旅行
账户
Mark L
Surviving the Victor Trail
Indian Canyons Hiking Trails的点评
点评：As lifelong Chicagoans, we are ever on the lookout for warm-weather vacation destinations to thaw our bones from the seemingly interminable and frigid upper-Midwest winters. Tired of treading the well-worn trail of tears to Florida, this year we pointed our compass west and dropped a pin on Palm Springs, CA.
Palm Springs is in California’s Central Desert region where the Colorado and Mojave Deserts meet. If you go, it’s best to visit during the window of tolerable temperatures which occur roughly between December 27th and January 3rd of any given year.
Owing to conflicting schedules, we were constrained to plan our trip during mid-May when daytime temperatures average 300 degrees and most sensible folks have fled to more hospitable climes.
We nevertheless booked a luxury Air B & B townhome with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths featuring a spacious courtyard and private pool which we could only enjoy before 8 am or after dark because any who dared take a dip during peak tanning hours would be boiled like a lobster.
Keen on seeing something of Palm Springs beyond the four walls of the townhome, we made plans to explore the local geography the next day. A family fond of walks in nature, we followed the advice of our eldest daughter and settled upon a morning hike at a place called Indian Canyons on the nearby Agua Caliente Indian Reservation.
Located just south of Palm Springs, Indian Canyons boasts two distinct ecosystems consisting of a lush, verdant valley surrounded by the arid and rocky terrain of the Agua Caliente mountains. Palm and West Palm Canyon Creeks wind through the parched hills supplying life-sustaining moisture to America’s largest growth of California Fan Palms along with the other living creatures who call this hot and unforgiving landscape home including several species of lizards, scorpions, toads, rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and lost hikers.
Unaccustomed to desert hiking, we opted for the Victor Trail which was described in the visitor’s guide as a short, family-friendly, three-mile loop through diverse extremes which begins in the cool shade of the towering palms shrouding meandering Palm Canyon Creek and ends in a fully exposed stretch of high desert terrain.
Locals recommend getting an early start to avoid the severe, life-threatening afternoon heat. Unless of course your older daughter wants to sleep-in, in which case you will arrive just before eleven AM and have the whole place pretty much to yourselves.
Your adventure begins at the ranger station/trading post where most visitors stock up on drinks and snacks for the hike. We opted to travel light, toting a single backpack with one water bottle each, reserving the delights of the snack bar as a treat to look forward to upon our return.
From the trading post, you will make an easy descent to the valley floor where you become enveloped in the cool shade of this oasis amidst the parched and unforgiving desert above. From here you will follow a wide, mostly level trail paralleling Palm Canyon Creek, enjoying the dappled sunlight sneaking between fronds of the palms lining both sides of the stream.
Passing other hikers headed back in the direction you came, in what seems like only minutes you will reach the abrupt end of the palm-shrouded outbound loop and find yourselves conspicuously alone at the start of the exposed 1.5-mile return trail.
Lulled into a false sense of security by the relative comfort of the canyon trail and flush with anticipation over what awaits, you will down a generous portion of your remaining water and eagerly step forward into the blazing crucible, the sign at the trail head warning of the dangers of sun and heat exposure now but a hazy memory.
This half of the trail is the antithesis of the first, it consisting of a scorched and barren landscape of scrub-encrusted hills bereft of vegetation or other humans, all of whom heeded the posted admonition to avoid hiking in the midday sun.
The less sure-footed will do well to keep a steadying hand on the person in front as you navigate the narrow, rocky path which winds along a noticeable uphill grade toward the ridge above the creek.
Despite the mountain lion scat prevalent along the trail, fear not tangling with dangerous wildlife as the only living things you are likely to encounter are rocks and cacti as the local fauna is far too intelligent to venture out at this time of day.
Upon reaching the canyon’s summit which stretches skyward to within a few hundred feet of the sun, prepare to gaze in awe upon a spectacular desert panorama underscored by the green ribbon of Palm Canyon zig-zagging its way through the otherwise monotone landscape toward the Cochellla Valley below. No words dare cross your parched lips as the merciless sun and debilitating heat temporarily take a back seat to the unparalleled natural vista you witness before you.
As vultures circle lazily overhead, it is at this midway point on the back loop that you will come to realize you’re immersed in an honest-to-goodness wilderness adventure which you probably won’t survive.
