Backpacking Joshua Tree in Fall

Summary

This Thanksgiving break, I backpacked Joshua Tree national park with two of my college buddies. The park gets its name from its oddly shaped trees, which combined with the desert landscape presents visitors with a surreal and unworldly scenery. Joshua Tree is also known as a rock climbing mecca, attracting climbers from around the world to experience its over 10,000 climbing routes and bouldering problems.

We were in Joshua Tree for 3 days and 2 nights - one night in the backcountry wilderness and one night at the Hidden Valley campground.

Schedule

Unlike Yosemite, most key spots are accessible by car ride plus a short hike, but these spots are mostly separated by long stretches of desert which are connected by paved roads but not by trails. There is also almost no potable water in the park, so water must be brought in instead of being filtered onsite. These two factors make Joshua Tree an ideal place for drive-in camping and day-hiking, but backpacking requires some more planning.

Nevertheless, there are two popular backpacking routes in Joshua Tree: Boy Scout Trail and California Riding and Hiking Trail. We took Boy Scout Trail into Willow Hole then setup camp near rock formations on the west side of Boy Scout Trail for the first night. Then we hiked back to the car, drove to the Hidden Valley Campground, and spent two days hiking nearby trails and bouldering.

Trail Map and Key Highlights

We mixed backpacking with camping for this trip, as camping opened up bouldering, campfires, and day hiking options unavailable to backpackers. See our itinerary below for details.

The Trail

Both day 1 and day 2 trails are easy to moderate difficulty with less than 250ft of elevation gain but almost no shade. There are plenty of spots along the way you can scale for a panoramic view of the desert landscape. See trail maps below.

Day 1: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/willow-hole

Day 2: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/barker-dam-via-keys-ranch-road-and-barker-dam-trail

Happenstances

No two backpacking trips are the same because the people you meet and lessons you learn make them unique. Here are some notable experiences that made ours:

• Met a super friendly Canadian couple based out of Jasper national park. They asked if they could park their car in our spot overnight which was no problem for us. In return they kindly shared with us a charcuterie board and coffee. It's true, Canadians are the nicest people!
• We were having trouble starting a campfire due to low quality firewood and no lighter fluid, when a group of guys next to our campsite helped us with what they called the "carne asada" method. They poured cooking oil into a paper scrap bowl, put it under our logs, then lit it, providing us with campfire during the freezing night.
• Speaking of freezing, we learned the hard way that the effective temperature at a desert can be colder than forecasted temperature due to the ground being much colder than air. We could easily tell because forecasted minimum temperatures were above freezing, but our water bottles froze solid overnight.

Tips for Backpackers

1. There is almost no potable water in Joshua Tree - bring at least 3L/person/day and cache water (store the water along your route). Leave your Sawyer filter at home.
2. You will need to pay for a $30 seven day entrance pass to enter the park. Buy this online to skip the line.
3. However, there is no backcountry permit required. Register and park at 1 of 13 backcountry boards for free to prevent your car from being towed overnight.
4. Joshua Tree actually gets below freezing in November, even if the weather forecast says otherwise. Prepare for sub-zero weather at night and waking up to frozen water bottles in the morning.
5. Get to Joshua Tree by 9~10AM in the morning to beat the crowd. Weekends and holidays are crowded, with peak season being spring. Avoid the summer heat by backpacking during fall, winter, or spring.
6. Spend at least one night at Hidden Valley Campground if your group wants to boulder or go rock climbing. The campground is first come first serve, and check-out is at 12pm. Try to get there before check-out as campers are leaving their spots. Our strategy was to arrive at the campground on Sunday morning when weekenders were leaving the grounds - this ended up working as the campsites were 100% packed but about 20% were leaving on Sunday. Check what date the campers are leaving by reading the paper note clipped to the post near each campsite, and politely ask the campers if you can take their spot after they leave.
7. Have a contingency plan in case you cannot find parking or secure a campground. Ours was to go to the nearby Juniper Flats backcountry board to park and hike in a mile for camp. Luckily we found a spot at Hidden Valley Campground as I mentioned.