Joshua Tree 2020: Lost Horse Mine Loop Trail (Desert Trail Run)

An old mine stands where an old man lost his old horse. Can you run the whole thing?

Where: Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA

When: November 16th, 2020

Trail stats: 6.8 miles/900ft elevation gain

Forecast: Highs in 70s

Trail conditions: Hot and dry

Trail summary:

(the Lost Horse Mine)

Getting there early, we found parking in the lot and sunscreened-up. Nancy tricked me into thinking this was an easy one- and even the Hiking Project shortened stats compared to what we clocked on Strava.

Its a fun hike! Take the first left and go up towards the mine. The mine sits two miles up trail.

Continue up the loop and consider walking up the nearby highpoints. Views of Mt San Jacinto and Gorgonio are interesting, but I found the eastern valley captivating. Geology Road, the Twentynine Palms gate, and Malapai Hill are a more rare view. This area is suspected of being an ancient volcano.

Take the trail down and around a steep wall, then back up to the valley.

Joshua Trees greet you back. You still have about 4 miles back.

I am unfamiliar with desert running, and I'd nearly exhausted myself over the 900ft of gain we had already done. I never really felt like I could keep rhythm in the heat, so I ended up walking most of the way back.

Its hard to take a PNW girl and tell her to run in the high desert 😆 We did another trail run a few days after this- later when it was cooler and I'd acclimated. Happy to report I felt much better by then.

(An old fireplace sits on what's likely an old homestead)