This is a good time to take a break so your older daughter, angry because she sat on a cactus, can coerce her younger sister into surrendering her remaining water in exchange for a “like” on her Snapchat story, all the while complaining how the lack of cell service is preventing her from uploading Tik Tok videos documenting her last hours on earth.
This is also when your delirious, heat-stroked wife will look at her empty water bottle and come to the panicked conclusion that the only way out is extraction by helicopter which she has no way of contacting. This will prompt her to crawl under a rock outcropping which affords the only shade within 200 miles that even a novice Cub Scout would recognize as an obvious nesting place for rattlesnakes.
But DO NOT WORRY!
In what seems like only four hours, the trail will descend once again into the palm-shaded valley where your molten family can lie in the cool stream in hopes of getting their body temperatures back below 190 degrees.
Meanwhile, you will climb back up and out of the canyon to the road leading to the trading post where you buy four bottles of ice-cold water, each emblazoned with desert hiking advice, from the Native American park ranger who shakes his head in wonder at how the white man managed to steal his people’s land.
See you on the trails! (Expect to find me alone.)
Palm Springs is in California’s Central Desert region where the Colorado and Mojave Deserts meet. If you go, it’s best to visit during the window of tolerable temperatures which occur roughly between December 27th and January 3rd of any given year.
Owing to conflicting schedules, we were constrained to plan our trip during mid-May when daytime temperatures average 300 degrees and most sensible folks have fled to more hospitable climes.
We nevertheless booked a luxury Air B & B townhome with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths featuring a spacious courtyard and private pool which we could only enjoy before 8 am or after dark because any who dared take a dip during peak tanning hours would be boiled like a lobster.
Keen on seeing something of Palm Springs beyond the four walls of the townhome, we made plans to explore the local geography the next day. A family fond of walks in nature, we followed the advice of our eldest daughter and settled upon a morning hike at a place called Indian Canyons on the nearby Agua Caliente Indian Reservation.
Located just south of Palm Springs, Indian Canyons boasts two distinct ecosystems consisting of a lush, verdant valley surrounded by the arid and rocky terrain of the Agua Caliente mountains. Palm and West Palm Canyon Creeks wind through the parched hills supplying life-sustaining moisture to America’s largest growth of California Fan Palms along with the other living creatures who call this hot and unforgiving landscape home including several species of lizards, scorpions, toads, rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and lost hikers.
Unaccustomed to desert hiking, we opted for the Victor Trail which was described in the visitor’s guide as a short, family-friendly, three-mile loop through diverse extremes which begins in the cool shade of the towering palms shrouding meandering Palm Canyon Creek and ends in a fully exposed stretch of high desert terrain.
Locals recommend getting an early start to avoid the severe, life-threatening afternoon heat. Unless of course your older daughter wants to sleep-in, in which case you will arrive just before eleven AM and have the whole place pretty much to yourselves.
Your adventure begins at the ranger station/trading post where most visitors stock up on drinks and snacks for the hike. We opted to travel light, toting a single backpack with one water bottle each, reserving the delights of the snack bar as a treat to look forward to upon our return.
From the trading post, you will make an easy descent to the valley floor where you become enveloped in the cool shade of this oasis amidst the parched and unforgiving desert above. From here you will follow a wide, mostly level trail paralleling Palm Canyon Creek, enjoying the dappled sunlight sneaking between fronds of the palms lining both sides of the stream.
Passing other hikers headed back in the direction you came, in what seems like only minutes you will reach the abrupt end of the palm-shrouded outbound loop and find yourselves conspicuously alone at the start of the exposed 1.5-mile return trail.
Lulled into a false sense of security by the relative comfort of the canyon trail and flush with anticipation over what awaits, you will down a generous portion of your remaining water and eagerly step forward into the blazing crucible, the sign at the trail head warning of the dangers of sun and heat exposure now but a hazy memory.
This half of the trail is the antithesis of the first, it consisting of a scorched and barren landscape of scrub-encrusted hills bereft of vegetation or other humans, all of whom heeded the posted admonition to avoid hiking in the midday sun.
The less sure-footed will do well to keep a steadying hand on the person in front as you navigate the narrow, rocky path which winds along a noticeable uphill grade toward the ridge above the creek.
Despite the mountain lion scat prevalent along the trail, fear not tangling with dangerous wildlife as the only living things you are likely to encounter are rocks and cacti as the local fauna is far too intelligent to venture out at this time of day.
