On a typical spring afternoon, similar to the day that Andrew and I drove down to this popular National Park, it is very likely that there won’t be a single campsite available. It would have been prudent to have looked this up before snaking our way out into the middle of nowhere, but we’re spontaneous adventurers! (also known as ill-prepared, or dumb adventurers). We didn't think to do that. Of course, as we rolled up to the entrance with our $20 air mattress and bag full of cooked hot dogs, the sign reading “No Campsites Available” nearly gave us both a heart attack.

Pro Tip #1

Reserve a campsite online in advance. I’d plan to book a space at least one month ahead of time if you’re planning to stay in the winter or spring.

There we were—worn out after three hours of snail paced Californian traffic—extremely wary of the setting sun, with no place to stay and nowhere to go. Thankfully, for us and all of our fellow “spontaneous adventurers,” Joshua Tree is backed up to a BLM wilderness. Fifteen minutes from the park (between Sunflower Rd. and Cascade Rd.) lies a large patch of shrubby desert fitted with lumpy dirt roads and a few stray camper vans. Anyone can camp on this empty patch of desert for free, but it doesn’t have toilets, fire pits, or pathways. My mom called it the boonies when she called, terrified that we would be swept away with the wind overnight.

We finally decided that it was our destiny to sleep there. We unpacked all of our belongings: firewood, a lighter, a camp stove, snacks (such as apples, granola bars, etc.), just-add-water pancake mix, peanut butter, jelly, bread, Chef Boyardee ravioli, and hot dogs with all the proper dressings. The sun was setting quickly and we were extremely hungry, so we propped open our handy camping stove and readied a dinner of champions. Of course, we forgot to bring the one piece that connects the propane to the stove. We ate peanut butter, jelly, sadness and shame for dinner that night.

Pro Tip #2

Prepare for any possible circumstance, not just the one you planned for.

The night following was one I’ll never forget. We inflated our air mattress and made the bed while utilizing proper bug-escaping techniques. Our third mistake of the night involved only packing day-time clothing and a few thin blankets, thinking that our warm car would be enough to get us through the night. Oh, how wrong we were. After three failed attempts to pee amidst the howling of wild coyote packs, with no toilet mind you, I began to get pretty cold. Flash forward to three or four AM—Andrew and I are sardined together like two lone penguins fighting the Antarctic winter. Our mattress was deflating, the windows were icing over, and my feet were practically solid icebergs. All exaggerations aside, it was cold as hell. I didn’t defrost until the sun rose the next morning. And to put the icing on our igloo cake, once we awoke we soon realized that we didn’t even bring a spatula to flip our uncooked pancakes. There was nothing left to do but accept our failures and drive to the nearest diner for warm coffee and eggs.

Pro Tip #3

Always bring more layers than you need. If you wear too many layers, you can take them off! If you don't bring enough, you’ll be in a very sticky (or should I say chilly) situation.