Just had an interesting thought.
Was he fan of Graham Parsons or enchanted with the story of Graham’s body being stolen from LAX and lit afire in the Cap Rock section?
Something nudges me to suggest that area be thoroughly explored, or re-explored.
Well, that unusual theory about Gram Parsons sent me googling.
Isn’t it kind of far from where he was hiking? But hey, who knows?
Per google:
Before his death, Parsons stated that he wanted his body cremated at Joshua Tree and his ashes spread over Cap Rock, a prominent natural feature there;
Parsons' makeshift memorial in
Joshua Tree, California
To fulfill Parsons' funeral wishes, Kaufman and a friend stole his body from
Los Angeles International Airport and in a borrowed hearse, they drove it to Joshua Tree. Upon reaching the Cap Rock section of the park, they attempted to cremate Parsons' corpse by pouring five gallons of gasoline into the open coffin and throwing a lit match inside. What resulted was an enormous fireball. The police gave chase but, as one account puts it, "were encumbered by sobriety," and the men escaped.
[44]
The two were arrested several days later. Since there was no law against stealing a dead body, they were only fined $750
[47] for stealing the coffin and were not prosecuted for leaving 35 pounds (16 kg) of his charred remains in the desert. Parsons's body, what remained of it, was eventually buried in Garden of Memories Cemetery in Metairie, Louisiana.
The site of Parsons' cremation was marked by a small concrete slab and was presided over by a large rock flake known to
rock climbersas The Gram Parsons Memorial Hand Traverse.
[48] The slab has since been removed by the U.S. National Park Service, and relocated to the Joshua Tree Inn. There is no monument at Cap Rock noting Parsons' cremation at the site.
[49] Joshua Tree park guides are given the option to tell the story of Parsons' cremation during tours, but there is no mention of the act in official maps or brochures.
[49] Fans regularly assemble simple rock structures and writings on the rock, which the park service sand blasts to remove from time to time.
[49]
Gram Parsons - Wikipedia