Joshua Tree Willow Hole

 

 

 

 

This 7 mile roundtrip hike is well worth it. I found the trail to be very level, but there were some extremely soft spots in the narrower wash areas. The "Hole" had quite a bit of water in it, but you could see the water line was about 12 inches above it's current level. The peak was probably during that late January period of rain when we got 4 or 5 days of rain in a row.

We were not fortunate enough to see any wildlife, but there were conducting a SAR training mission down through Rattlesnake Cyn. That canyon is in a separate drainage from Willow Hole, but since the hole is at the end of the drainage, it's only a quick climb to Rattlesnake Cyn.

The SAR guy told me that they had already gone on 20 rescues this year (as of Apr. 10). He also mentioned that most of them were rescues and not recoveries. The fact that he said "most" made me want to ask if there had been any fatalities this season, but I refrained. They pretty much form a relay system from their team in the field back to the nearest trailhead, which in this case happened to be the Boy Scout Trailhead. One funny thing I noticed was that the SAR vechicle was a Lexus. Looked like someone's private car and my guess is that these guys are volunteers.

After the wet winter, all of the desert flora was either blooming, or getting ready to bloom. The yucca, joshua tree, and one of the cacti with stunning red flowers were just beginning to bloom. Don't do this hike if the temp is over 85 degrees. We had a nice cool day with some high clouds blowing in from time to time. I am personally not a person who likes to torture myself by hiking in hot weather, especially in the desert, so this trail is better done in the winter/spring. Especially because the willow hole would not be as full in the summer.