Greg of Desert Hot Springs continues to work on his wall above town. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

For Greg, the wall was a Covid project. Today, it’s still a way for him to stay busy. This endeavor of his provides an unexpected find for hikers in the middle of the desert, and a resource for the animals who call this desolate area home.

This discovery came about while checking out Desert X installations in Desert Hot Springs.

A flag signals where the wall is located. (Image: Kathryn Reed

Those who went to the G.H.O.S.T. Ride art exhibit were bound to have seen a California flag flying in the distance. The flag intrigued me enough to hike it to after visiting the art. I wanted to know what was up there.

In many ways it was more interesting than what I had just seen; maybe that’s because I was able to talk to the creator.

Greg has created a work of art of sorts that is intended to be more permanent.

Cutting through the limestone, at times the rock wall is more than 7 feet high. He’s reinforced it with adobe in sections because it had fallen down.

Greg paints rocks to decorate the area where he’s planted cacti. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

When I saw him on March 16 he was embedding broken mirror pieces into the wall to make it decorative. Already he had created a Kokopelli design on one wall.

Greg rides his bike from Desert Hot Springs with his tools and water. The water nourishes the cacti he’s planted and provides visitors with something to refresh themselves with. Those cacti, he said, in turn provide some liquid refreshment for animals.

His wall seemed to be the only shade for miles. Greg says lizards and chipmunks find the crevasses great places to hang out.

From the parking area off Pierson Boulevard it’s 0.91 miles, with a climb of 416 feet. There’s a trail of sorts, but nothing marked. You can’t even see the flag from the parking lot. But if you find this wall, and it is The Wall that Greg calls it, know it’s there because of this one man.