Mastodon Peak - 3.9.2019
The 'super bloom' has arrived in Coachella Valley... we stopped just inside the south entrance (aka Cottonwood entrance) to Joshua Tree National Park to see this lush field of lupine, california poppies, desert dandelions and wild canterbury bells.
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Take exit 168 off of I-10 and drive 7 miles... then turn right (just before reaching the Cottonwood Visitor Center) onto Cottonwood Springs Road and drive 1.1 miles to the trailhead at the end of the road... the parking lot was full so we parked on the side of the road.
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Instead of hiking back down the road to the trailhead we just headed up this well-travelled wash near the place we parked.
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Lots of wild canterbury bells in the wash.
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Wild canterbury bells, desert mallow, bladderpod and brittlebush.
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The well-travelled route has some nice steps.
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Prince's Plume.
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Looking back at our route... the Cottonwood Mountains are on the left horizon... with Monument Mountain prominent in the Hexie Mountains on the right horizon.
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Continuing in the well-travelled wash... with Mastodon Peak in the distance.
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Heading directly for the Mastodon Mine located at the base of the peak.
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A closer look at the Mastodon Mine... established in the 1930's, no one got rich here.
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BarbE and rocman heading up an obvious route on the SE side of Mastodon Peak.
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Easy Class 2 terrain on the east side of Mastodon Peak.
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rocman and BarbE at the summit area of Mastodon Peak... the Mecca Hills are in the distance on the right.
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Looking east to the Eagle Mountains from the summit of Mastodon Peak.
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The Cottonwood Mountains in the left foreground... Monument Mountain located in the Hexie Mountain stands out in the center of the photo... with Pinto Mountain barely visible on the right horizon.
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rocman on the true summit (3440') of Mastodon Peak.
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rocman coming down from the Mastodon summit... he is dealing with a Class 3 move that keeps most folks off of the true summit.
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Coming down from Mastodon Peak.
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Back on the trail and heading for the car.
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A short rest stop along the way.
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Heading for the barn.
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Heart leaved primrose.
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We ran into madman and Sahale on our hike back to the car.
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Cottonwood trees and fan palms at the Cottonwood Springs Oasis... leaving an eighth of a mile walk back to our car... our loop hike was 2.4 miles, gaining 500 feet of elevation.
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