Joshua Trees - and lots of them - in the northwestern portion of the wilderness area (view east).
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Overview
Wee Thump Joshua Tree is a relatively small (6,050 acres) wilderness area established to protect a forest of dense,
old-growth Joshua Trees. The wilderness area is relatively flat,
sloping gently from west to east at elevations ranging from about 5,000 to 4,100 feet. The wilderness area is surrounded
by dirt and paved roads that give access to the far reaches of the forest and some amazing views out over the wilderness
area towards Spirit Mountain to the southeast. Gilded Flickers (flickers with yellow wing lining) can be found here.
There are no trails, but this is a great place to spend a day with the family wandering about, listening to the woodpeckers
and the wind in the Joshua Trees, and enjoying a picnic lunch in
the desert. This is also a good area for spring wildflowers.
Link to map of the wilderness area. |
View across the southwest portion of the wilderness area (view east towards Spirit Mountain).
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Location
The Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area is located about 50 air-miles south of Las Vegas between Searchlight, Nevada,
and Nipton, California, on the north side of Nevada Highway 164. The southeast corner of the wilderness area (Table 1,
Site 1) is on Highway 164 about 8.1 miles west of Searchlight, and the southwest corner (Site 7) is on the highway about
13.0 miles west of Searchlight. In California, Highway 164 becomes Nipton Road. |
Southeast corner of the wilderness area just off Highway 164 (view north).
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Boundaries
The area is basically triangular-shaped with the tip of the triangle cut off. The southern boundary, the base of the
triangle, is 4.9-miles long and runs parallel to Highway 164. The western boundary is 5.1-miles long and follows a dirt
powerline road. The eastern boundary is 4.5-miles long and runs along a dirt road. The northern boundary, the short side,
is 1.1-miles long and follows a dirt road.
Access
The easiest access to the wilderness area is from Highway 164, the "Joshua Tree Highway." |
Typical conditions on the west-boundary road (view northeast).
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From Searchlight, drive west on Highway 164 for about 8.1 miles to a dirt road on the north side of the highway
marked only by a stop sign (Table 1, Site 1). This is the southeast corner of the wilderness area. A broken windmill stands
about 200 yards up the dirt road (Site 2). The turnoff is 1.2 miles west of Walking Box Ranch Road (which has a road sign).
After making the turn onto the dirt road, a big Wilderness Area boundary sign becomes visible.
Continuing west on Highway 164 from Searchlight, almost everything north (right) of Highway 164 for the next 4.9 miles
(to another dirt road with a stop sign) is wilderness. The dirt road (Site 7) marks the southwest corner of the wilderness
area. |
Nice Joshua Tree in the southeastern portion of the wilderness area (view west).
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From Interstate 15, drive east on Nipton Road for 18.2 miles to a dirt road marked with a stop sign on the north (left)
side of the road (Site 7). The turnoff is about 5.3 miles east of the California-Nevada state line (third stop sign on the north
side of the road in Nevada). The dirt road marks the southwest corner of the wilderness area.
CAUTION: The dirt road at the southwest corner of the wilderness area passes through an old mining area (near to Site 6).
At least some of the shafts and adits are marked, but remember that while mines are inherently interesting, they
are never safe to enter. One vertical shaft near the road could easily swallow
a car. |
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Roads surround the wilderness area. The complete loop is about 15.6 miles. About 4.9 miles of the boundary road are
paved. For the remainder of the loop, a high-clearance vehicle is recommended, but probably not necessary for careful drivers
if the roads are dry. From the southeast corner (Site 1) of the wilderness area, the east-boundary road runs generally
northwest for 4.5 miles to the northeast corner (Site 3) of the wilderness area. From that T-intersection, the north-boundary
road runs west for 1.1 miles to another intersection at the the northwest corner (Site 4) of the wilderness area. From that
intersection, the west-boundary road runs generally southwest under high-tension powerlines 5.1 miles
back to the highway (Site 7). |
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When driving south on the west-boundary road, one turn is a bit confusing. As the road runs across desert flats under
the powerline, the road runs uphill into a broad canyon and up onto a saddle. Over the saddle, the west-boundary road turns
left at a T-intersection (Site 5) and runs down into a narrow canyon (sandy road). The powerline road goes uphill, stays under
the powerlines, and gets a bit rough. Drive down the narrow canyon, up onto a saddle with mines (near to Site 6), and continue
straight and slightly left over a cattle grate (Site 6), through a fence, and follow the fence to the highway (Site 7). |
Stately Joshua Tree (view northwest). |
Terrain
The area is a gently sloping desert bajada with elevations that range from about 4,100 to 5,000 feet. The higher western
section is on the hilly lower slopes of the South McCullough Mountains, but the rest
gently slopes to the southeast. Several shallow washes cut west-to-east across the wilderness area, converging into a
sandy wash at the base of the Highland Range (just outside the eastern boundary) and flowing south. |
Joshua Tree-Blackbrush habitat in the northern portions of the wilderness area (view west). |
Habitat Type
The entire wilderness area is located in the Mojave Desert Scrub
(Upper Sonoran) life zone, but there are two distinct habitat types.
In the higher-elevation western and northern areas, the habitat type is a Blackbrush--Joshua Tree forest. Many other
plant species are present, especially in washes, but Blackbrush
and Joshua Trees dominate the landscape with a scattering
of Mojave Yucca
and Buckhorn Cholla.
In the lower-elevation areas (southeastern areas), the vegetation is more typical
Mojave Desert Scrub with
Joshua Trees. Here,
Creosote Bush,
White Bursage,
Mojave Yucca,
Banana Yucca,
Bunchgrasses,
Cholla (including
Matted Cholla) and
Pricklypear cactus, and a variety of other low-growing desert
shrubs dominate the landscape. The invasive Red Brome Grass is
not too much of a problem here. |
Grassy area on the east side of the wilderness area (view west).
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Wildlife
Birds in the area include Gilded Flicker, Northern Flicker,
Ladder-backed Woodpecker,
Black-throated Sparrow,
Red-tailed Hawk,
Crissal Thrasher,
Golden Eagle,
Loggerhead Shrike,
Common Raven,
Cactus Wren, and
Bushtits. This is the only place in Nevada where Gilded
Flickers are known to occur. Desert tortoises occur here.
Mammals include bighorn sheep,
coyote,
black-tailed jack rabbit,
desert cottontail,
valley pocket gophers,
kangaroo rats,
pocket mice, and
desert woodrats.
Archaeology
This area probably was traversed by native peoples traveling between the
South McCullough Mountains and the Colorado River area, but I have no specific
information about native use in the wilderness area. |
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Geology
This area lies on the bajada and valley below the South McCullough Mountains.
The bajada, composed entirely of outwash materials from the McCullough Mountains, dominates the local geology. Alluvial
soils are deep and well sorted, with few rocks of any size in the wilderness area. The soils appear to be coarse-grained
decomposed granite, but they are the decomposition products of metamorphic rocks. |
Low-impact (Leave No Trace) campsite at the center of the wilderness area. |
Threats
The greatest human threat to the wilderness area is off-road driving. While the boundary is well signed, fair numbers
of off-roaders use the area. Most say outside the wilderness area to the east, but some drive up the washes and over vegetation
into the wilderness area. Campers gather dead Joshua Trees for firewood, reducing habitat for
desert woodrats and
desert night lizards.
Visitors to the Wilderness Area should be sure to practice low-impact
(Leave No Trace) camping and hiking techniques. |
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