Upon reaching the canyon’s summit which stretches skyward to within a few hundred feet of the sun, prepare to gaze in awe upon a spectacular desert panorama underscored by the green ribbon of Palm Canyon zig-zagging its way through the otherwise monotone landscape toward the Cochellla Valley below. No words dare cross your parched lips as the merciless sun and debilitating heat temporarily take a back seat to the unparalleled natural vista you witness before you.
As vultures circle lazily overhead, it is at this midway point on the back loop that you will come to realize you’re immersed in an honest-to-goodness wilderness adventure which you probably won’t survive.
This is a good time to take a break so your older daughter, angry because she sat on a cactus, can coerce her younger sister into surrendering her remaining water in exchange for a “like” on her Snapchat story, all the while complaining how the lack of cell service is preventing her from uploading Tik Tok videos documenting her last hours on earth.
This is also when your delirious, heat-stroked wife will look at her empty water bottle and come to the panicked conclusion that the only way out is extraction by helicopter which she has no way of contacting. This will prompt her to crawl under a rock outcropping which affords the only shade within 200 miles that even a novice Cub Scout would recognize as an obvious nesting place for rattlesnakes.
But DO NOT WORRY!
In what seems like only four hours, the trail will descend once again into the palm-shaded valley where your molten family can lie in the cool stream in hopes of getting their body temperatures back below 190 degrees.
Meanwhile, you will climb back up and out of the canyon to the road leading to the trading post where you buy four bottles of ice-cold water, each emblazoned with desert hiking advice, from the Native American park ranger who shakes his head in wonder at how the white man managed to steal his people’s land.
