The story
One thing to carry up with you as you go: this is no ruin, and no museum. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians own and care for these canyons today — a living nation, and this oasis is still theirs, still sacred, still tended by their hands. The trail under your feet, the water you heard, the palms over your head: you've been a guest in a place a people have called home for more than two thousand years, and still do. Leave it just as you found it, and they'll welcome the travelers who come up this trail after you the same as they welcomed you.
Photo: Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians · CC BY 4.0
