people started talking to me about the Chiefs.
We get off the plane in Detroit and I'm barely out of the walkway & people were saying Go Chiefs.
Sit down in gate and people would begin talking Chiefs.
My wife at this point is laughing and I'd joke i told you Mahomes is special & the average fans are drooling over PM taking Brady down.
So we sit to eat, people talking football with me.
On to the next gate.
While waiting people talking to me about the Chiefs.
Sticking my carry on in overhead someone in the back Go Chiefs!

So by now my wife was looking at this as a running joke all day.
We land in Salt Lake.
Walking up the walkway my wife Joked well here we go Chief Ambassador you better get your game on here comes that adoring public.
We barely pass the podium and some guy walks in my way shakes my hand and says you just gotta be proud of your Chiefs!!
If there was a drink in my mouth it would've come out..my wife laughs.
Anyhow you get the picture this went on all travel day til I entered the Heat and my hoodie came off.

If there is any doubt in your minds
We are the nations hope.
If it cant be "Their" team knocking down the Patriots then people are pulling for us in a bad way.
..........

As I mentioned I've never been out west.
Looking at the snow capped mountains around the Salt Lake airport was amazing to us.
Our mountains are much smaller and covered with trees you cant see them in the way you see these.
The short flight from Salt Lake to Palm springs was also amazing.
It was clear enough so we could see the ground.
The endless mountains and barely any sign on life no homes no towns mile after mile was incredible.
Then out the window the green of Palm Springs stands out like a Bullseye.
Nice airport very easy to grab our rental hit the road and an easy drive to resort.

I do get what many were saying when they compared Desert Hot Springs to just down the road Palm Springs.
Upper middle class type crowd connected by a short strip of highway to their lower middle class neighbor.
Someone mentioned Meth..I did see some Meth heads in Desert..none in Palm.
And I do not want to say it was all due to an income difference either.
It was like two different communities with slightly different personalities.
The first morning we got up and had reservations for the Aerial Tramway.
On route we stopped at the Micro Buddery Dispensary .
That was a fun experience to be sure.
Bought a couple of joints and the owner gave us some free chocolates.

I'll try to speed this up :)

The Tramway... if your in Palm Springs you do the Tramway!
And not just go up and down at the very least do the 1 mile Hike and see the 5 major look out points.
The people taking chances while "high" on the edge of various cliffs taking selfies will get your heart racing.
And at first I didn't think the elevation was bothering me but as you hike you begin to feel like you've hiked 3 times farther than you actually have.
Breathing a little heavy,Heart racing a little.
Besides that we were fine for 53 yr olds I suppose.

...
Its hard to list all the good food we had on the trip.
We didn't have a bad meal.
Buzz on at Cheekys having breakfast and trying their famous Bacon Flight was great.
The jalapeno Bacon ..wow.
...

My wifes newest joke was the fact that we brought the average age of any room we entered down a bit.
At 53 we were younger than most.

...
Joshua park.
I'm not sure what there is to say it is what it is.
Often you would look at a new rock mountain formation or field of Trees/cactus and your mind would be.. Holy crap!
You could take 1000 pics all day so eventually you have to settle down.

Went on a 5 mile intermediate hike.
We did go prepared water food etc.. but about 4 miles in my wife began to get hot & tired...this turned into her saying...should this have been our first hike here.
Probably not no.
Nobody in site no clear markers.
She began drinking more water than normal.. I didn't want to make her more nervous but I had to say honey.. plz go easy on the water...I'm thinking just in case.
We eventually got back to the car but wasted much time.

I wanted to say that the heat to us was strange.
When its 95+ here in the North East you can get heavy humidity along with it.
Its very hard to breathe the airs thick wet hot.
So Dry 95 felt like 80 to us.
I'd notice people around us sweating chugging water running for shade & were saying without the humidity we have at home this doesn't feel so bad.
A Ranger was talking to me he understood what I was saying he was from PA.
But what I didn't take into account was that the sun is still baking us no matter how were able to handle the temp.
Going light on the water of course caused my mouth to be dry..but my lips ouch a few hours later I had some burnt/chapped lips.

After that we did all the normal stuff Skull rock was cool and this is after seeing pictures of it many times beforehand.
Between the cars AC and it getting dark I had put my hoodie on.
Bunch of guys talked Chiefs/PM right in front of skull rock.

Later we stayed past dark to star gaze...you just gotta see it to believe it.
No light pollution at all.