See you on the trails! (Expect to find me alone.)
翻译：作为土生土长的芝加哥人，我们一直在寻找温暖的度假胜地，以便从漫长而寒冷的中西部北部冬季中解脱出来。厌倦了踏上前往佛罗里达的旧路，今年我们把指南针指向西方，来到了加利福尼亚州的棕榈泉。
棕榈泉位于加利福尼亚州的中央沙漠地区，科罗拉多沙漠和莫哈维沙漠在此交汇。如果您要去，最好在温度适宜的时间段内游览，大约在每年的 12 月 27 日至 1 月 3 日之间。
由于时间安排冲突，我们不得不在 5 月中旬计划我们的行程，那时白天的平均气温为 300 度，大多数明智的人都逃到了气候更适宜的地方。
尽管如此，我们还是预订了一套豪华的 Air B & B 联排别墅，有 3 间卧室和 2 间浴室，配有宽敞的庭院和私人游泳池，我们只能在早上 8 点之前或天黑后享受，因为任何敢于在晒黑高峰期泡澡的人都会像龙虾一样被煮熟。
我们渴望在联排别墅的四面墙之外看到棕榈泉的景色，因此计划第二天探索当地的地理环境。我们一家人都喜欢在大自然中散步，我们听从了大女儿的建议，决定在附近的阿瓜卡连特印第安人保留地的印第安峡谷进行晨间徒步。
印第安峡谷位于棕榈泉南部，拥有两个不同的生态系统，包括一个郁郁葱葱的青翠山谷，周围环绕着阿瓜卡连特山脉的干旱多岩石地形。棕榈溪和西棕榈峡谷溪蜿蜒穿过干旱的山丘，为美国最大的加州扇叶棕榈生长区以及其他以这片炎热无情的土地为家的生物提供维持生命的水分，包括几种蜥蜴、蝎子、蟾蜍、响尾蛇、美洲狮和迷路的徒步旅行者。
由于不习惯沙漠徒步旅行，我们选择了维克多小径，游客指南中将其描述为一条适合家庭的短途三英里环路，穿过各种极端地形，从高耸的棕榈树的凉爽树荫开始，笼罩着蜿蜒的棕榈峡谷溪，结束于一片完全暴露的高地沙漠地形。
当地人建议早点出发，以避开严重的、危及生命的午后高温。当然，除非你的大女儿想睡懒觉，在这种情况下，你们将在上午 11 点之前到达，整个地方几乎都是你们自己的。
您的冒险从护林站/贸易站开始，大多数游客会在这里购买徒步旅行所需的饮料和零食。我们选择轻装上阵，每人背着一个背包，里面装着一瓶水，把小吃店的美味留作回程时的零食。
从贸易站出发，您可以轻松下到谷底，在那里，您将被这片绿洲的凉爽树荫所笼罩，而上方则是干旱而无情的沙漠。从这里出发，您将沿着一条宽阔的、几乎平坦的小径与棕榈峡谷溪平行，享受着溪流两边棕榈树的叶子间偷偷洒下的斑驳阳光。
经过其他朝您来时方向返回的徒步旅行者，似乎只需几分钟，您就会到达棕榈树环绕的出站环路的尽头，并发现自己在 1.5 英里长的回程小径的起点处显得格外孤独。
峡谷小径相对舒适，让您产生了一种虚假的安全感，对即将发生的事情充满期待，您会喝下剩下的大部分水，急切地走进炽热的熔炉，小径入口处的标志警告您日晒和高温的危险，但现在已成模糊的记忆。
这半段小径与前半段截然相反，它由一片焦灼而贫瘠的景观组成，山丘上长满灌木，没有植被，也没有其他人，所有人都听从了告示牌上的警告，避免在正午的阳光下徒步旅行。
脚步不太稳健的人最好在沿着狭窄的岩石小径前进时，用手扶住前面的人，这条小径沿着明显的上坡蜿蜒向小溪上方的山脊前进。
尽管山狮的粪便遍布在小径上，但不必担心与危险的野生动物纠缠，因为您可能遇到的唯一生物是岩石和仙人掌，当地的动物太聪明了，不会在一天中的这个时候冒险。
到达峡谷的顶峰后，它延伸到离太阳只有几百英尺的天空，准备好敬畏地凝视壮观的沙漠全景，棕榈峡谷的绿色丝带蜿蜒穿过原本单调的景观，通向下方的科切拉山谷。无情的阳光和令人虚弱的高温暂时让位于您眼前无与伦比的自然景观，您干渴的嘴唇不敢说出任何话。
当秃鹫懒洋洋地盘旋在头顶时，正是在后环的中途，你会意识到自己正沉浸在一场真正的荒野冒险中，你很可能活不下来。
这时，你大女儿因为坐在仙人掌上而生气，可以强迫妹妹交出她剩下的水，以换取她 Snapchat 故事的“赞”，同时抱怨手机信号不佳导致她无法上传 Tik Tok 视频记录她在地球上的最后几个小时。
这时，你神志不清、中暑的妻子也会看着她空了的水瓶，惊慌失措地得出结论，唯一的出路是乘坐直升机撤离，但她无法联系到直升机。这会促使她爬到岩石露头下，这是 200 英里内唯一的阴凉处，即使是新手童子军也会认出这是响尾蛇的明显筑巢地点。
但不要担心！
似乎只有四个小时，这条小路会再次下降到棕榈树成荫的山谷，在那里，你那热血沸腾的家人可以躺在凉爽的溪流中，希望他们的体温能回到 190 度以下。
与此同时，你会爬上去，走出峡谷，来到通往贸易站的道路，在那里你可以从美洲原住民公园管理员那里买到四瓶冰水，每瓶都印有沙漠徒步建议，他摇着头，惊讶地看着白人如何偷走他的人民的土地。
