Three of us hired Travis for 3 full day hikes in Joshua Tree Nat Park, and I also hired him for a full day hike in Joshua Tree. Each day, Travis guided us through totally different sections of the park. As Travis told us, Joshua Tree is his hobby, and he obviously delights in “all things in the park” (flowers, trees, shrubs, grasses, insects, rocks, the park’s history and some of the characters who passed through the park...). We enjoyed his relaxed, friendly way of leading us, helping us learn about the wonders of Joshua tree, and always felt safe with him.

My husband and I scheduled an all day trip in Joshua Tree National Park. Our guide, Travis, was full of information to share with us. He showed us blooming wildflowers, trees, cacti, petroglyphs, birds, insects, and more. We visited the Cottonwood, Porcupine Wash, Challa Garden, and Lost Horse areas. Each of these sites were special in their own way but Travis made sure to avoid crowds. Exploring these sites with him was wonderful and educational, and we learned a lot. The booking process was smooth (prior to our hike) and our questions were answered quickly via email. This company offers a unique, personal service and you will be happy if you chose it to book and plan your hike.

I had an absolute fantastic day with Hollis! The weather was pretty changeable – blizzards, rain, wind and the odd sunny spell – so she tailored the day to ensure that I still had the best possible desert experience. We couldn’t hike as much so Hollis took me to a number of amazing spots that showed a wide range of terrain and plant life, also stopping whenever I wanted to take pictures. Later in the day, when the weather really turned against us, we visited the incredible Noah Purifoy Foundation of assemblage art, which provided a different, but equally enjoyable, taste of the desert. Hollis is a friendly, fun guide with a wide knowledge of the flora, fauna and geology of the region. She’s a first-class communicator and terrific company! I highly recommend a Wandering Mojave hike.

I'm still a novice hiker but have done many guided hikes around the world. But the hike that Travis from Wandering Mojave led me on in Joshua Tree left an imprint that is still with me. Truly the highlight of my stay in Palm Springs. The hike was a day of so many new experiences and discoveries; so rare to have these days as a slightly jaded 50 yr old New Yorker. His calm and focused passion for the desert as well as his sense of wonderment was infectious. He patiently and compassionately taught me some wonderful new skills about rock scrambling (which also apply to life). The day was meditative, mind clearing and energizing all at the same time. I'll definitely be back and you should most definitely just go.

Such a wonderful day of exploring in Joshua Tree NP. Beautiful scenery and hardly anyone in sight, the best. Travis is so knowledgeable about the area, not only with his way around but also pointed out many things along the way that I would have missed. I requested an intro to scrambling along with the day hike and it was perfect. Travis read my comfort level and provided opportunities that were spot on. He lent a hand, a shoulder and even a knee when I needed it and was such a pleasure to spend the day with. I can't say enough thanks and already look forward to coming back for more hikes. I would very highly recommend Wondering Mojave! I felt like the day was custom tailored to fit my request.

We just did our second hike with Travis and it was as wonderful as the first! Travis is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the park, including geology, flora, fauna, and history. He's also great at gauging your skill level -- what you can do, and what's safe for him to encourage you to try. He also has great recommendations for areas to explore on your own. Highly recommended, and we're looking forward to booking future hikes.

We had three days to explore JTNP and scheduled our full day hike for the first day. It was perfect because we learned so much about the area from Travis, then used his suggestions to visit other areas on day 2 and day 3. I would definitely consider scheduling an overnight so kids could learn backpacking.

We spent an amazing day exploring Joshua Tree National Park with Travis and could not recommend him and Wandering Mojave more highly! We wanted to see Joshua Trees and after some initial discussion by phone Travis set up a day that took us from the Cholla Gardens in lower-elevation western end of the park, below their preferred altitude, all the way to Eureka Peak, with its stunning 360-degree views. With a stop for some awesome bouldering and discussion of the park’s remarkable rock formations in between! Travis is extremely knowledgeable about the plants, animals, geology, and ecology of the Mojave Desert. But even more valuable, he’s a tremendous person - engaging and unassuming - and was just a blast to spend a day with. If you have any interest at all in seeing one of the country’s most remarkable places, we strongly suggest you reach out to Travis.

Really enjoyed our hike with Hollis. Learned a lot about the area and Mojave Desert. Would recommend highly.

