Come join Peaks and Professors for a two day/one night Halloweekend adventure in the Mojave desert where we’ll be visiting a ghost town (#spooky)! We’ll also be checking out a towering volcanic crater, climbing through some swiss cheese-looking rock formations, checkin’ out some petroglyphs, touring some caverns, and catching the sunset from the top of some 700-foot sand dunes. Come have mo’fun in the Mojave with us!
Rough Packing List:
Hiking/sturdy athletic shoes
Athletic clothing (shorts, shirts, etc)
Sweaters, Jackets & extra layers (the desert gets pretty cold at night ~40º)
Raincoat (just in case)
Tent (if you have one)
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad
Mess kit
Water!!! At least 3L
Sun protection- hats, sunscreen & sunglasses
Camera (if you want)
Snacks
What We’ll Provide:
Tents
Breakfast, lunch & dinner Saturday
Breakfast & lunch Sunday
Extra water
Puns & Ice-breakers w/minimal amounts of awkwardness
PEAK: Mojave National Preserve
DIFFICULTY: 3/5
SCENERY: The Mojave is a dry desert with 650ft sand dunes, Joshua trees, volcanic cinder cones wildflowers, lava tubes, caves, domes, lava flows, and rocky mountain ranges.
FUN FACT:
The Kelso Dunes are known to “sing” or “fart” as you walk or slide down on them. The effect is known as booming.
Mojave National Preserve has more Joshua Trees than Joshua Tree National Park.
PROFESSOR: Kiran Dhillon
DEPARTMENT: Communication
Professor Dhillon joined the USC faculty in 2016 as a lecturer of communication at Annenberg; her areas of expertise include advocacy, cultural studies, gender studies, race and ethnicity, and political communication. She has also served as the director of Debate & Forensics for USC’s nationally recognized Trojan Debate Squad since 2017, which has grown markedly under her leadership. This will be Professor Dhillon’s first Peaks trip and we’re stoked to have her on board!
Trip Lead: Dinu Abeywickrema
Contact Dinu: abeywick@usc.edu
Trip Lead: Kea Hudson
Contact Kea: kahudson@usc.edu
ADDRESS: Essex, CA 92332