路上见！（希望你只看到我一个人。）
棕榈泉位于加利福尼亚州的中央沙漠地区，科罗拉多沙漠和莫哈维沙漠在此交汇。如果您要去，最好在温度适宜的时间段内游览，大约在每年的 12 月 27 日至 1 月 3 日之间。
由于时间安排冲突，我们不得不在 5 月中旬计划我们的行程，那时白天的平均气温为 300 度，大多数明智的人都逃到了气候更适宜的地方。
尽管如此，我们还是预订了一套豪华的 Air B & B 联排别墅，有 3 间卧室和 2 间浴室，配有宽敞的庭院和私人游泳池，我们只能在早上 8 点之前或天黑后享受，因为任何敢于在晒黑高峰期泡澡的人都会像龙虾一样被煮熟。
我们渴望在联排别墅的四面墙之外看到棕榈泉的景色，因此计划第二天探索当地的地理环境。我们一家人都喜欢在大自然中散步，我们听从了大女儿的建议，决定在附近的阿瓜卡连特印第安人保留地的印第安峡谷进行晨间徒步。
印第安峡谷位于棕榈泉南部，拥有两个不同的生态系统，包括一个郁郁葱葱的青翠山谷，周围环绕着阿瓜卡连特山脉的干旱多岩石地形。棕榈溪和西棕榈峡谷溪蜿蜒穿过干旱的山丘，为美国最大的加州扇叶棕榈生长区以及其他以这片炎热无情的土地为家的生物提供维持生命的水分，包括几种蜥蜴、蝎子、蟾蜍、响尾蛇、美洲狮和迷路的徒步旅行者。
由于不习惯沙漠徒步旅行，我们选择了维克多小径，游客指南中将其描述为一条适合家庭的短途三英里环路，穿过各种极端地形，从高耸的棕榈树的凉爽树荫开始，笼罩着蜿蜒的棕榈峡谷溪，结束于一片完全暴露的高地沙漠地形。
当地人建议早点出发，以避开严重的、危及生命的午后高温。当然，除非你的大女儿想睡懒觉，在这种情况下，你们将在上午 11 点之前到达，整个地方几乎都是你们自己的。
您的冒险从护林站/贸易站开始，大多数游客会在这里购买徒步旅行所需的饮料和零食。我们选择轻装上阵，每人背着一个背包，里面装着一瓶水，把小吃店的美味留作回程时的零食。
从贸易站出发，您可以轻松下到谷底，在那里，您将被这片绿洲的凉爽树荫所笼罩，而上方则是干旱而无情的沙漠。从这里出发，您将沿着一条宽阔的、几乎平坦的小径与棕榈峡谷溪平行，享受着溪流两边棕榈树的叶子间偷偷洒下的斑驳阳光。
经过其他朝您来时方向返回的徒步旅行者，似乎只需几分钟，您就会到达棕榈树环绕的出站环路的尽头，并发现自己在 1.5 英里长的回程小径的起点处显得格外孤独。
峡谷小径相对舒适，让您产生了一种虚假的安全感，对即将发生的事情充满期待，您会喝下剩下的大部分水，急切地走进炽热的熔炉，小径入口处的标志警告您日晒和高温的危险，但现在已成模糊的记忆。
这半段小径与前半段截然相反，它由一片焦灼而贫瘠的景观组成，山丘上长满灌木，没有植被，也没有其他人，所有人都听从了告示牌上的警告，避免在正午的阳光下徒步旅行。
脚步不太稳健的人最好在沿着狭窄的岩石小径前进时，用手扶住前面的人，这条小径沿着明显的上坡蜿蜒向小溪上方的山脊前进。
尽管山狮的粪便遍布在小径上，但不必担心与危险的野生动物纠缠，因为您可能遇到的唯一生物是岩石和仙人掌，当地的动物太聪明了，不会在一天中的这个时候冒险。
到达峡谷的顶峰后，它延伸到离太阳只有几百英尺的天空，准备好敬畏地凝视壮观的沙漠全景，棕榈峡谷的绿色丝带蜿蜒穿过原本单调的景观，通向下方的科切拉山谷。无情的阳光和令人虚弱的高温暂时让位于您眼前无与伦比的自然景观，您干渴的嘴唇不敢说出任何话。
当秃鹫懒洋洋地盘旋在头顶时，正是在后环的中途，你会意识到自己正沉浸在一场真正的荒野冒险中，你很可能活不下来。
这时，你大女儿因为坐在仙人掌上而生气，可以强迫妹妹交出她剩下的水，以换取她 Snapchat 故事的“赞”，同时抱怨手机信号不佳导致她无法上传 Tik Tok 视频记录她在地球上的最后几个小时。
这时，你神志不清、中暑的妻子也会看着她空了的水瓶，惊慌失措地得出结论，唯一的出路是乘坐直升机撤离，但她无法联系到直升机。这会促使她爬到岩石露头下，这是 200 英里内唯一的阴凉处，即使是新手童子军也会认出这是响尾蛇的明显筑巢地点。
但不要担心！
似乎只有四个小时，这条小路会再次下降到棕榈树成荫的山谷，在那里，你那热血沸腾的家人可以躺在凉爽的溪流中，希望他们的体温能回到 190 度以下。
与此同时，你会爬上去，走出峡谷，来到通往贸易站的道路，在那里你可以从美洲原住民公园管理员那里买到四瓶冰水，每瓶都印有沙漠徒步建议，他摇着头，惊讶地看着白人如何偷走他的人民的土地。
路上见！（希望你只看到我一个人。）
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