FIELD NOTES: 37 MILES ACROSS JOSHUA TREE WITH JACK BARK

There are only a few people I know who will jump on a 37-mile run through the desert on a moment’s notice. Jack Bark is one of them. I texted him about the Joshua Tree Traverse, and his response was simple: “Just give me seven days’ notice to get work off, and I’m in.”
Jack and I were supposed to run the Catalina 50-miler together in January. He’s done it four times over the last few years and convinced me to join him this year. But just days before the race, the devastating LA fires started, and he had to get to work. Since he missed that race, I wanted to get another adventure on the books. A 37-mile traverse through Joshua Tree felt like the perfect move—I had it on my 2025 goals list, was fully recovered from Catalina, and still had the fitness to make it happen. Jack, as always, was ready. He somehow manages to stay in shape year-round and isn’t afraid of grindy endurance missions (see: paddling to, around, and home from Catalina—77 miles total in 19hrs, plus a 100 mile paddle in under 24 hours, among other absurd feats).
Jack, our filmer and crew chief Bryce, and I set out to Black Rock Canyon to camp at the trailhead the night before. We feasted on chicken quesadillas, rice, sweet potatoes and La Croixs, then tried to get some sleep before our 4:15 a.m. wake-up call. Little did we know, we didn’t need alarms—the local coyotes had a different plan, staging a 3 a.m. kill that jolted us all awake.
Kitted up in Airtex, we hit the trail in the early morning darkness. Headlamps on, breath visible in the crisp desert air, we set out for a full day of running across the high desert.

Joshua Tree is as brutal as it is beautiful. One moment, you're cruising through wide-open stretches with jaw-dropping mountain views; the next, you're slogging through deep sand or navigating rocky terrain that keeps your ankles on high alert. The shifting landscape demands both patience and grit. As the sun slowly crept over the horizon, it bathed the desert in golden light, and we settled into our rhythm—ready for the long journey ahead.