The Night I Hiked Three Miles in the Dark to Find Joshua Tree's Hidden Treasure

Some of the best photography locations don't have a trailhead. Samuelson's Rocks—seven massive boulders bearing eight philosophical inscriptions deep in Joshua Tree National Park—is one of them. No trail, no signs, just open desert, a Milky Way overhead, and one of the most unusual night photography subjects in the American Southwest. Here's how I made the hike and created the shot, complete with a Perseid meteor for good measure.

"I Want to Photograph a Unicorn!"

Actually, that's true. I wanted to photograph a unicorn. Or Yucca Man. But it seemed like a combination of Samuelson's Rocks, the Milky Way, and a cryptid might be asking too much. But a Perseid meteor might be possible. This was the driving force behind walking three miles in the dark of night in an area with no trails.

However, there was one really big issue. It was summer, and the entire week was over 100 °F (38 °C) during the day.

Hiking in Joshua Tree during extreme summer heat can be dangerous. The National Park Service recommends avoiding hikes longer than two miles during the summer, so this was not a hike to take lightly. I planned to travel after sunset, carry substantial water and emergency supplies, and turn back if conditions became unsafe.

Preparing for the Hike

Because of the high temperature, I decided to wear my lightest moisture-wicking shirt. However, no shorts. After all, I was going to be going across three miles of desert filled with spiky plants and cacti. I would need to wear thick pants and boots despite the heat.

And I would need water. Lots and lots of water. I would bring 1.5 gallons of water with me for the hike and several gallons more to leave in the car.

However, there was no way that all this would fit in my camera bag. I quickly decided that I would put minimal camera gear into my old but tried-and-true REI Lookout 40 backpack. I had used this backpack for many international trips as well as hiking trips. It was comfortable and durable and held quite a lot. And it was comfortable. It would never let me down.

I'd be able to fit all my camera gear, 1.5 gallons of water, flashlights, and emergency supplies in there without an issue.

Now all I had to do was actually make the walk.

Hiking to Samuelson's Rocks

I arrived at my parking spot on August 5, 2026. The sun had long set, and it was already getting very dark. The day had been about 104 °F. Thankfully, Joshua Tree National Park sits higher in elevation. By waiting until the sun had set, the hike would be cooler and without the sun beating down on me.

I drank plenty of water before beginning my hike and continued drinking regularly throughout it. I like to begin my hikes well hydrated, while still making sure to keep drinking along the way.

The only issue, of course, was that it would be more challenging to navigate in the dark.

How Do You Navigate in the Dark When You Have No Cell Signal?

I love using the Garmin Explore app on my iPhone. Despite not having a cell signal, this app does surprisingly well, even without pairing it with a Garmin GPS device. 

I began walking, and the arrow indicated that I was going straight for Samuelson's Rocks. Perfect. I lined up where I was heading with the mountains in the distance, in back of Samuelson's Rocks, and then simply kept walking in that direction. Periodically, I would check my app to make sure I hadn't strayed. But lining this up worked really well. I was pleased that even though twilight was almost over, I could still see the faint outline of the mountains behind me.

I dodged the spiky plants and cacti, walking around them but always fixing my walk on the part of the mountains that I knew were directly behind my destination. When I walk in the desert at night, I tend to keep my flashlight pointed down at the ground in front of me. This disturbs less of the wildlife but also forces me to focus in front of me so I don't stab my foot or leg on one of the sharp cacti.

I crossed several large washes and knew I was getting close. I overshot the carved boulder by going a little bit to the left but adjusted my walk and arrived, walking approximately 1.5 miles in 42 minutes, including multiple hydration stops. I was very hot and sweaty. But I was there. Right before me was an enormous rock with a 100-year-old message carved into it by John Samuelson.

Who Was John Samuelson?

John Samuelson was an eccentric Swedish immigrant and prospector who lived in the Mojave Desert in the 1920s. He is most famous for carving political and philosophical musings onto seven boulders, with eight inscriptions in total, known collectively as Samuelson's Rocks, near his former homestead. He showed up at pioneer Bill Keys' doorstep looking for work in 1926. Keys quickly hired him to work around the ranch and at one of the mines near Keys View.

My Efforts to Photograph a Perseid Meteor Over Samuelson's Rocks

The most likely way to photograph a Perseid meteor, a week before its peak, would be to keep the camera going constantly. Click! Click! Click! Click!

And as a bonus, I'd be able to turn all those photos into a short time-lapse. It wouldn't be a long one, not like one of those shot for eight hours, but it would still be cool.

I jammed the tripod hard into the ground. I certainly didn't want it shifting in the sand during the time-lapse, after all. It had to be rock solid. Then I set my intervalometer to keep firing away and let the camera do its work.

I then spent most of my time sitting on the sand, looking at the stars. I like how still everything is. If you keep really still for a long time, you can see which way the stars are drifting.

The wind kicked up several times in surprisingly strong gusts. My tripod held firm, but for several of the gusts, I gently held the tripod in place to make sure.

I saw a couple of meteors. But you never really know if the camera is going to pick them up or how they are going to look.

Eventually, the half moon began to appear on the horizon. I kept shooting a little while longer because it was behind a cloud. But eventually, it began washing out the Milky Way. It was time to leave.

I walked back to the car, continually drinking from my water bottle and swerving between plants. I had to remain mindful of how sharp some of the cholla cacti are. Having stabbed my big toe with a cholla cactus before, its sharp spike going right through my leather boot, I wanted to remain vigilant.

"Yessssss!!!"

The next day, I fired up the computer. I flipped through the photos one by one in Lightroom Classic. Suddenly, one photo caught my eye! I yelled out "Yessssss!!!" so loudly that my wife heard it from several rooms away. There, on my computer screen, was Samuelson's Rocks with the core of the Milky Way and a Perseid meteor, angling right at the carved boulder! I don't think the universe could have set that up more beautifully!

Furthermore, I had been hired by Yucca Brevifolia Magazine to take night photos of celestial phenomena for its upcoming issue. But even before the peak of the meteor shower, I had already photographed what to me is a very special image.