A camping getaway to Joshua Tree National Park offered some relief from the insanity we’re suffering through right now. (CHRIS COCOLES)
THEEDITOR’SNOTE
W
hen my good friend Norv suggested we take an early November camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park, I wasn’t sure if that was the best choice. I knew there wouldn’t be water for me to find a spot and cast a fishing line, but the idea of social distancing at a campground amid one of the most spiritual places in the state sold me. As it turned out, it was a great choice to stop and reflect about the final days of 2020. Nothing has come easy for any of us, even a peaceful transfer of presidential power it seems. Mercifully the year is almost over, but the four-plus days we spent in the Southern California high desert offered an escape from the tough times we’re all enduring. The weather was perfect – sunny days, chilly but tolerable nights – and a nightly campfire and spirits kept us warm, plus our daytime exploring around Joshua Tree NP was enlightening. The park is truly a hiker’s and photographer’s dream destination. The Black Rock Campground was pretty much full – November is Joshua Tree’s high season with more reasonable daytime temperatures – but everyone was spread out nicely, enjoying a little peace away from the chaos back home (Norv and I had internet access and checked the early returns of a still contentious despite decided election on the night of Nov. 3). In the midday heat I was able to find a shady deck chair adjacent to the campground’s nature center, where I read a few chapters of a book and chatted about fishing and dinner options in town with a local ranger – while we both wore masks, of course. But I felt most at peace during an easy hike to the Wall Street Mill, which was a gold ore mining operation that dates back to the Great Depression. The walk took me through a valley of wildflowers, adorable dusky chipmunks – we didn’t see any coyotes but their howls serenaded us at night in camp – and the national park’s famed namesake Mojave River trees. At the end of the trail I found the remnants of the mill and a rusted-out old pickup truck from the late 1920s. It was a bit warm when I found a shady spot to drink some water and take in the scene by myself. I kept thinking about the simplicity of the moment in a rather complicated time we’re living through. -Chris Cocoles calsportsmanmag.com | DECEMBER 2020 California Sportsman
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