Last minute trip in Dec – Joshua Tree?

I should have been more specific: 2WD SUV.

Here is a southern Cal idea for you, the San Diego Trans County trail.  starts at the Salton sea, and ends at the Pacific Ocean.  There is a facebook page with folks who are willing to help others with logistics, drop offs, etc.  six days is likely not long enough to do the 150 miles, but then I don’t know your hiking style.  The trail goes from desert, through mountains, skirts some urban areas.

Some of the logistics for the hike:

Resupply Logistics

000.0 Salton Sea- end of crystal ave in Salton City. Begin. (take 2 days food)
038.0 Borrego springs- grocery, outfitter, diner. (38, take 2 days food) 
077.5 Sunrise hwy- possible resupply drop if you have a hookup. (39.5, take 1.5 days food)
083.8 Lake Cuyamaca- small store, restaurant. (6.3)
102.5 Ramona oaks Rd- liquor store, taco shop, pizza 4 mi west. (18.7, take 1 day food)
121.0 Lakeside- mini mart 1 mi south, then west on willow Rd. (18.5, take 1 day food)
133.6 Costco- food court, resupply, .7 mi south. (12.6)
134.7 Community Rd- In-N-Out burger .5 mi south. North 1 mi, Vons, Sprouts groceries and many restaurants. (1.1, take 1 day food)
138.8 Springbrook dr- 7-eleven, Phileas Foggs beer bar .25 mi north. (4.1)
149.6 Roselle st- mini mart/sandwich, taco shop, Arabic restaurant. (10.8)
153.0 Torrey Pines State Beach north parking lot. End. (3.4)

Water Logistics

000.0 carry water in.
013.6 water cache in wash- NOT supplied/maintained outside group hike. (13.6)
037.5 Borrego Springs, tap. (5.8)
044.3 Peña spring, .25 mi NW. (6.8)
051.6 Stuart spring, sulfur. Avoid if possible. (7.3)
053.2 Angelina spring, recently burned and ashy. (1.6)
057.5 possible water cache near hwy 78. (4.3)
069.0 possible water cache off hwy S2. (11.5)
083.8 Lake Cuyamaca tap. (14.8)
100.6 Cedar Creek, hopefully flowing. Boulder creek is more reliable 1 mi south. (16.8)
102.5 Tap at trailhead, restrooms. (1.9)
117.7 Tap in picnic area, restrooms. (15.2)
120.5 - 122.5 Yogi water in neighborhood if necessary. (4.8)
133.6 Water at Costco. (11.1)
138.8 Water in shopping center .25 mi north. (5.2)
142.3 Fountain at trailhead. (3.5)
145.5 Peñasquitos creek falls. Avoid drinking if possible. (3)
149.6 Water at mini mart. (4.1)
153.0 Done. (7.5)


Total estimated length- 153 miles.

I have camped and hiked Joshua tree, but I don’t have any speciific recommendations for backpacking there.

If you want to backpack in Joshua Tree, I recommend the California hiking and riding trail.  It goes from the NW corner to the NE corner in about 40 miles one way.  No water, so place caches at all the road crossings under a bush to keep them out of the sun.  You can also do cross country trips as the terrain isn’t hard.

An alternative winter trip would be taking a ferry to Catalina Island just off the LA coast and hike the Trans Catalina Trail.  You must book a spot in the campgrounds online as there is no camping outside of them.  Due the NE end being in the middle of nowhere, you have to hike extra miles to/from the community of Two harbors making it about 50 miles total (assuming I remember it right).

Joshua Tree mid December weather can be short sleeve T-shirt, or 10* F at night. so watch the weather forecast frequently.

there are some “exploration” dirt roads that branch off the main road that are easy 2 wheel drive (usually). there are also  some 4 wheel drive roads.

if you hit good weather, which is fairly likely, J-Tree is very nice in December, especially if you are a rock climber.

Thanks for the ideas.  We did book flights last night to LA.  Certainly we don’t have to go to Joshua Tree, but it was the first thing that came to mind.  We would probably rather be in a forest/alpine area, but I don’t know if now this is the time of year for that with my gear.   What are the national forests near LA like this time of year?  Even if the weather were good, is it just too close to dense population to be considered?  It turns out that my friend is game or a longer backpacking trip, so 3 or 4 nights would be good.