End of year loop going out on Farrell, Vista Chino, Date Palm, and Varner to 1000 Palms, then coming back on Ramon, Da Val, and Dinah Shore taking taking 1 hour 18 minutes. Rode a total of 1380 miles in 2011. Over 86 hours on the bike!
City/canyon loop taking taking 1 hour 15 minutes.
Hike up Araby trail, across to Smoketree mtn, then back to Araby via Wildhorse junction. More people out on the trails then usual. Very pretty day.
Hike south Lykken with Kai and Eddie.
City/canyon loop taking taking 1 hour 16 minutes.
Hike middle Lykken from Mesquite. Breezy but otherwise beautiful day.
City loop taking 46 minutes. Chilly with a bit of light rain.
Hike Shannon lollypop. Started out kind of cool and overcast wearing a sweater and windbreaker. By the time i got to the top i was carrying both and just wearing shorts and shirt.
Canyon loops taking 1 hour.
Canyon loop then north to Rat Rock taking taking 1 hour 24 minutes.
Hike Descanso trail. Beautiful day.
Hike north Lykken from Ramon.
City/canyon loop taking taking 58 minutes.
Cool and windy city/canyon loop taking taking 1 hour 15 minutes.
Up and down the south Lykken with Eddie. Overcast and a bit chilly.
City/canyon loop taking taking 1 hour.
Hike Shannon lollypop. Thought there would be a lot of people out hiking today but didn't see anyone until i was almost done. Beautiful day.
City/canyon loop taking taking 1 hour 18 minutes.
Canyon loops taking taking 1 hour 6 minutes.
City loop taking taking 1 hour.
Cahuilla Canyon to second stream crossing with Eddie.
Long weekend in New York city with Wen and Kai for Jerry and Mary's wedding. See photos link above. Sorry, no wedding pics.
Hike Garstin lollypop. Kinda chilly.
City/canyon loop taking taking 1 hour 14 minutes.
Shannon trail to Smoketree point.
Up and down the south Lykken with Eddie.
City loop taking taking 46 minutes.
Anza-Borrego overnight trip for Halloween. Depart house 9a. 99932 odo. On my way from Walmart at 9:30a. Truck turns 100000 miles passing by the hwy 86 Border Patrol station. I love my truck. Drive into park via south entrance. Piedras Grandes road is now closed to vehicles. Sardines for lunch. Hike to Indian Hill. Start hike at 12:45p and end at 1:55p. Carry out someone's old blue jeans and some plastic bottles. After hike drive out via Mortero Wash. Arrive Carrizo site at 2:45p. 153 miles today. As i stepped out of truck found air mattress mouthpiece that i lost last time. Temp 90° at 3p. Intermittent light breeze. Pretty much perfect. Mifi wifi works but just barely but can't get cellphone to connect. A perfect afternoon. No vehicles passed my camp. Sunset up the canyon at 5:14p with 85° temp. Venus visible after sunset but UTL Mercury. Osprey flew over after dark. They have lights on prop tips! TJ Greek salad and canned beans for dinner. In tent at 8:15p updating notes and reading. No trick-or-treaters. Bit of wind came up in the night with some high clouds moving over. Overnight low 68°. Pretty dawn colors with the clouds Tuesday morning. A time-lapse video is here. Sunrise at 7:08a Tuesday. Ranger drove by southbound on S2. About 45 minutes later he drove back northbound. Sort of disappointed he didn't drive up to say hello. By 9a all the clouds and wind are gone and it's become a warm bright clear day. Enjoyed the beautiful morning sitting in shade of the desert lavender. Depart camp at 10:20a driving north through park. Bit hazy in the north park. Air was crystal clear in the south. Loop through Palo Verde and Ella washes. Stop at Truckhaven on way out and have another delicious sardine lunch before driving home. Home at 2p. 133 miles today, 286 miles trip total.
