The winds were back at Joshua Tree National Forest. I started out for a hike but decided being uncomfortable just wasn't worth it. I drove south through the park to Box Canyon Road on the other side of I-10. This goes 20 miles through Box Canyon (duh!) to Mecca on the north shore of the Salton Sea.
What a shock coming out of Box Canyon. Orange and grapefruit trees, huge vineyards and a field of red hot peppers. Dumb me, it never occurred to me they might use the water from the inland sea for irrigation.
Heading south down CA-111 I spotted a likely spot for a put in and went to investigate. To the west, mountains rise out of the sea for several hundred feet. Looking around I saw 100 or more white pelicans, some cormorants and seagulls, a few snowy egrets and a small, black wading bird I'd never seen before. I also saw several Indians standing around giving me hard looks. Discretion being the better part of valor, I left.
Driving down CA-111 I soon saw most, if not all of the shoreline is owned by the state. And of course fees are charged at every access point. At least on the east shore which is perfectly flat. The haze was too heavy to see much of the west shore, but I presume mountains about half way down the sea.
Things didn't look too promising. 5-10 miles of paddling to get to the mountains, no free camping, much of the land not owned by the state is an Indian Reservation. Both my shoulders have been bothering me for the past year. I suspect I only have a certain number of paddling miles left in them so I want them to really count. So I drove back to Joshua Tree National Park. I think from here I'll head up to the Mojave Desert.
01/24/02:
High winds and chilly temperatures drove me out of Joshua Tree National Park back to Craggy Wash in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. High winds continued although they've eased off somewhat today. Drove up to Needles for Mojave Desert information then on up to Bullhead City for Super Wal-Mart food shopping. Off to Mojave Desert National Preserve tomorrow.