By Adrian Noguera, Redwood City Staffer
 

Have you ever read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss? Maybe you've watched the movie The Martian starring Matt Damon? What could be better than immersing yourself in a place that looks like both? Let me tell you, my recent trip to Joshua Tree National Park for the first time was like seeing those two worlds collide. In this post, I’ll share tips on how to prepare yourself for a trip in the desert - diving into topics including:

• Apparel to wear and gear to bring
• Activities to do and places to visit within the park

If you’re a first time visitor to the park and having trouble planning out your trip, then you’ve come to the right place!
 

Apparel & Gear Checklist:

• Sunscreen
• Refillable water bottle (32oz Hydroflask)
• Sun hat or trucker hat - something that provides a lot of shade and ventilation
• Sunglasses (Clubmaster Ray Bans)
• Thin, outer layer hiking shell jacket or a lightweight longsleeve (preferably with a hood)
• Trail shoes
• Trail pants that are durable
• Backpack to store all your snacks and hydration packs

Bonus:

• DSLR or mirrorless camera
• 24mm-70mm zoom lens

Surprisingly, the desert heat and sun wasn’t as overbearing as I initially thought it would be. If you have sensitive skin and don’t fare well in the sun like myself, I highly suggest keeping your person covered at all times with lightweight pants and tops. For the upper half of my body, my main protection against the sun involved my lightweight trail jacket with a ¾ cotton tee shirt underneath as my base layer. Although my ¾ cotton tee shirt did the job this time around, it would’ve been more ideal if I wore a Patagonia Capilene long sleeve shirt as my base layer for its lighter weight and better moisture wicking capabilities.

Moving onto headwear my preferred combination consisted of a trucker hat to allow for a lot of air to flow through the back and a pair of polarized Clubmasters by Ray Ban to help see through the heat. To round off upper body protection, especially the neck portion, my last tip would be to cover up your neck with a long sleeve or a thin shell jacket with a hood attachment or apply sunscreen to avoid those nasty sunburns.
 

 
As for my bottom attire, I prefer trail pants in a jogger style that conform to my legs versus pants that have a wider leg opening. The reason for this is to minimize the amount of dust and prickly twigs sticking to my socks as I’m hiking. Finally, lightweight shoes with plenty of flexibility, ventilation, and a jagged outsole for grip. I had a pair of Nike Free Run Trail Craters because they provide great traction and flex as I’m navigating through uneven, smooth rocky terrain in addition to plenty of ventilation to allow my feet to breathe. Similar, possibly more durable options would be the Hoka Zinal, Altra Lone Peak, or even the On Cloudvista - depends on your aesthetic and your personal comfort.

Although I protected myself well against the weather conditions this time around, there were parts of the trip where I could have protected better with more ideal apparel which I will get to in the next section.

Activities & Sightseeing

Spots I’ve visited in a day’s time (from 9am to 5pm)

• Barker Dam
• Cholla Cactus Garden
• Hidden Valley Trail
• Keys View
• Skull Rock

There’s a variety of ways to enter the park from the north side. Each major city along the north side of the park has an entrance to Joshua Tree in addition to smaller entrances to the park between each city. There’s a $25 entrance fee, however if you intend to travel to other national parks throughout the year then I highly suggest going online to buy an annual park pass valued at $80 (which is the equivalent to 4 park entrance fees).

To minimize the amount of driving throughout the day, I would suggest starting your trip from the city of Joshua Tree and finishing your trip at the city of Twentynine Palms. There’s a lot more activities and trails to do by starting on the east side of the park as points of interest start to dwindle when you drive out to the west side of the park.
 

 
Starting from the east side of the park, we knocked out a couple morning hikes at Hidden Valley Trail followed by Barker Dam. Both locations took my family and I about an hour and a half each to complete as we took our time taking in the scenic views. Surprisingly, it was at Hidden Valley Trail where high winds caught us off guard, but thankfully not to the point where sand started to fly directly into our faces. Although both trails are relatively easy to trek through with not too much incline, I would say that Barker Dam can be a bit trickier to navigate as some of the trail paths leading back to the parking lot aren’t as easily defined.

After spending roughly 3 hours hiking in the morning, instead of setting up shop in Cap Rock for lunch, we headed directly south towards Keys View. At an elevation of 5185 feet (1581 meters) make sure to bring a top with plenty of insulation. If you’re planning to take some pictures or enjoy the views of Coachella Valley for an extended period of time, it would be best to pack something like a down or synthetic down sweater vest for protection. Sadly, although my lightweight hiking jacket did the trick at the previous two locations, it couldn’t stand up against the sheer winds here at the highest point in the park.
 

 
By hiking early in the morning and starting at the east side of the park, not only were we able to trek in cooler conditions, it provided us a great opportunity to create a loop through the park instead of having to drive back and forth between east and west. Along the way to the west side of the park towards our Cholla Cactus Garden before calling it a day, a couple scenic viewpoints to check out include Oyster Bar and the infamous Skull Rock.

Out of all the spots within the park, I must say that Cholla Cactus Garden is my highest recommendation on places to visit. Although the Cholla cacti are scattered throughout the park, the highest concentration of this type of cacti can be found here. If you’re lucky enough, you may find some zebra tailed lizards hidden within shrubs or at the base of the cacti. My biggest takeaway for this place, speaking from my background as a photographer, would be to visit at sunset - the fuzz from the cacti turns from white to orange as the sun rays blanket the vegetation.

Before I let you go, my final tip would be to bring plenty of water. It might sound obvious, but I’m mentioning it anyway. Since I spent a day here, I made sure to leave my accommodations with a 32oz Hydroflask packed with ice in addition to bringing a Gatorade for good measure. For large groups of 4 or more people, a 24 pack of 8 oz water bottles from your local grocery store can be a lifesaver too.
 

 
There’s a lot to do and a lot to see within a day and this article only scratches the surface of what you can accomplish on your first visit. Next time I’m back here, I hope to stay a couple nights within the park and stargaze if the conditions are right. I hope you found this article helpful as you’re planning a trip to a magical place like this. If you’re interested in learning more about which National Park I’m heading to next, or just talk gear, then come to Redwood City Sports Basement and say hi!