When I first started exploring the trails around Southern California, I did what a lot of new hikers do: I made a list of trails and tried to check them all off. There’s something innately satisfying about seeing my progress right there in front of me. I’m able to look at the list and say, “Oh, I’ve hiked a third of the peaks in Southern California above 5,000 feet” or “I’ve stood on top of the 10 highest points in the San Gabriel Mountains. ”In my book, as long as you’re outside (and following park rules), you’re doing it right. And for those looking for an entry point into the outdoors, lists can be a good place to start.

The Nancy Karl loop sits at the top of the Friendly Hills in Joshua Tree – a quiet neighborhood that backs up the northern border of the National Park. The trailhead is tucked near the end of Sunny Vista Road. There are homes and fences right on the trailhead, but it only takes a few minutes of walking on the soft granite path to feel like you are in the national park, with lichen covered boulders appearing as you gently gain about 300ft in elevation on the 2.3 mile loop.

Full disclosure: I wasn’t always a fan of California native plants because, honestly, I didn’t know anything about them. I was too busy being googly eyed over show-stopper ornamentals like roses. My grandmother grew abundant roses as easily as I grow weeds, and I used to follow her in the garden as she cut huge bucketfuls for the cemetery (never for the living; I never saw a vase of flowers in her home). But as I lugged the buckets behind her, I’d put my nose in the growing bouquet and breathe in all those scents, some spicy, some rosy and some just honey sweet.

The California Fish and Game Commission delayed the decision again today over whether to grant state protection to the western Joshua tree. The petition to protect the plant under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) was submitted in 2019. If it is listed, it would be the first species to earn protection in the state because of climate change. But the process has been contentious. And even when the decision is made, the fate of the plant is far from sealed.

The California Fish and Game Commission delayed the decision again today over whether to grant state protection to the western Joshua tree. The petition to protect the plant under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) was submitted in 2019. If it is listed, it would be the first species to earn protection in the state because of climate change. But the process has been contentious. And even when the decision is made, the fate of the plant is far from sealed.

You’ll see it just east of Yucca Valley, along the busy Twentynine Palms Highway, a mysterious sign with four huge red letters — MDLT — underlined by a fat arrow pointing north. It’s only when you’re closer to the sign that you‘ll see the illustration of a multi-limbed Joshua tree arcing against a bright blue sky, signaling that you’ve arrived at the sandy-colored headquarters of the Mojave Desert Land Trust. You’ll need these directions, and an early wakeup call, if you plan to attend the Land Trust’s biannual native plant sale on Oct. 8, which features solely plants that grow in the high and low lands of the Mojave Desert. The sale is short — from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. — but eager buyers start lining up before 8 a.m., said Director of Communications Jessica Dacey, “and when we open the doors, they run.”