Sand to Snow National Monument

Nov. 15, 2023

Appropriately named, as the lower elevation sections are sandy desert while the upper elevations are mountains that get some snow in the winter. The northern sections had extensive long trails with backpacker campgrounds which I did not have time for. I decided on some shorter hikes in the southern region which borders Joshua Tree NP. The Big Morongo area was damaged by a tropical storm a couple months ago and several of the trails were closed in sections with debris evident all over. I hiked as much as I could on the open trails including Marsh, Desert Willow, Mesquite and West Canyon Trails. Part of the Desert Willow trail was rather creepy walking under the overhanging mesquite trees. Kind of like a path in a horror movie including a startled hawk. I saw a couple mule deer on the West Canyon trail and it appears that their hair is darker than most other deer that I have seen. There were a few cool plants like the pods hanging from the mesquite, apricot mallow blooming and spikey datura. I was planning on doing another hike at Mission Creek but it was not as scenic as I was expecting so I cut it short.