STANDING TALL ROUGH TIMES FOR JOSHUA TREES, BUT NAMESAKE NATIONAL PARK REMAINS A TREASURE.

Byline: STORY AND PHOTOS BY ERIC NOLAND Travel Editor

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK -- The Joshua trees still stand majestically, if crookedly, in the desert northeast of Palm Springs. We can only hope there is a little bit of defiance in that posture, too.

Because the odd, furry trees with the wildly contorted limbs are under siege in Joshua Tree National Park. Lightning strikes this past July touched off seven wildfires here, burning 3,000 acres, including some rich forests in the heart of the park. Before that, the trees had suffered through a prolonged drought -- less than 3 inches of rain in 2001, a mere nine-tenths of an inch in 2002.

``Everything,'' said park ranger Laureen Lentz, ``is stacked against the Joshua tree: air quality, fire, rodents using the trees as an emergency canteen during drought -- scraping off bark to get to its moisture. We lost the tallest tree in the park during the drought -- it was 40-plus feet.''

Yet, for all their troubles, the Joshua trees and their namesake national park still treat visitors to a memorable desert experience, particularly now, as the region enters its cool winter season. Here, within a largely untracked reserve of more than 1,200 square miles, are sublime beauty, astonishing diversity and blissful quietude, all just a couple of hours' drive east of Los Angeles.

The park recently opened a new visitor center in its northwestern corner, making it a more convenient day trip from Palm Springs (the facility is 28 miles from Interstate 10 via Highway 62).

Once in the park, there is much to choose from, whether you're intrigued by its jumbled geology, rich and checkered human history, or rugged recreations such as hiking or rock-climbing.

From one end to the other, Joshua Tree National Park presents a forbidding, hardscrabble environment, but entrepreneurs found their way here anyway in the 1800s, mining for gold and other metals, raising cattle (some of which were undoubtedly stolen) and scratching out a mean existence.

The concept of pioneer perseverance is particularly fascinating to most visitors, so many of Joshua Tree's hikes and ranger programs revolve around former ranches and mining settlements.

The most popular program is a tour of Keys Ranch, an elaborate former homestead that is accessible only on guided walks, offered twice a day during the winter.

In the tow of personable and knowledgeable ranger Adrienne Fitzgerald, we wandered through the tumbledown ranch complex on a recent Sunday afternoon, trying to imagine a family living in this desolate box canyon in the early 1900s, when the nearest doctor was in Banning, a two-day ride in a horse-drawn wagon.

Bill and Frances Keys raised cattle, planted a garden and orchard, dammed up the wash ... and apparently never threw anything away.

Since there was no Home Depot to run to when a harness needed mending or a fan belt broke on the well pump, Bill maintained a random collection of machinery, hardware and gizmos salvaged from abandoned desert enterprises. He'd cannibalize as necessary to repair this or that.

It all lies strewn about pretty much as he left it upon his death in 1969, and during our visit a couple of researchers were poking through the stuff, systematically categorizing it all for the park service. ``Bill would probably get a laugh if he knew his junkyard is protected as a historic site,'' Fitzgerald said.

Also at the ranch are a schoolhouse that served the handful of local kids, a store operated by Frances, a windmill that groans as the breezes turn it and fences made of Joshua tree logs. Keys lived here with his family for 52 years -- except for that five-year stretch he did in San Quentin for gunning down a neighbor.

On another day, we hiked to the former site of Pine City, a mining camp that also dated to the early 1900s.

It's said of most national parks that the vast majority of visitors rarely stray more than a few feet from the park roads. But what rewards await you if you venture farther, and the Pine City hike delivered handsomely.

It required a drive of 1 1/2 miles on a bumpy dirt mining road. Then, from the trailhead, the hike was a fairly flat round trip of 3 1/2 miles. We were never sure when or if we reached the site of the Pine City settlement -- and, in fact, accidentally strayed well past it, which required some boulder scrambling -- but the journey was much more important than the destination.

The dusty trail winds through a forest of Joshua trees, punctuated with juniper, yucca and bright-red barrel cactuses, then to an area of rocky outcroppings and gnarled pinyon pines.

The brilliant-blue sky, fresh-scented air and stillness of the desert were the greatest rewards of all, though; we encountered only two other hikers on this trek.

More challenging recreation can be found where great chunks of Joshua Tree's monzogranite pile up like stacking blocks. After the hike, we relaxed over lunch at Hidden Valley Campground and watched rock-climbing daredevils creep up the buff-colored stone like human lizards. Intersection Rock, at the campground's entrance, has been a climbers' mecca since the early 1970s.

Even if you aren't inclined to scale a steep boulder face or venture into some of Joshua Tree's more remote reaches, the park roads are nonetheless accommodating. They bend this way and that to take in many of the reserve's notable features, which are legion.

This is a uniquely situated park, in that it lies at the junction of two substantial ecosystems -- the Mojave Desert, which reaches into southern Nevada, and the Colorado Desert, which spreads south through California and Baja California.

