Disturbed only by time

The badlands that make up Kit Fox Hills is a spot that is largely pristine, undisturbed and viewed by most from a far.  There are no trails, just short canyons a couple of which traverse the width of these badlands.  Mostly in hues of red the badlands lack the colors that comprise Artist Palatte and Zabrieske Point.  But what they lack in color variety they more than make up for in textures, fauna and unspoiled desert.

What had gotten our attention originally was the curious sight of a cluster of palm trees very much out of place with the surrounding native California desert.  Walking on untouched ground is one thing but when you venture into this type of ground you have to walk light, unfortunately it was very evident that some people had previously walked through either unaware or apathetic about what their impact was on this harsh yet delicate landscape.  Quite a few times the ground was just too soft and the impact too great to proceed, finding a way while minimizing intrusive evidence is something that is very important to us.  Fortunately all you have to do is just take an extra 10 minutes and walk around the badlands following a much harder bottomed stream bed that leads you to the base of the hills instead of through them.  Once you’re at the base you walk on a much more tolerant sand/dirt mixture that heals quickly from disturbances.

I’ve seen other photographers that have zero regard for the environment in which they are shooting, which is quite perplexing.  Tromping through an area with absolutely zero comprehension of where their foot may fall or what their impact is in totality.  If anyone should want the landscape to stay protected and unchanged it should be photographers.   However it would not surprise me if the previously mentioned disturbances were from a few photographers looking for a shot.

Once you get within 10 yards of the trees it becomes apparent what grants them the chance to survive in this ruthless habitat.  A spring provides them a reprieve from the judgement of the valley, it exits at the base of a hill before leaving behind salt footprints as the only evidence of having ventured beyond it’s current domain.  Sadly these palm trees have robbed native trees that were once large and probably quite impressive of the water they needed to attain their size and sustain it.  The palms sit right at the point where the water frees itself of the hills, because of this they soak up a majority of the water before it even has a chance to run down and nurture the native flora.  The damage has been done and would take decades for it to be restored to it’s natural splendor again.  However cutting down those palm’s would devastate the current residents that have adapted to live in this foreign flora.  Management is now the only option to try and correct the mistakes of those painted by history as short sighted.

To Life

 

The bush in the foreground was once alive and thriving, but the palm trees have robbed it of the life giving water.

 

Even in death these trees provide great photo opportunities.

 

A Brittlebush arch

 

 

White rock stepping stones along the creek bed used to walk around the badlands.

 

Surrounded by white rock this plant was unable to survive the relentless sun combined with the abundance of bounce light provided by the lightness of the rock.

 

These remains of a plant have laid here undisturbed for a very long time, perhaps hundreds of years.

 

Another arch that one day will crumble and become part of the earth once again.

 

 

Im unsure of the name of this plant however it is thriving and blooming in this small canyon.

 

 

One of our favorite from this series, results from being too far downstream from a water source.