Dispatch #42 - Chuckwalla National Monument Part 1
One of the first treks I made onto BLM land was to a place called the Mecca Hills Wilderness, largely because the agency website promised hiking trails (back in 2020, I was new to the world of BLM lands, and trails were my gateway drug). I saw photographs of ladders in a place called Painted Canyon and was instantly hooked.
I’ve been returning ever since.
The Mecca Hills Wilderness sits inside the western edge of the Chuckwalla National Monument, near the end of its witch-like pointed finger. This is Wilderness with a capital W — 26,242 acres designated under the landmark California Desert Protection Act of 1994.
After more than fifty revisions between 1986 and its passage, the bill moved through the Senate by a 68–23 margin and permanently reshaped the conservation landscape of the California desert. It created Death Valley and Joshua Tree as national parks, established the Mojave National Preserve, and designated sixty-nine new wilderness areas, including Mecca Hills.
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