"For there are two deserts: One is a grim desolate wasteland. It is the home of venomous reptiles and stinging insects, of vicious thorn-covered plants and trees and unbearable heat... visualized by those children of luxury to whom any environment is intolerable which does not provide all the comforts and luxuries of a pampering civilization.
The other desert -- the real desert -- is not for the eyes of the superficial observer or the fearful soul of the cynic. It is a land which reveals its true character only to those who come with courage, tolerance, and understanding. For those the desert holds rare gifts." -- Randall Henderson, On Desert Trails

In winter and spring the somnolent high desert is an enchanted land, possessing not only an atmosphere of a quality that defies description, but the world's most exquisite silence as well ...

Eastern San Diego County. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. More than 600,000 acres; the largest state park in the contiguous 48 states. A park the size of the state of Rhode Island. Elevations from around sea-level to over 6,000 feet. From the remote and highest elevations, coniferous woodlands overlook the desert. A vast, but fragile solitude only a few miles from the teaming masses. Many places here have probably never known the footfall of man.

above: December 1999. Backpacking with my daughter and some friends, Coyote Canyon area, Anza-Borrego Desert. I slept under the stars*, and enjoyed the awesome views of the Milky Way and the occasional meteor (everyone else slept in tents). No moon, no clouds -- beautiful. Nighttime temperatures around 0 degrees centigrade, daytime temperatures -- perfect. Particularly enjoyed the lush vegetation, many waterfalls, and Indian pictographs in Cougar Canyon. * (Here is an experience I have enjoyed several times and wish that everyone might be fortunate enough to experience -- to fall asleep beneath the great starry sky and to awaken to a desert sunrise.)

To the calloused eye of one passing as quickly as possible on a paved highway, the deserts of North America's southwest may seem a dull expanse of unvarying nothingness. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, these are lands of surprising secrets and great variety in textures and colors.

"As I took my first steps away from Punta Baja, a woman called after me, 'Are you not afraid?' 'Of what?' I replied. 'Coyotes.' 'No, they are my amigos. At night we sing together.' ... coyote trails can do a lot of thinking for you... My advice to anyone lost off the beaten track ... is to find a coyote trail, and think long and hard before leaving it. Go with nature. You might come face to face with the occasional coyote. If so, thank him, he will almost certainly guide you safely around cliffs, through steep arroyos and difficult brush." -- Graham Mackintosh