California Desert Trails

This detailed history of rural California discusses the winding desert trails, their distinctive plant life, rock formations and creatures.

Writing in 1919, J. Smeaton Chase was a veteran explorer and rambler who attained immense familiarity with the rural regions of California. His knowhow was vast, much of it the result of years spent roaming the remotest portions of Californian desert and scrubland. Observations of various flora and fauna make this book a boon for explorers; Chase gives vivid descriptions, describing the interplay of plants against the barren or rocky landscapes. While this text offers useful guidance, its detail also proves interesting and entertaining for those simply curious or enthusiastic about the natural world and the area’s history.

Over thirty photographs are included alongside the text, most depicting the various vistas, rocky outcrops and plants of the rugged lands described. Chase frequently expresses admiration for the contrasts of nature; some of the plants he sees are frankly beautiful, their leaves and stems stretching elegantly outward. By contrast others are brutal, ugly and dangerous; squat with protruding thorns, their fibers infernally rough. Throughout his storied descriptions, the author’s admiration and passion for nature is obvious.