Desert Runcation Part 2: PCT & the Kelso Dunes

Let the sun-seeking continue! The first part of our desert runcation was at Joshua Tree National Park (read about it here.) The second part was all about visiting areas relatively nearby in order to see new landscapes and explore new trails. The Pacific Crest Trail displayed a beautiful valley as well as stunning ridgeline views of the surrounding mountains. The Kelso Dunes are a classic desert offering, but one that is quite the contrast to our water-drenched Pacific Northwest home.

Pacific Crest Trail – California Section C

I’m in training, so I needed a trail for a long run during our weekend away, and what longer trail could I use than the PCT? My coach recommended I start at the Whitewater Preserve, and hop on the PCT using a little connector trail. In short, it was great!

The Whitewater Preserve is a lovely little area with some camping, flush(!) toilets, a ranger station, and a multitude of picnic areas. Clearly a favorite with the locals for weekend walks, the parking lot was busy, and we parked alongside the road with others. After getting our bearings looking at a map and setting a time to meet up, Adam and I set out on our separate journeys. I was running, and he was hiking.

The first two miles were easy in the bottom of the valley and I saw lots of casual hikers out enjoying the day. I passed by “Red Dome” that was heavily marked on the trail map. I expected something dramatic, but it was just the hillside made of red rock. It was quite the contrast to the white rock everywhere else, but really not particularly noteworthy besides being a point on the map. Beyond that was a sandy and rocky area that was an obvious turnaround point for many hikers. The PCT was adequately signed, so no concerns about getting lost in the area where washouts looked like trails.

After this point, I began a slow, but steady, climb up to the top of the ridge… and saw nary another soul. I was ruminating about being a solo woman out on the trails, and trying to remind myself that I’m moderately comfortable with that when I spotted an animal on the side of the trail, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was a bobcat…a rather dead bobcat. It looked reasonably fresh, with no obvious wounds, but covered in flies. I thought it likely that might be the only bobcat I’d ever see out in the wild. As a self-proclaimed cat lady, I felt a tug at my heartstrings about the loss to the feline world.

I continued on up the rocky trail, and up up up these short switchbacks. At every turn, the view got a bit better and I’d stop to take a photo. When I finally reached the top of the ridge…WOW.

I enjoyed the view, and noticed, disappointingly, the trail disappeared back down into another valley. I reached a trail intersection that indicated the Whitewater Preserve was 4.5 miles away… my watch said 3.8 – ha! I was bummed that I had left the ridgeline behind, but became hopeful as the trail began, again, to steadily ascend.

At about 5 miles, I reached the top of another ridgeline, and WOW. This view was even better than the first one!

Miles 5-6 were my absolute favorite as I joyfully ran and saw mountains in all directions. This is why I trail run. I stopped and took pictures every 20 feet, finally glad that I was alone and wasn’t annoying a running companion with my photo stops.

Then, around mile 7, the trail started to sharply descend and I realized I was heading into another valley. Noooooooo. Down I went, and I noticed a creek in the distance (Mission Creek.) The flora changed slightly, and I saw a few deciduous trees. I peeked at my Hiking Project map and saw this was a camping area for thru-hikers and backpackers. I crossed Mission Creek and picked an arbitrary spot as a turnaround point.

As I had anticipated, the climb back up to my favorite ridgeline was a bit of a struggle…mentally. In hindsight, it was silly because it was just under a mile, and 600 feet of gain. Not terrible, just… not a cakewalk. However, once I got back up to the ridgeline, I enjoyed the views one last time before digging in to head back.

I didn’t take as many photos on the way back to the trailhead, but did have a random observation about the many lizards I saw over the course of the day. the lizards at the lower elevations and in the valley kept running across the trail in front of me, but slow enough I almost stepped on them. Once I was up high on the ridgelines, I still saw plenty of lizards, but they were much faster, and I never even got close to one. I wondered why, when the environments were so similar, the lizards at lower altitude seemed like slower and easier prey than their higher altitude neighbors. I have my own armchair theory about this, but does anyone else know why this might be??

With a few miles to go, I began daydreaming about my packed lunch. Humble ham and cheese, chips, and grapes never sounded so good! As I neared the Whitewater River, I began to see people again, and my 17 miles of solitude on the trails ended for the time being. I was out for less than five hours, but it still felt a bit weird to rejoin civilization after being out by myself with just the random whiptail lizard and a dead bobcat for company. I often feel this way after long training runs or longer races…anyone else, or just me?

I found Adam in a shaded picnic area, munching on chips and reading a book. We exchanged stories of our day on the trail, and our observations of people and the landscape. We both thoroughly enjoyed this section of the PCT, and I would love to go back to run more of it!

Kelso Dunes

Most of this runcation was my idea, so when Adam said he found a place he wanted to check out, I was all for it. He wanted to go somewhere that was different than what we had already experienced. “Let’s go to the Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve. It’s not that far,” he said, “just an hour and a half drive.” Okay, cool. Who doesn’t love to play in sand?

Yeah…so…it’s further away than that. Once we finally finished the drive from Twentynine Palms, it had been over two hours. Annnnnd it’s not like there’s traffic since it’s really out in the middle of nowhere. 😉 On the plus side, we listened to some podcasts in my backlogged queue.

Once we reached the trailhead, you could already see the dunes in the distance. There is a trail in the beginning, but once you get out a bit, it’s basically a free-for-all. Lots of people were walking barefoot, and carrying their shoes in their hands. As we had already spent a few days in the desert, we were wary of the spiky and pokey things commonly found in that environment, and opted to keep our feet clad.

Walking in the dunes is hard work, but thankfully it’s not a horribly long trail. I hadn’t planned on hiking to the top of the tallest one (reportedly 650 feet tall), and I told Adam as much. However, we got closer, it just sort of drew me in. It was only three miles roundtrip, so why not?

Once we got to the top, the 360 view was fantastic. It was challenging to capture with a photo because the scale was so vast. Trust me, though, it was expansive. It was one of those places that reminds you that you’re tiny in the grand scheme of the universe.

There was a wind advisory that day, so we ended up with sand everywhere. Thankfully, we wore buffs to keep the sand out of our mouths, but it was in our ears, and stuck to the sunscreen on our arms. Cheap exfoliation for the frugal, I suppose?

The way back down was very quick in comparison to the grind up to the top. Adam slid down from the tallest dune and experienced the “singing sand” that these dunes are famous for. Micro-avalanches of sand cause the sand grains to rub against one another and create a melodic booming sound that’s audible if you’re close enough.

Despite the longer-than-advertised drive, I was glad we visited. Due to time constraints, we didn’t see anything else at the Mojave National Preserve, but enjoyed that little corner of it. The Kelso Dunes sandy adventure concluded our desert getaway.

Overall, this desert runcation was fantastic, and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to explore some truly beautiful and unique trails. Trips like this one just whet my appetite for more runs in more national parks, but we’ll definitely be back someday!