Months ago, we had made some reservations at a golf resort in Palm Desert through an email advertisement, thinking we’d enjoy some nice spring weather and a chance to hike in the desert. As the dates approached, however, it looked more like the area was going to be hot, hot, and hot during our three full days there – oh well, we figured we’d just have to get out early to beat the heat, forecasted to be over 100 degrees each day. We chose to first visit Indian Canyons on Day 1, located due south of Palm Springs on the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation. Initially intending to hike a 6.5-mile loop east through the outback, a helpful tribal ranger at the Hermit’s Bench trading post and visitor center suggested we contain our hike to a 3-mile loop through greener, wetter areas close by, thus saving time to visit a couple of more well-watered canyons to the north before the heat of the day fully set in. Most people do this loop by going first south up Palm Canyon, the world’s largest natural fan palm oasis, before returning north on the Victor Trail that runs along the bluffs above the canyon to the east – there was another group setting out through Palm Canyon as we got started, so we decided to do the loop in the reverse direction. We headed east first away from the trading post toward Fern Canyon (where there used to be ferns during wetter years) where, after about half a mile, we turned south up the Victor Trail – despite the early hour (about 8:30am), it was quite warm already, and there was no shade at all on this route. Still, the moderate climb southward was enjoyable, despite the heat – the scenery was beautiful as we passed teddy bear cholla and barrel cacti in bloom. Occasionally, we got glimpses west into the Palm Canyon oasis that were very pretty, and we also got wonderful views of the entire San Jacinto range high above us to the west and the Santa Rosa mountains to the south. After nearly a mile uphill in the exposed sun, we were ready for some shade, and it was a nice transition as we reached the palms at the upper end of the canyon and headed back north. Probably 15 degrees cooler, we passed quickly through the palm forest, eventually following a lightly flowing creek evidently fed by springs and seeps we occasionally encountered. Willows and reeds were abundant beneath the palms, as were large orange dragonflies – it was quite unlike anything we had yet seen in California. We soon arrived at a picnic area below the trading post, and we climbed out of the canyon and into the air-conditioned store and lunch counter there to cool off. The ranger was still there, so we asked him more about the other canyons he had recommended – one involved an exposed half-mile walk while the other one didn’t, so we chose the latter. A wonderful area to visit, but the heat made it less fun than it might have been otherwise.