Palm Canyon

We returned to Indian Canyons and decided to hike Palm Canyon, a fifteen-mile canyon in the same reserve as Andreas Canyon. The wind had been howling all morning and it was cool when we set out. We all had layers and were prepared for a miserable day but by the time we arrived, the wind had stopped and the sun was out and serious about cooking us as we hiked!

We set out with individual ambitions. Some peeled off the group as the hike went on. Only the men hung in to the pools we had heard about.

The first arm of the trail was through stands of palm trees so we were always able to find shade and cool streams along the path. Most of the native stands of palm trees still had their distinctive skirts. Native California Palms are the only palm trees that keep these fronds and birds and animals use them for nesting sites. A fire twenty years ago destroyed parts of them but the trees have a natural defence that puts the fire out before actually killing the tree. The layers of branches provide a means of dating the trees - their life-expectancy is about 200 years.

As we came out of the canyon, the trail began to climb along with the temperature. The sides of the hills were dotted with barrel cactus but these didn't provide much shade! Some of us gave up on the climb but all the men carried on in search of the mythical pools.