Hiked December 21, 2025. Last post of the year. Also, likely, the last hike of the year.
After returning from the Living Desert Zoo, back to the motel in Yucca Valley, we ate lunch and rested up a bit. With this being the shortest day of the year, I knew it was going to get dark early. But I also wanted to get my Interagency Senior Lifetime pass. They used to call them, "Golden Age" passports. Once you reach age 62, they're $80, and cover basic entry fees on all federal lands for the rest of your life. Alternatively, you can buy an annual pass for $20. Since I hope to be traveling on public lands for more than five years, I wanted to buy the lifetime one.
So I swung by the Joshua Tree National Park visitor center in the town of Joshua Tree (on the way to the west entrance) and bought my pass. Got wished a happy birthday, and was informed that the pass would also cover "Adventure Pass" fees in the national forest of southern California (which I already knew), and half off on camping (which I sort of knew, but wasn't really thinking about). I think it may also get me be half off on various tours and what not, too. I'm going to start checking out more tours and camping options now, too.
At any rate, having gotten a later start than I wanted, I knew I wouldn't have much time before sunset, and I wanted to be on the trail to watch the sun set and the clouds change. So I was pretty sure I'd just stop at the Maze Loop trailhead, and walk from there, which I did.
The trailhead is on the left (east or north) side of the road, a bit over a mile from the new entry station. The lot is pretty small (maybe 6-8 cars), but I was figuring it was late enough that there'd be space, either in the lot, or along the road, near the lot. That's the case unless it hasn't been graded after a flooding incident, in which case there would be very little space on the shoulder. On this day, there was lots of shoulder space, so I parked, there.
I hthought I had just been here the previous month, but apparently it was way back in May! At any rate, since I think I had walked some of the North View and North Canyon trails last time, I wanted a variation off of that. On this day, I headed north, on the North Side Trail, which runs somewaht parallel to the road as you go north. After passing through some rocks, the North Side trail bends to the right, more or less paralleling the north boundary of the park, now.
After about a half mile, it intersects with the North Canyon trail, some of which I hiked, back in May, but from the other side. This trail heads back to the south, climbing steeply in parts, as it does. It then heads up a wash before eventually reaching more open space, just before you're back to the trailhead.
The sun set before I reached the right turn, but the sky was still pretty bright and I had flashlights, just in case. Also, wasn't planning on being out that long, so I wasn't worried.
Got some nice cloud coloration as the sky darkened. Warm color on the rocks, at first, before everything turned greyer. Nice Joshua Tree outlines, later in the hike.
In the last 1/2 mile or so, I could see a thin crescent moon, low on the horizon.
So I accomplished my goal: Bought my pass, and got a short hike in before it got too dark.
Three miles total for this hike. Three hundred twenty-eight feet of altitude change, according to my Alltrails recording. Obviously, the criss-crossing trails here give you multiple options for hikes of as long or as short as you want. And the rocks and elevation give you a variety of views during even a short hike.
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