I love hiking. I absolutely love getting to hike through mountains and the desert. Hiking in Palm Springs is a must. There are so many great trail options. We drove about 15 minutes from the town to Andreas Canyon in the Palm Springs Indian Canyons. We got there at about 8:30 a.m. and were one of the first people in the park. I would definitely suggest starting early in the morning because by noon it is hot hot hot! However, the mornings are somewhat brisk and so hiking is really comfortable early on in the day. We started off by walking an easy loop (Aqua Caliente loop) around a spring which was super fun, really easy and perfect for kids. We then walked the Murray Canyon trail which took about an hour and half. When we were almost at the very end, a family warned us that they had seen a rattle snake a little further up the trail. The rattlesnake warning did it for me and we turned around right there! We never finished the trail but had so much fun hiking even just part of it.
We hiked most through really beautiful desert but every now and then we would stumble upon a creek covered by really lush vegetation. Palm trees flourished around the creek even though the surrounding area was completely barren. As we were walking through the desert and stumbling upon these little lush areas watered by the creeks, Matt and I kept thinking about how the Bible constantly uses streams of water to illustrate the power of God’s spirit in our lives.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD.
“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.”
Jeremiah 17: 7-9.
“And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.” – Isaiah 58:11.
I will forever remember this hike as a place where I visually saw the truth of those verses. There is just nothing like walking through the desert and stumbling upon a little lush pocket in the midst of nothingness. What a perfect visual for the work of God’s spirit.