...

Our body clocks never caught up so each day we were up 4:30 AM ish
But wow without our kids with Budds Hot springs 24/7..
My wife would be like lets catch a buzz go in the hot springs ..come back and you might get lucky.;)
This was every morning...why cant I live like this forever...why..?
And the sky at sunrise & sunset is incredible.

....
So before our final night we went to the Palm Springs street festival.
We had already gotten what we wanted in seeing the land.
Now it was time to mingle see some of the general public.
We parked in a parking ramp got out of our car and walked up to a group of elderly woman joking around laughing having a good time.
As we got closer we noticed their all getting high.
I was thrilled for these elderly woman having a good time in what is Taboo here in NY.
It definitely adds something to that age brackets cocktail hour or early bird dinner.

I also want to say while at the festival everyone behaved, buzzed or drunk everyone getting along laughing zero trouble.
Went to all the booths to see what gets this area off.
They craft some cool shit and they definitely leaned on munchies for the buzzed.
Giant hot off the flat iron chocalate chip cookies..they were so damn good!

...

Then came our early ride to LAX.
We were still flying out from the original plan.
Leaving the resort at 6 AM on a Weekend we figured we'd be ok.
And for the most part we were.
We were early enough so 10 was moderately busy.
It began to get busy on the 105.
Looking around L.A. gave us another perspective of Cali.
Lots of money up in there them houses on the Hills/Cliffs.

Chinaski are you normally in a Helicopter painted half White and Black?

Before entering TSA we had to dump the little bit of weed we still had and my wife suggested lets eat theses chocolates the Bud tender gave us and sleep on route.
Well my wife barely smokes anymore much less does edibles so I warned her there kind of strong and we wont be on the plane yet when they kick in.
She said that is fine.
Well a few walks around to stretch our legs we park again at the gate and I look over at her & shes got the biggest smile on her face and she begins to laugh..and i'm like holy shit Honey your wasted...I laughed what are you gonna do.. amirite?

We only saw a small fraction of LAX but the gate we were in was a tiny Hub with hardly any room to move.
The ladies room line was 20 deep.

Finally it was time to board, my wife slept ;)

Overall it was a Great experience.
We saw the geography we wanted to see and got a taste of the public.
And yes I gather each part of Cali has a different personality.
We truly were amazed at how Palm Springs and Desert hot springs were connected by that short highway strip(which needs some litter clean up) but seemed to have their own feel.

I forgot to mention many times I felt that time warp feeling.
Like is this 1970 or even farther in the past.

Thx again to everyone I probably forgot something I might add later ;)

Nice writeup! Glad you enjoyed yourself.

Yeah I think something about how fast you go from sea level to 8800 feet on the tramway, and then exerting yourself, causes potential altitude sickness. My GF got sick on that scenic hike too.

It's pretty cool passing 4 different ecological zones on the way from desert to alpine. You can do it in a hike too - called cactus to clouds - that's one of the roughest day hikes in existence - 8000' of elevation gain, 10,600' if you go all the way to the summit.

https://www.visitgreaterpalmsprings....ke-in-america/

Really enjoyable to read that and glad you had a good time. It's almost impossible to have a bad time in Joshua Tree.

Death Valley is another story

I love Death Valley. But I love everything outdoors.

It's amazing but I was just alluding to the possibility of having an extremely bad time there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley_Germans

Germans love to go there in summer for some reason.

I asked a woman who works at Furnace Creek what 130 was like. She said you can't wear jewelry outside for more than a few seconds or it burns your skin.

Nothing like being in your 50's and also being the youngest ones their.

Good thread.

I didn't realize we are near to being America's Team.

You guys may find this interesting on that subject.
I asked a Ranger how often they have to do a search and rescue.
On a typical day there are one or two.
Usually one due to being lost and normally one due to injury.

One Ranger who I became friendly with adds..They usually end well but there is still a guy hiking out there since this time last yr.

I was like.. ouch.. just no way to find him?
Nope not on foot or helicopter.
I asked what about Drones.
He said well their illegal over a national park even by the staff themselves.
But that all changes November 16th Joshua state park is allowed to use a highly advanced drone to search and rescue.
First mission and the reason this was pushed for was this guy lost in the park.

I said..well there is obviously no heat signature and I'm guessing he past in the shade of trees or under boulders.

He said the tech is hard to explain but they were at an information meeting..
Somehow this drone will be able to see this guys skeleton.

