Hike Little Berdoo Peak via Pushawalla Plateau Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Feb 08, 2023 — After reading a bit about Little Berdoo Peak I almost removed it from my to-do list since many don't enjoy it, one reviewer labeling it "Little Berdon't". I figured maybe it was the standard route that was poor, so I decided to contrive a loop route that might make it a more fun hike, and ultimately I thoroughly enjoyed this tour of the eastern end of the Little San Bernadino Mountains. The loop I planned ascends through Pinyon Well Canyon, takes a trail that follows the remains of an old mining road up to what seems to be known as the Pushawalla Plateau, traverses along the northwestern rim of Little Berdoo Peak off-trail to gain the summit, then descends over Bernard Peak and down into a major drainage to complete the loop. The route starts at the Pinyon Well Trailhead. To reach it take the Geology Tour Road, suitable for most vehicles until the last 2 miles. The road is reportedly the easiest backcountry road in the park, and with some clearance you'll have no issue getting there.

The hike to Pinyon Well followed a wide wash and was uneventful, though I noted copious footprints means it must be fairly popular. Historic mining site enthusiasts are likely the main visitors for this spot, which houses an old trough, a mine shaft, some stone ruins, rusted metal garbage, and water tanks made of cement. I took a few photos and continued on, lots of unknowns still ahead of me and sunlight already starting to fade. I continued up the wash, which wiggled through the foothills to the southwest. I passed some interesting rock formations and an oddly-placed short spurt of ancient pavement likely built by the mining operation from the early-1900s in this area in order to bypass a section of slickrock within the canyon.

I followed Pinyon Well Canyon for a couple of miles and turned right at around 4200' when a clear cairn marked the spot to leave the wash and ascend via a sandy road now mostly reclaimed by the desert. This old road now serves as an unmarked and unmaintained trail that leads up to Pushawalla Pass, and to my surprise was very easy to follow. I reached Pushawalla Pass at around 4600', where a major switchback then redirects the trail south and up onto the Pushawalla Plateau. The old road weaves up the sloped ridgeline, avoiding clumps of rock. I found this to be a pretty section of the hike, Mount San Gorgonio poking up in the distance and granitic boulders in the foreground.

I reached what was marked on my topo map as a large marked group of prospects. Unfortunately it's really just a bunch of dirt lumps leftover from mining carrying-ons. I may have missed some cool ruins, but I didnt have time to search the area too much. These propsects also signify the end of the trail, so I marked it on my map as "Prospects". I continued off-trail up to Peak 5240, really just a bump that indicates the start of the rim traverse. It's got great views and some fun granitic clusters around it, but these didn't last too long. Little Berdoo Peak was a couple of miles away, really just a lump in the distance from here. The views down into the canyons draining into the Imperial Valley from the Little San Bernardino Mountains were pretty excellent.

The route down from Peak 5240 led to the base of a bouldery mess of a lump, and although I was able to avoid the majority of it along the crest by keeping to the left, there was still quite a bit of Class 2 boulder-hopping for a couple hundred feet. I grew a little concerned I'd have a lot more of this slower-moving terrain, but fortunately this ended up being the only short segment and I was able to hike less-impeded along the rim from here. There were quite a few minor dips along the way to Little Berdoo Peak, as well as a couple of drops over 100 verrtical feet of loss, but really it was a smooth walk along the gorgeous and likely rarely-visited rim.

I reached the summit a bit before sunset and could see Rabbit Peak and the Salton Sea across the valley. Without lingering too long, I headed north toward Bernard Peak. Now along the standard route to Little Berdoo Peak, a social trail led me pretty much the whole way over there. Bernard Peak and Peak 5425 were nothing more than small Class 2 lumps along the ridge, but they're nice enough to put in the minimal effort to gain their summits.

I continued north along the ridgeline, quickly losing vertical as the drop steeply descended. I was happy I chose to do the loop couner-clockwise and head down this way rather than ascend. Mostly soft ground, I made quick work getting down this ridge, really nothing more than a couple of easy Class 2 obstacles along the way. I followed a route along the ridge that seemed the least steep, snaking down into the wash below. The final few hundred feet of vertical descent were much more steep and a bit rocky, and included a tiny bit of brush. Once within the wash I continued north and then wrapped west around the foothills to reach the Geology Tour Road, which led to my car.