In 1916, J. Smeaton Chase, embarked on a journey across the Mojave Desert. Traveling upon horseback in one of the harshest deserts in the world, Chase rode alone for two years! His fascinating California Desert Trails record in impeccable detail his journey and his observations. Chase possessed the rare talent of seeing beauty where others perceived only serpents and sand. He found wisdom in unconventional places, with crazy hermits, wise Indians, and fellow wanderers adrift in the desert. Riding through this spectacular landscape Smeaton Chase brings alive to the reader the exotic animals, stunning fauna, and wonderful people he met along the way. California Desert Trails is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of equestrian travel in early twentieth century, and of the beauty of the Mojave desert. It will also appeal to anyone wishing to take their own journey along the route that Smeaton Chase took over one hundred years ago. J. Smeaton Chase was an English-born American author and traveler. He has become an integral part of California literature: revered for his poignant descriptions of landscapes. He died in 1923. In 1910 he rode from the Mexican border to Oregon, then penned a delightful book called California Coast Trails, published in 1913, which recorded his impressions of the pristine beauty observed during that ocean-front ride. California Desert Trails, chronically his next epic journey, was first published six years later in 1916.

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Mojave Desert Trails explores some of the most interesting historic and geological sites in the Mojave Desert. Ecologically and environmentally diverse, the Mojave Desert encompasses a dramatic and enchanting landscape of ancient volcanic cinder cones, Joshua tree forests, sand dunes and rugged mountains. Weather in the Mojave changes as dramatically as its terrain: triple digits from late spring to early fall with winter temps often dropping below freezing. A wet winter, with both rain and snow, will prepare the Mojave Desert for a spectacular display of spring flowers.

Excerpt from California Desert Trails I acknowledge a sense of mystical reverence when first I approach some illustrious feature of the globe, some coast line of ocean, some mighty river or dreary mountain-range, the ancient barrier of kingdoms. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.