Up north side from Rimrocks. 1 hour 9 minutes to summit. Down via south trail then follow drainage and out via Rimrocks. The drainage was more difficult than i had anticipated with 2 steep drops i had to portage around. 3 hours 20 minutes total time.
City/canyon loop taking taking 1 hour 15 minutes.
Up and down Araby trail.
City/canyon loop taking taking 1 hour.
Ride S22 in Anza-Borrego desert starting from the Thimble Trail turnout going east to Calcite turnout then west to Pegleg and back. 21.5 miles taking 1 hour 18 minutes.
Anza-Borrego overnight trip. Harold Camping is predicting yet another end of the world apocalypse today. Good time to be out on the desert. Arrive near my regular Ella Wash site at 1:35p. Temp 90° at 2p. Sardines for lunch. Quiet afternoon in the side of a nice smoketree. Sunset at 5:54p. Temp 84° and dead calm. Perfect conditions. Venus setting as Jupiter is rising. Realized afterward that Mercury was near Venus and probably visible if i had looked. Beanee Weenees and can corn for dinner. Comet Garradd uncertain in 10x30 binoculars. Stars and Milky Way don't seem as bright for some reason. Calm quiet night with overnight low of 75°. Saturday morning drove over to the Thimble Trail turnout and went for a bike ride. See above. [PS: Apocalypse didn't happen.]
Middle Lykken from Mesquite with Eddie.
Up and down the south Lykken then Cahuilla Canyon to the first stream crossing.
City/canyon loop taking taking 1 hour.
Hike Shannon lollypop.
Hike Skyline to around the 2800' level and back. Brought clippers and gloves to trim catclaw. Surprised to see the bush at DFO has been trimmed since i was here Sunday. But the bush at Trailer Vagabond hadn't been touched so i cut it back from trail. Much warmer today than Sunday. 3 hours 25 minutes total time.
Great hike up the Skyline starting at 5:30a from the museum trailhead. Overnight temp under 60° so very nice all the way up. Need to bring clippers next time to cut back the catclaw a bit. Ran into a few hiking friends and took an extended break at Flat Rock. Got to Long Valley crest in 5 hours 58 minutes overall time due to the Flat Rock break. Actual hiking time was 5 hours 26 minutes which is a PR for me.
City/canyon loop taking taking 58 minutes.
Up the Garstin trail, over Smoketree mtn, across to top of the Araby trail, then over to Wildhorse junction, and back down the Garstin. Perfect fall day with the hike taking about 2 hours.
Cahuilla Canyon to my Cahuilla geocache. Cache is in good shape. Nice day for a short desert hike after the hot summer.
Hot hike up and down Araby trail.
Hwy 111 to Rat Rock then loop through town taking 1 hour 16 minutes.
Checked out the Sawmill trail south of Pinyon Flats this morning. The Sawmill is really more a road than a trail and not very interesting. Followed an old trail east from the lower Sawmill about a mile and half before i lost the route. Seems like this was probably an old rancher trail over to upper Martinez Canyon and might still be used by hunters. Nice morning and was fun to explore something different.
City/canyon loop taking taking 55 minutes.
City loop taking taking 48 minutes.
Quick hot hike up and down the south Lykken.
Middle Lykken from Mesquite. Hike started out relatively cool but after about 100 yards passed through and inversion layer and it turned humid. Still it felt good to hike.
North on 111 to Rat Rock then loop through town taking 1 hour 32 minutes.
