Photo Friday – December 5, 2014

With the clear skies and recent winter rainstorm here in Southern California, it’s officially Desert Season (you ARE planning a great post-rain hike, aren’t you?).

Here at Modern Hiker, we’ve got a TON of new content from the deserts coming your way with lots of new write-ups from Joshua Tree National Park and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park on deck – and some new Death Valley National Park and Mojave National Preserve content planned for later in the winter.

But first – some great desert imagery from Modern Hiker readers!

We begin with frequent contributor (and winner) Jon Bradley, who snagged this panoramic shot from Joshua Tree‘s Indian Cove Campground. Winter is definitely the busy season for climbers there, so if you’re trying to snag a camp site, be sure to book a reservable one in advance!

Indian Cove afternoon

Gerry Matthews also spent some time in Joshua Tree recently, where he captured this beautiful image of one of the park’s iconic yuccas at sunrise.

Joshua Tree Sunrise

From Instagram, Mrs. Enser chimes in again with more epic shots from Utah’s Zion National Park. This shot from the start of the narrow part of the Angel’s Landing Trail will either get your heart pounding with excitement or dread – but either one is good!

And finally, Andrew Wainacht was out in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park – one of our favorite places in California – and explored the ruins of Ghost Mountain to snap this beautiful view of a nearby dry waterfall.

Ghost Mountain in the Anza-Borrego Desert #clouds #desert #view #outdooradventurephotos

A photo posted by Andrew Wainacht (@mandrew_whynot) on

Congratulations to everyone who was featured this week! You’ll all be getting a code for 30% off your next purchase from our good friends at Sierra Trading Post, good through the end of the year (hello, holiday gifts!).

Don’t forget to share your best outdoor photos with the Modern Hiker family by tagging your Instagram or Twitter shots with #modernhiker or by submitting your images to our Flickr Group.