Quail Mountain, at , is the highest mountain in

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to t ...

and the highest point in the

Little San Bernardino Mountains The Little San Bernardino Mountains are a short mountain range of the Transverse Ranges, located in southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains through San Bernardino and ...

of the very southern reach of the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

. It is one of the southernmost peaks in the

Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa B ...

, with the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

just across the

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado De ...

and

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...

Trails

The mountain can be reached by foot from almost any direction. The regular route utilizes the California Riding and Hiking Trail starting from Keys View road and traverses barren, burned desert to Juniper Flats. From there it is about more of cross-country hiking to the flat summit which is marked by a large cairn. There are no trails to the summit, all routes involve cross-country hiking. The best times to hike the peak are Fall, Winter and Spring. Winter can be very cold and windy, and summer is very hot and not recommended. Fall (October–December) is probably the safest time to visit the peak. Watch for rattlesnakes in the spring. There is no water or shade en route.

Natural history

Flora

Quail Mountain was previously covered with old-growth

California juniper ''Juniperus californica'', the California juniper, is a species of juniper native to southwestern North America. Description ''Juniperus californica'' is a shrub or small tree reaching , but rarely up to tall. The bark is ashy gray, typically t ...

(''Juniperus californica'') and

Single-leaf Pinyon ''Pinus monophylla'', the single-leaf pinyon, (alternatively spelled piñon) is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to North America. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and southe ...

(''Pinus monophylla''),

Joshua tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

(''Yucca brevifolia''), and Coastal sage scrub oak (''Quercus dumosa'') woodland. Several

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s burned over the mountain, leaving it very barren of taller woody plants, which continues while their slow natural regeneration occurs. There are occasional Pinyon pines and California junipers that survived, and they are the source for new generation.

Fauna

A few

Desert Bighorn Sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The Bu ...

live in the Little San Bernardino Mountains, and seeing one or a herd is a rewarding experience. Image:Quail Mountain August 2005.jpg Image:Bighorn Sheep on Quail Mountain.jpg

Event history

The devastating fire on Quail Mountain in 1999 unfortunately occurred again only 2 years later in 2001, and both burned over the mountain leaving it very barren of higher vegetation. On the mountain a few pieces of aircraft wreckage can still be found. On February 4, 1999, two civilian T-28's (N628B and N128BJ) piloted by Bill Jones and Greg Weber crashed into the side of the mountain killing both pilots. They were en route to Thermal Airport from Van Nuys Airport as a flight of two and impacted at the level on the west side of the mountain. At the time of the accident, the

were obscured by cloud cover.

References

{{reflist

External links

Joshua Tree National Park (U.S. National Park Service) website

Joshua Tree National Park Mountains of Riverside County, California Protected areas of Riverside County, California Protected areas of the Mojave Desert Protected areas of the Colorado Desert Mountains of Southern California Highest points of United States national parks