Discovering the Amboy Crater Cinder Cone: A Hidden Gem in California's Mojave Desert
Some wise person once said adventures never go as planned. That statement couldn't be more true, especially reflecting on a trip in early 2020, just before the world took an unexpected turn. I met my friends Scott and Jen at a pin drop in the middle of the Arizona desert, oblivious to the fact that the world would soon change. Our journey took us through some incredibly stunning places in western Arizona and eastern California. While it would be a monumental task to chronicle all the tales in one go (and this platform might balk at the idea of me writing an entire novel), I’ve decided to break it down into several emails, each focusing on different places we explored.
In this installment, let's journey just outside the town of Amboy, California, where the Route 66 corridor holds remnants of a bygone era. The first stop on this leg of our trip was the Amboy Crater. Believe me when I say, there are no words that can truly encapsulate the desolate vastness of this area. It's a unique landscape, eerily sparse, yet overwhelmingly captivating. The Amboy Crater, visible from afar, is a geological enigma - not quite a mountain, yet more than just a hill, and its size is surprisingly deceiving.
The Amboy Crater: A Geologic Wonder
As we approached the Amboy Crater, the sheer isolation of the area struck us. This cinder cone volcano, estimated to be 79,000 years old, stands as a silent sentinel in the midst of the Mojave Desert’s sprawling emptiness. The crater, formed by explosive volcanic activity, presents a stark contrast to the flat desert surroundings.
Hiking the Trail: A Journey to the Crater’s Heart
The trail to the crater is a moderate 3-mile round trip hike, but don't let the distance fool you. Each step towards the crater is a step into a world that defies the ordinary. The path, littered with volcanic rocks and sparse desert vegetation, leads to a surreal landscape, seemingly untouched by time.
Inside the Crater: A Martian Landscape
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