Depart house at 9:10a heading east. Stop at the Jaeger Preserve near desert center. Have Greek salad for lunch at the rocks where i camped in 2008. Drive north on hwy 177 then up the dirt road through Coxcomb camp. Stop at the old camper. The porch has blown over. Back to Desert Center, north on Kaiser Road then back south on Eagle Mtn road. Work is underway on solar plant. Stop at some neat boulders near Jaeger Preserve to camp arriving about 3:30p. Sit in shade of the rocks and relax but after a while just dont feel like camping here so load up and head west about 5p. Red Cloud Mine road to camp just east of the gas line road. Feel much happier here for some reason. Same place i camped in 2005. Arrive about 5:30p. Drive 170 miles today. There is a neat iron sculpture here. Makes good noise when poked. (See videos in photo link above.) Shoot pistol a bit. Good tramway repeater reception. Cellphone and wifi too. Sunset at 6:38p. Temp 85° at 7p. Sardines and Beanee Weenee for dinner. Comet Garradd in 10x30 binoculars. Sleep in truck bed. Calm night but bright moon and a few mosquitoes kept waking me. Overnight low 65° with some dew making my sleeping bag a bit damp. Sunrise at 6:38a exactly 12 hours after sunset. Hang out at campsite until about 9:40a. Flat tire on drive out. Bugger. Home about 11:30a. Drive 62 miles today, 232 miles trip total.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 30 minutes.
Hot hike up Shannon trail to Smoketree mtn.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
Cahilla Canyon to first stream crossing then up and down the south Lykken. Bit of a warm muggy morning.
Canyon loop taking 36 minutes.
Hike Garstin lollypop. Time to get back into desert hiking.
City loop taking 50 minutes.
Hot and steamy city loop taking 42 minutes.
Final tramway hike of the summer climbing San Jacinto with Kai. Some awesome weather on the mtn today. A lightning strike in the clouds just as we reached the summit was so close the charge physically made the hair on my arm stand up! Rain drenched us on the hike down too. What a great way to end summer hikes up the tram! Here is a shot of both of us at the summit before the rain started. Did a total of 12 tramway hikes this summer.
Drove up to Cottonwood in afternoon departing house at 4:30p. 98200 odo. Stop at Geo Petro for expensive ice and Modelo Especial cerveza. But at least is faster/easier than Walmart so maybe worth the extra cost. Arrive Cottonwood 5:45p. Site 15A. Upper loop closed. Fee is now $15/night. Was $10 last summer. Group site and only one other site occupied when i arrived. Pretty sunset at 7p, temp 92°. After sunset watched a bighorn ram on rocky peak to south through my TV76 telescope. Neat! One motorhome arrived after dark and circled three times. Then two guys set up tent next to me but they were mostly quiet and no lights so not a problem. Sardines and canned corn for dinner. Then a couple of almond chocolate granola bars for dessert. Lightning visible over horizon to the east. Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd easily found in TV76. Also visible in 10x32 binoculars. Saw 3 bright meteors too. Sleep in open truck about 10:30p. The group site was up and laughing until 3a and the motorhome ran generator all night. I thought generator was from park buildings until i drove by on my way out. Overnight low about 78° with a bit of humidity moving in during the night. Up at 5a and move to site outside park. Sat for a while drinking ice coffee and watching freeway traffic before driving home.
Tramway to peak via Miller shortcut. Perfect day on the mtn and relatively quiet for a Sunday. I even had the peak to myself for about 2 minutes! 5th time on the peak this summer and 11th tramway ride. Might get in one more tramway hike before my pass expires next week. 1 hour 48 minutes to the hut, 5 hours total round trip time.
Find comet C/2009 P1 Garradd from backyard in Sagitta using the TV76 at 30x. Better view using the 9mm eyepiece giving 53x. No tail but seems maybe a small core. Been a long time since i've found a comet. Even with the skyglow it's good to know that comets can still be found from town.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 42 minutes.
Shannon to Smoketree mtn.
Just an easy hike doing the Round Valley loop from the tramway. Nice quiet little walk.
City loop taking 1 hour 6 minutes.
Week long trip to London and Paris. Our first time in Europe. Not going to write much here. Just look at the photos in the link above to see where we went and what we did.
City/canyon loop taking 64 minutes.
Damp city/canyon loop between rain showers taking 52 minutes.
