Hiking Ryan Mountain, Lost Horse Mine, and Barker Dam – November 20, 2011

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There are several hiking trails within the park, most of which are short and can be done in less than 1/2 day, especially if you choose trails located near each other. Looking at the map given at the kiosk upon entry, we ended up choosing Ryan Mountain, Lost Horse Mine and Barker Dam Trails to hike in one day… the latter two being loop trails.

Ryan Mountain Trail

Ryan Mountain Trail is a wide and well-kept, and the trail will take you < 3 hours to hike to the top and back down. We had to drive there, as it was slightly too far to walk from the Jumbo Rocks Campsite (where we stayed). The trail has a mild grade and is even in most places. I probably would not recommend this trail to people who "love to be wowed,” because they will be disappointed x 10. The desert of Joshua Trees and boulders you see while driving in is what you will see at the top of Ryan Mountain, but from a higher elevation. The coolest thing about the summit is that you get a panoramic view of the vast desert, but again… as you turn full circle, the landscape is considerably redundant. We spent no longer than 5 minutes at the top, and spent the rest of the 3 hours hiking up and down this mountain. If you decide to do this trail, try to focus and the plants and animals along trail (or birds flying around). There can be large lizards there (weighing several pounds), hawks/crows flying overhead, and colorful flowering plants… at least in the spring and early summer. There were less of these animals apparent in the late fall, when we were here. The huge boulders near the entrance of the trail were pretty cool though. You can observe these very closely without going to the summit.

Lost Horse Mine Loop Trail

The Lost Horse Mine was located near our campsite, but we still needed to drive to hike the loop trail. Again, most of this mild-graded trail is quite drab in the fall/winter, as the colorful flowering plants are absent. There was “some” wildlife along the trail though… I’ve highlighted them succinctly above. You’ll reach the Lost Horse Mine after about an hour (loop ~ 2 hours) of hiking and realize the whole structure is surrounded by a overhead-high fence. This may provoke creative photo-taking skills, as you probably won’t want to take photos through the fence. I ended up stacking a bunch of large rocks (in multiple locations) on each other so that I could take several shots without the fence showing conspicuously in the picture… being a wide-angle lens, that is not easy to do. I understand that the fence is there so that people do not vandalize the structure or degrade it’s integrity by walking on it, but they should lower the fence a few feet so that we can hold up our cameras above our heads and take pictures. The coolest thing about this hike is the chipmunk that hangs out just behind the fenceline of the mine. It is very friendly and will come up to you to gravel for food. The closest natural food type we had were “smoked-jalapeno” almonds. Though we removed most of the adhering flavor with water, the chipmunk’s reaction was still amusing (see below).

Barker Dam Loop Trail

The Barker Dam Loop Trail is just long enough to be considered a trail (as opposed to just a scenic point), mileage-ing just over a mile. The large boulders at this site are impressive, and is probably why one of the most famous bouldering / climbing sites is located along-side the trail (Gunsmoke Climbing Area). As I mentioned, the level trail is short and you will reach Barker Dam in 20 minutes or so, depending on how fast you walk (loop trail < 1 hour). However, once again I was disappointed by the "complete absence of water” behind the damn, of which was a reservoir several acres in size in the late spring. The reservoir is primarily fed by rain water, and therefore slowly shrinks during the summer and apparently becomes absent by the late fall. The last and second-to-last row of photos above document the dry reservoir behind Barker Dam (see below).

I would hate to discourage anyone from hiking in Joshua, but I honestly was not amazed by the trails that I hiked here. The other trails found within the park may be great, and it’s possible that we picked the 3 most unimpressive trails of them. If you do decide to go to Joshua Tree, I would highly recommend concentrating on the other activities available here, i.e. camping / climbing / biking / site-seeing, rather than spend a day hiking. Regardless of the above-mentioned activities, make sure to pack plenty of water and warm clothes (especially if visiting in the fall/winter). Make sure to plan ahead of time so that you can utilize your time in the park wisely… and see all the things that you want to see. In addition to researching in advance, I suggest going to Visitor Center prior to entering the park. Walking around their exhibits and talking to the rangers / workers there can be invaluable to accommodate the best sites while at Joshua Tree. If you have any questions pertaining to the above, just ask!

Keep in mind this is a 3-part series, which includes, camping, hiking, and bouldering while at Joshua Tree (see links at top of page). To view this location on a Google Map also known as my “Adventure Map“, Click Here. For more mainland and off-island adventures, Click Here!!!. Thanks for stopping by!!!