Looking Down the Mountain

Something simple today, to facilitate our return to more travels around the continent.  A wonderful view from San Jacinto Peak, or at least most of the way to the top.  Down past the Sugar pines there is Palm Springs, baking in the 110 degree sun.  Nearly 9,000 feet up, things were a lovely 70 degrees, with a rare bit of humidity even.

On a clear day from the mountain one has an amazing view of distant vantages.  Mt. Charleston, a peak which sits near Las Vegas and is well over 100 miles distant, can be seen to the north east.  The Gulf of California down in Mexico will show up to the south east.  On the west and points nearby are the great ranges surrounding the Los Angeles basin, as well as the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands.  Here, under the dust of the desert and the smog leaking through the nearby San Gorgonio Pass, is the city of Palm Springs and the neighboring desert towns.  The black stripe cutting diagonally across the upper middle of the picture is Interstate 10.  The mountains rendered opaque behind it are the Little San Bernardino Mountains, which are one of the most visible edges of the San Andreas fault in southern California, which runs just at their base, parallel to the highway.  Atop the mountains is Joshua Tree National Park.

The 8,300 feet of prominence is responsible for more than just incredible views.  A journey from the top of the mountain down to the base takes one from pine forests down into canyons that support palms and sycamores, a journey through much of the climactic variation possible in North America, all in the space of several miles.  John Muir personally considered it to be one of the most sublime places in the entire continent, which I find odd coming from a man who grew up in Wisconsin.  Then again, he did always have a thing for Sugar pines.