W6/CD-012 Quail Mountain

The summit of Quail Mountain is the highest point in Joshua Tree National Park, and was my goal for the morning. After breakfast in the hotel room in the town of Joshua Tree I headed into the park to the Quail Springs parking area. I had done some research beforehand, and this seemed like the best place to start. 

The direction I started out in.

 From the parking area there was a trail that headed straight towards the mountains. It was well used until it crossed the wash, where it disintegrated into a lot of lightly used use paths. I picked my way through these to find the start of a trail that would go over a low pass to the base of Mt Minerva Hoyt.

Heading up the trail.

Turned around, looking back towards Quail Springs.

 

The trail did not appear in any of the park maps I looked at, but it is clearly visible in satellite views of the area. Having the trail marked on my phone map made it a lot easier to find. Once on the trail it was quick going to the wash on the other side. In the wash you need to choose which ridge to take up to the top of Minerva Hoyt. I walked down the wash about a quarter of a mile before turning and heading up the hill.

Heading up the ridge.

The climb up was steep, but not too bad. The terrain was open, and I had no bushwhacking problems. Once I got to the main ridge I turned and headed up to the summit of Minerva Hoyt (named after one of the main advocates for creating the park). There looked to be a false summit that I went around, but it turns out it would have been easier to just go over it. From the summit of Minerva Hoyt there is a use trail that goes along the ridge to the summit of Quail Mountain.  

Looking across the ridge.

 The use trail was mostly easy to follow, and I was soon on the summit of Quail Mountain. The summit is broad and it is not entirely clear which pile of rocks is the highest, so I tagged both of them. There was marginal cell service (Verizon) on top, but none lower down the mountain. It was a bit chilly, so I quickly got on the air and made plenty of contacts on the bands I tried. The views to San Gorgonio and San Jacinto were great, and it was nice to see the park from a different angle.

View of the Salton Sea and Coachella Valley

 To get back down, I simple retraced my steps. Following the use path back to Minerva Hoyt was challenging in places. In the wash at the bottom I climbed out too soon and had a little work to find the trail. There were people going up the trail as I headed out, hopefully they had fun. Back at the parking lot it was quite busy, all the spots were taken and people were playing on the big rocks there. Overall, a fun summit and nice morning.

 

Joshua Trees at the parking lot.

 

Trailhead: Quail Springs parking area.

Website: SOTA Site.

Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.

Route: Take the trail across the wash, then find the trail that goes over the low pass. Head down the wash a short ways, then up the ridge to Minerva Hoyt. Take the use path across the ridge to the summit.

Red Tape: None, just the standard national park things.