But the trick obviously is flying close to over the body.
It could take a little bit of time.

Do not doubt this.
Were not exactly the old Cowboys yet but the strangers that just wanted to talk about the Chiefs chances to finally knock out Brady was unbelievable.
And who didn't want to talk about PM or his injury.
Once in awhile I'd ask who is your team..I heard them all Bills,Rams,Bengals,Lions,Bears to name a few even some Raider fans.
I almost got sick of saying Go Chiefs back at someone as we walked thru Airports..I said almost sick of it.:)

On the way home a guy says Go Chiefs and I said... Thanks..
I kept walking thinking did I really just say thanks instead of Go Chiefs.
That is how old it got.

If anybody wants to read a fantastic write-up by the guys who found the Death Valley Germans here is a link. This is very much worth your time.




https://www.otherhand.org/home-page/...alley-germans/

Wow thanks for posting that!!
Its a long read but worth it!

Totally I plowed through that whole thing. Addictive.

I'm on a SoCal hiking group on FB. Seems like there's always someone missing. At least one person died on Whitney this year. There was still ice and snow into early August and some people were massively unprepared. Another woman probably would have died after spending a night out near the summit - but some PCT hikers found her at dawn and helped her to safety.

There's a woman missing right now from near the Whitney area that they think might be kidnapped.

Another woman got chased away from her campsite by a guy with a knife, while her husband was just reparking the car, and they found her 3 days later.

Concur with all and the read. Thanks.


I used to fly around there all the time. I tried to pay attention. Terrain changes from Death Valley to the mountains were amazing and deceptive running low level particularly into a setting sun.


BS old story coming read or ignore:

A couple of Marine buddies were coming back to China Lake in the 80s in an OV-10 on a Sunday near sunset. They got in a box canyon, and ran out of airspeed and ideas. Rolled level and punched.

Those seats fired at 45 degree opposite angles. 1 buddy was fired into the canyon wall. Killed him. The other buddy got 1/2 a swing and hit the rough terrain. Jacked up but mobile. He was goofy.

Some mammoth rescue crew was starting their training for the upcoming season and happened to see the whole thing. They found the surviving buddy and saved him but it took talking sense into him. My buddy’s plan was to walk out to 395 Highway. He kept trying and argued with the rescuers. The rescuers finally convinced him it was a bad plan by showing him that he was going the wrong way.

One of the rescuers put my buddy in his sleeping bag for the night. My buddy, a Southern boy, said he held onto that “hippy, like I was married to him.”

Got flown out the next morning to the hospital. The two wives spoke to the hospital and a nurse on the phone told one that she was sorry. Not how it is supposed to go. I still talk to the survivor. He’ll enjoy my retelling of one of his stories.

That story reminds me of the opening chapters of The Right Stuff.

I've been out taking pics near Joshua Tree at midnight and heard the sonic boom of some fighter overhead. I thought a bomb went off somewhere until I saw something streaking across the sky and figured out what it was.

Glad you had a great time and sorry you didn't follow my advice and bang the 'ol lady in the car as soon as you hit the desert. :shake:

C'mon give a guy a break.
Like my recap said we did screw like rabbits while we were there.
Hell you weren't even out of bed yet the mornings I was there & I was buzzed hit the Spa and Spent all before coffee!:D

I ran the Death Valley Trail Half-Marathon a few years ago. Pro tip: wear sunscreen.

We started on the main road and then after a mile or so of open terrain, we went into a mountain area and proceeded partway up Red Pass and then back down. It was a pretty good climb, around 2,000 feet to the turnaround point.

It would've been nearly impossible to get lost, though. You were basically running up one big canyon the whole way on a jeep trail, and once you got into open terrain you could see the finish line area off in the distance. If you google map Red Pass and then zoom in, you can see the trail: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Re...342297!5m1!1e4

The dirty little secret, though, is that the race is held in December. It got into the 80s that day, but I don't think it was above 75 by the time I finished. I've run hotter races in Denver.

People run ultra-marathons in DV in the summer. You basically have a support car constantly hosing you down.

I've never heard silence, which is loud, like I did in Jushua Tree National Forest. That place floored me.

Negative. If you were in LA City when you saw that, it was most likely LAPD. They have a mix of Silver and Black and White Helicopters.

I'm in a fixed wing these days, Radio is cheap. Haven't been in a Chopper since 2008.

Sounds like a fun time!