TRAVEL | it's how far up

This was maybe one of the scariest things I've ever done for a blog post, and I never saw it coming. I'm not scared of heights, so the 8k foot ascension above the Sonoran Desert on the Palm Springs Aerial Tram sounded like a great idea when they invited Sallie and I aboard. Then suddenly, I was in a glass bubble that was slowly rotating up a cable into the San Jacinto mountains, and....it was incredible. 

Somewhere along the way up, the terrain changes from dusty desert to a heavily wooded forest, closely resembling those where I live, far in the north of the state. It was an oasis unlike what you'd typically expect in a place where average temperatures can, and regularly do, reach 116 degrees fahrenheit. An alpine forest, the state park is significantly cooler than the land below it. Walking into the ground lobby, where you board your tram, and then the lodge at the top of the mountains, I almost forgot where I was. It reminded me of lodges in Europe, with their rickety wood paneling and dark restaurants. Outside, you feel like you're in a National Park ad, with the few tourists who found this gem, and the regulars who know where to locate a good hike meandering among the meticulously maintained paths. 

According to the guide, you pass through five different biomes on the way up, and it's easy to believe. The landscapes change drastically. Or maybe it just looks like that because they're getting smaller and smaller.

10/10 would recommend taking a bit of a hike up to the Tramway if you're looking for something different to do - or even just the slightest bit of a cool breeze in Southern California.

x J

ps. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway runs year round, minus holidays, and tickets can be purchased online up to 24 hours in advance. 



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palm summers + joshua tree

watch in 1080hd for best view of my face

 I'm pretty much down for whatever happens when I'm traveling,  but there's an intense satisfaction in a place being exactly like you'd thought it'd be.  I always imagined Palm Springs as the golf course of southern California, full of old people and pastel colored condos in gated communities.  When sallies and I rolled into town at midnight, I was pleasantly surprised to be completely right. 

Everyone knows I love pretentious little outposts of humanity, and Palm Springs was no different, filled up with overpriced boutiques and water sucking trees. To combat that, we headed forty minutes south into the desert to visit Joshua Tree. (And no, the irony of purposely driving into a landscape that has killed thousands of people for the sake of recreation doesn't escape me.) It was incredible. Very quickly you're hit with this sensation of being a very small part of something bigger. About ten miles in, you can stand in the middle of the road, turn in a circle, and see nothing except more road and the desert spreading out around you. There's also this quiet. It's very heavy, and very present in its complete absence of the everyday noises of society. You begin to realize what an intense impact we really have made on nature, and what it must have looked before we trampled through. It also makes you realize how truly insignificant humans are in terms of the entire planet. I'm an exceptionally loud person, but standing in the middle of the desert, screaming just to see if I could make a dent in the quiet? I doubt you could hear me even thirty yards away. 

The heat was intense, ("sunny and 70" was more wishful thinking than accurate statement) but we had juice boxes and The Life of Pablo to help us chill out. I also had read about a bajillion travel articles about this particular patch of California history and was READY.

If you're planning a trip into the desert, here are some quick pro-tips:
 - make sure you bring snacks
- take all proffered bathroom breaks. Eventually, you get to this point when you're driving where you're not far enough in, but you're too far to turn back.
- pre-load any maps/playlists/apps that need data because it's not real once you turn off the freeway
- ICE. BRING ICE.
- don't touch nature unless it rose up to touch you

I also want to mention that standing/sitting/leaping in the middle of roads is not a safe practice unless you can see three miles down it in both directions and are CERTAIN you will not be flattened.

x J

ps. in september, jordan + I are going back to joshua tree to vibe with childish gambino/see Jesus/join a cult maybe, and it's going to be LIT. #pharos

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