Essential Knowledge for Camping in Joshua Tree During the Summer
Part II
(Part I is here)
This article will give you some tips for camping in Joshua Tree in the summer!
First of all, don’t die. I am dead serious. Bad word-play aside, safety first at all times is critical to having a favorable experience in the heat of the desert summer. Like all environments, the desert can be lethal. With extreme temperatures and minimal water sources, the desert can be even more dangerous than other environments. Dehydration and heat illness can become a life-threatening issue in very little time. Too often unfortunate souls get swallowed up by the deserts of the Southwest. Many more close calls happen, and it can be a very harrowing experience to be unprepared out in the heat of desert summers. By preparing a plan, water, sun protection, and shade, a desert camper can safely enjoy hot summer days in Joshua Tree and the deserts of Southern California. Let’s get on to some specifics!
Make Sure You Have a Plan
The number one thing to know about summer camping in Joshua Tree is to have a plan. Hiking in Joshua Tree can be more dangerous than in other places for a variety of reasons in addition to temperature. The strange terrain can make it difficult for non-experts and experts alike to note landmarks. Landmarks in Joshua Tree can be easily obscured by tall rock piles and deep canyons. Having a plan means not hiking alone whenever possible and notifying emergency contacts of your intended locations ahead of time, along with an estimated return time. That way if you are hurt or lost, help can be on the way.
If you get lost – stay put! Find shade as quickly as possible. Staying put, remaining calm, and seeking shade will greatly increase your chances of survival.
Water Consumption
Each person in desert heat requires: One Gallon of Water per Day Sedentary | Two Gallons of Water per Day Active
The other number one thing to know about camping in Joshua Tree during the summer is water consumption. In hot weather we each need to drink one gallon of drinking water per day. If you are walking or hiking, you’ll need two gallons per day. Since taking precautions is easy, I personally double or triple my water needs and count on four to six gallons of water per person per day in desert summers. It is obviously not particularly feasible to hike with six gallons of water, yet bringing extra water in a car is generally easy, so you may as well do it. It feels amazing to splash yourself with water throughout the day in desert summers!
A general hiking rule of thumb is to only hike until you are half out of water and turn back. That’s pretty good general advice, yet in the desert summers, I prefer to once again increase safety levels. I personally prefer to hike until I am one third out of water, or even a quarter out of water on super hot days – three quarters left – and then turn back. That way, I will hope to have at least a third of water left on completion of the hike. In summer hiking, it is not completely unexpected to be more tired and hot on the way back than the way out, and therefore it is nice to know you’ll have a little more water to drink on the return trip. It is also nice to know you’ll have a little extra in the event you encounter someone that needs a little extra. That being said, it is extremely important to drink water when you are thirsty. Trying to conserve water while hiking can quickly lead to heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
People that are overheating and are heading toward heatstroke, or are already there, tend to dump their water on themselves to cool off. If you are hiking with limited water, do not do this! Your body needs water internally much more than the short burst of external cooling pouring water on yourself might give. If you are at your campsite, or hiking with a group of several people with excess water than is needed for drinking, then OK, if you are overheating, sparingly splashing yourself with water is a great way to cool off!
Sun Protection
Long-Sleeved Shirts | Wide-Brimmed Hat | Sunscreen | Structural Shade
After planning and water consumption, appropriate sun protection is the next most critical consideration while camping out in a Joshua Tree summer. Wearing long sleeved shirts is an easy way to keep the energy of the sun away from you. Clothing is portable sun protection. Although it might seem intuitive to wear short sleeves and shorts, it is often more comfortable to wear light-weight and light-colored long sleeves. The clothing reflects sunlight and heat, so that instead of your skin absorbing the energy, it is reflected by the cloth. Most cloth is SPF 70-100, more or less the maximum the scale reaches.
Similarly, wide-brimmed hats – with a brim all around – shade not just your face, but your neck and upper torso as well. As Joshua Tree is prone to wind, a string on your hat, that can be tucked under your chin, is an effective way to keep it on your noggin.
Ultraviolet light from the sun is extremely damaging to skin cells. Using sunscreen on every part of your exposed skin is critical to avoiding a sunburn. In addition to causing skin cancer, sunburn is known to increase the likelihood of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, so getting too much sun is definitely something to be avoided.
Shade is another essential aspect of desert camping. Ideally you will be able to camp in a spot with natural shade. It is always advisable to have a backup plan for creating shade in case that there is no natural shade available, as is often the case in the desert. Having a plan for structural shade is critical in desert summers.
A bare minimum level for creating shade is getting in the car! It’s easy to think of the car as an unideal place to be in extreme heat, yet with the windows and doors open, a car can provide ample midday shade! If you open the doors, just make sure it’s not too windy and your lights aren’t on and draining the batteries! In the mornings and evenings, it can often be possible to park your car in such a way to block morning and evening sun. Of course, we should never drive off established roads and camping spots. Nature is much too valuable and rare for us to carelessly destroy it.
If you are stuck in sand in a car, try rolling it out by putting it in drive and reverse in a quick repetitive rhythmic motion to get out. Generally speaking, you will want to keep going in reverse once you have enough momentum to get moving. Once you get moving, don’t stop until you are onto hard pack and are sure you will have hard ground enough to turn.
A well-ventilated tent with the windows open can provide excellent shade as well. Wind must be considered while choosing shade options. I prefer to always assume there will be wind than rely on forecasts. That means staking down tents with extra stakes, and using weights and wind blocks to secure attachment points. Umbrellas can provide reasonable shade in non-windy conditions. An advantage of using an umbrella is that it is somewhat easy to put away in event of a wind storm.
A more advanced shade technique is to bring your own shade structure. Structures such as EZ-Ups can work if tied down. Ideally, each leg will have three guy-wires. Wind in Joshua Tree can be fierce and unpredictable. It is best to be prepared for high winds whenever camping in Joshua Tree. In a future post, we’ll go over some shade structures using shade cloth, green metal fence U-posts, 1”x2’’s, bungee cords, and staples. For another time!
That’s all for now! Thank you for reading and don’t forget to join our mailing list! Happy camping!