The roads take in Joshua tree forests (some charred by the summer blazes), cactus gardens, two palm oases and such dramatic geologic formations as Skull Rock, Cap Rock and Jumbo Rocks.

One stub of road heads down to Keys View, a spectacular perch in the Little San Bernardino Mountains that overlooks the lush resort developments of the Coachella Valley.

The best visibility is found in winter. (During the summer, the San Gorgonio Pass can serve as a funnel, venting the smog of the Los Angeles Basin.) We gazed south across the Salton Sea and caught an uncommon glimpse of Signal Mountain, which lies 95 miles into Mexico.

The San Andreas Fault is clearly defined, too, along with the tortuous geologic activity it fostered ages ago. Mount San Jacinto, at 10,804 feet, rises above Palm Springs, at 150 feet, in the space of just six linear miles -- one of the steepest escarpments in the United States.

Although most tourists confine their visit to a loop through the northwestern corner of the park, a drive down the Pinto Basin Road to the southern reaches also offers many rewards.

The Joshua trees disappear here, but ocotillo and cholla cactuses take their place. The ocotillos can be glorious in their spring bloom, while the self-guided natural trail at the Cholla Cactus Garden is always a favorite.

On a visit in the morning or late afternoon, gaze across the cholla field toward the sun, which backlights the cactuses and casts them in a soft, fuzzy glow. Early travelers nicknamed them Teddy Bear Chollas, but don't be deceived; they're not the least bit cuddly. In fact, another name is Jumping Chollas; it's so easy to get stuck while brushing up against one of these things that some early pioneers were convinced that the quills could leap into a human arm or leg.

We made another stop at Cottonwood Spring, an oasis of trickling surface water, humming bees and massive palm trees. The interconnected aspect of geology is starkly evident here. An information panel notes that this water source was pumped nearly dry by a mining operation in the early 20th century, but it became a robust spring again as the result of subterranean shifts that occurred in the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake -- 150 miles away in the San Fernando Valley.

How Joshua Tree National Park will fare in the coming years is anyone's guess, especially given the surge in development on three sides -- in the Coachella, Morongo and Yucca valleys.

Joe Zarki, the park's chief of interpretation, notes that ozone levels in Joshua Tree's air have risen markedly in recent years. ``It's a source of nitrogen,'' he said. ``It precipitates out of the air and into the landscape, so there are higher concentrations in the soil. Desert plants are not equipped to deal with it, but annual grasses do fix and use nitrogen readily, which gives them a competitive advantage over native plants. When the grasses dry out, they create fuel for fire.''

So the park is seeing more intense wildfires, and in more frequent cycles, which the slow-growing Joshua trees can't adapt to. They haven't been able to re-establish themselves before the next fire sweeps through.

Between these phenomena, the effects of drought and global climate change, Zarki said, ``One scientist feels the Joshua trees might disappear from the desert landscape in the next 100 years.''

All the more reason to savor these treasures today -- perhaps to wander off on a trail just after dawn and ponder the magnificence of the hardy survivors that remain.

[e-mail]

[phone]

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: The new Joshua Tree Visitor Center, just outside the northwest corner of the park, is convenient to Palm Springs -- a 28-mile drive from Interstate 10 via Highway 62 (also known as Twentynine Palms Boulevard). Turn right on Park Boulevard, which also leads to the West Entrance Station. Other entry points to the park are off I-10 east of Indio (Cottonwood entrance) and on the north side at Twentynine Palms (Oasis entrance).

COSTS, TOURS: The park entry fee is $15 per vehicle, good for seven days. The Keys Ranch Guided Walking Tour costs $5 for ages 12 and up, $2.50 for children ages 6 to 11. The 90-minute tour is offered at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekends through May, and on weekdays on a variable schedule (for these offerings, visit the park Web site and consult ``Ranger Programs'' under ``Things to Do''). The tour may be booked by calling [phone] between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. It's popular, so it's advisable to make reservations well in advance, particularly for weekends and holidays.

OFF THE SHELF: A terrific resource for a visit to this national park, particularly if you want to do some hiking, is ``Joshua Tree: The Complete Guide'' ($19.95; Destination Press). It is packed with history, detailed maps and colorful photos.

INFORMATION: www.nps.gov/jotr; [phone].

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color) A Joshua tree is backlit by the morning sun on the trail to Pine City in Joshua Tree National Park. Rock-climbers are fond of the geologic formations at Hidden Valley Campground, above left. For historic lodgings near the park, try the 29 Palms Inn, where a funky sing points the way to the rooms, left; for the story on the inn, see Page 5.

(4 -- 6) There's more to Joshua Tree National Park than its titular trees. Above, cholla cactus grows thickly in the southern reaches of the park. Below left, a functioning windmill sthat still draws water and fencing built with lumbar can be found at Keys Ranch. Below right, park ranger Adrienne Fitzgerald speaks to a group of tourists at Keys View, a dramatic overlook that takes in Palm Springs, the Salton Sea and a mountain deep in Mexico.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)