Our hiking experience with Travis was nothing short of spectacular! Travis was warm, knowledgeable, and most importantly, fun! As someone who has visited Joshua Tree frequently, this was my favorite experience to date! Travis educated us on all the various flora and fauna we saw and shared in a way that makes you feel you are hanging with your best friends! 10/10 would recommend :)

Travis of Wandering Mojave was quite knowledgeable about the flora and fauna, and he knows the park quite well. He took me on a multiple-hours, almost completely off-trail hike including some rock scrambling which was quite enjoyable. However, I found him to be unprofessional. He picked me up at Autocamp Joshua Tree about 20 minutes late (5:20am instead of 5am) with no explanation other than saying hello to his wife in the morning after she was on a trip, and not setting his alarm early enough. Furthermore, his car smelled like smoke, and he rolled his own tobacco about 8 times over the course of the day. If anyone does not like the smell of cigarettes, do not go on an adventure with Travis. Lastly, our plans changed when my partner needed to work the second day we were in Joshua Tree, so Travis agreed to refund us for the second day which we had prepaid. However, it took him an entire TEN days to process this refund, AND he refunded me less than the agreed-upon amount. I was disappointed in this and will not be recommending him to my friends. If you can look past this sort of unprofessionalism, he is a fantastic hiker and quite knowledgeable. I'm sure there's no one like him who will take you on an all-day off-trail hike. Still, be sure not to rely on him for refunds or for showing up exactly on time.

In the middle of a long business trip I decided to treat myself to a day In Joshua Tree. Spotted Wandering Mojave online and made an enquiry. From first contact a great experience - superb comms and follow ups. The day was a wonderful experience - Travis is an engaging and knowledgeable guide who shared insights into this unique natural phenomena. What was also clear was his love for his job! I highly recommend this experience!!

My daughter and I went on a full day hike with Travis. We had the perfect day hiking with Travis who took us to a location off the beaten path. Travis was an excellent guide who was able to gauge very quickly what we were interested in experiencing and what the level of difficulty was that we could handle on a full day hike. We did some rock scrambling early on and then had a simpler hike later in the day. I highly recommend booking a hike with Travis. We had a unique experience and felt privileged that we were able to see an area of the park most people will never get to go to. Our heartfelt thanks to Travis for helping my daughter and I create wonderful memories together at Joshua Tree National Park.

In early May, I went on an overnight backpacking/camping trip in Joshua Tree National Park with Travis Puglisi of Wandering Mojave Hiking Service. We started the hike in the upper Covington Flats, made camp in the lower Covington Flats, and continued the next morning on the California Riding and Hiking Trail to Juniper Flats where we concluded the hike. I don’t usually write reviews about my tour experiences but I am making an exception this time because my experience was truly exceptional. To say that I am a beginner backpacker/hiker is an understatement: I only just started hiking in April. But I wanted to learn more about backpacking and camping, so a hiking guide in Palm Springs referred me to Travis because he said that Travis is an experienced guide who could teach me the basics. Travis is very professional and thorough. He asked me to fill out a questionnaire so that he could determine my hiking experience and fitness level as well as my expectations for the tour. He then prepared a hiking course that was tailored for me, and provided all of the food (which was good), equipment and water for the trip. He also explained how to use the equipment, such as how to pack a backpack, how much water to take on a trip, how to use trekking poles, and how to put up a tent. The trip itself was amazing. I live in New York City so it was an incredible experience to see the stars at night from my tent at a campsite in the middle of Joshua Tree. And the pictures I posted with this review only begin to describe the beauty of the landscape that I saw. Travis is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher, so I learned a lot about the ecosystem of the Mojave Desert, particularly how the plants, animals and other organisms, as well as the weather and landscape interact with each other. Not surprisingly, he’s also a passionate steward of the land who believes that it should be preserved to benefit future generations. (On several occasions, I saw him pick up litter left by others.) In sum, Travis provided a exciting, safe, and transformative trip. I am now definitely hooked on hiking/backpacking, and look forward to scheduling another trip with Travis at Wandering Mojave. I highly recommend him.

We had an absolute blast with Travis! He completely tailored our private hike to our requests (wanted to see all kinds of trees, flowers, and plants, and landscapes, and didn't want to see other people around). Highlight for me was when he decided to take us up a rocky/boulder portion of a mountain. We loved it and it was so fun navigating the rock climbing. We would have absolutely never known we could have accessed the route by going up that part of the mountain. Travis was also incredibly knowledgeable about all the plants, cacti, flowers, and even sand patterns in the dessert. We learned sooo much. Made sure we saw beautiful, different parts of the park (it's huge and we've been multiple times!). Highly recommend Travis!!

One of my best hiking days ever! Travis was an excellent guide and we had such a good time together with much interesting conversation. I really appreciated his love for the desert and the time he took to teach me about the different plants and animals rock formations and everything that we were seeing. I'm really looking forward to my next hike with him and would highly recommend his services!