Hike from tramway to peak going up the old Miller trail again. I like the Miller route as it seems to put me right at the summit. Gray clouds overhead on hike up but not threatening. Trail not too busy. On way down lots more people on train then some lightning, then rain, then more rain, then hail between Miller and Wellman Divide. Whoot! Glad i wasn't one of those people heading up. Got sorta wet but was mostly dried out by time i got back to tram station via the High trail. Fun fun!
Warm hike up and down the south Lykken trail.
Hike from tramway to Wellman Divide and then down to the remains of the old log cabin. Haven't been to the cabin in close to 30 years.
Temps not that bad and air nice and dry so go for an overnight trip to Anza-Borrego. Also just wanted to get out alone for a bit. Depart home about 2:50p Friday afternoon. Eagle wildfire burning NW of Borrego Springs is throwing smoke over Indio/Coachella area but clear in northern AB. Camp along Ella Wash a bit north of my regular spot. Temp 103° at 5p. Light breeze. Warm but nice. Sunset over Coyote Mtn at 7:38p. Temp 98°. Wind calm. Canned beans and sauerkraut for dinner. Nice quiet evening. Can smell smoke from fire but sky clear and Milky Way is bright. Looked for scorpions with black light but none found. No sidewinders either. Went to bed at 10:45p sleeping in open truck bed. Slept very well. Overnight low 76°. Sunrise Saturday at 6:01a. Depart for home a bit after 7a. Drive 143 miles total.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour.
Downtown San Diego to Pt. Loma and back taking 1 hour 32 minutes.
Hike from tramway to peak taking the old Miller trail. Very nice day. Bright and clear. Made quite a few simplex radio contacts from the peak.
North on 111 to revered monument then back through town taking 1 hour 10 minutes. And here is me.
Cooler desert temps let me do a local desert hike going up the Shannon to Smoketree mtn, across to the Wildhorse junction, and back down the Shannon.
Easy rambling hike from the tramway to Round Valley via the High trail. Checked out some of the campsites south of the High trail and did a bit of off-trail exploring. Perfect clear day in the mtns. Here is a nice 3 image panorama of Round Valley.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
Camping at South Fork with Wen and Eddie. Stop at Barton visitor center to get a permit for Forsee trail. Also buy another adventure pass. Arrive 12:30p. Site #8 where i camped in 2008. Sandwiches for lunch. Dark clouds and thunder to east but no rain in camp. Drive back to visitor center to return Forsee permit and get one for Lost Creek trail instead. Nice quiet afternoon. Some flies and gnats bothering Eddie but not too bad otherwise. BBQ steak dinner. Big campfire in evening using dad's firewood. Quiet night with overnight low temp around 50°. On Friday hike Lost Creek trail. Back in camp at 11a. Relax for a while then pack up and depart at 12:30p just as it's starting to rain. Home at 2p. Wen gives Eddie a bath before he's allowed back in the house.
City loop taking 54 minutes.
Awful muggy day in the desert so heading up the tram for a hike. Being a holiday weekend i was expecting the tram and trails to be packed. But i only saw three people on the trail to Round Valley and just a few more up to Wellman Divide. Much quieter than last weekend. Got to the summit hut in 1 hour 45 minutes. Cold and windy at the summit with some light rain. Didn't stay on top long. Found the old trail to Miller and followed it down. Might try going up that way next time. Took the unmaintained ranger trail to Tamarack Valley. Neat day on the mtn with some interesting weather.
Huntington/Virginia/California loop in LA taking 1 hour 40 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 8 minutes.
Hike to the peak with Dan and Jason. Lots of people at the top. Windy too. Helped Dan and Jason setup a 20 meter SOTA (Summits On The Air) radio station on the summit. 1 hour 52 minutes to the summit hut.
After a short solo hike up the Aspen Grove trail met up with with some Mt. San Jacinto forum hikers at the South Fork campground a couple miles east of Barton Flats. Fun time and good to see old friends. Perfect conditions and so nice to be out of the desert heat with overnight sub 40° temps! Thanks to Stan (zippetydude) for organizing the event.
RV loop with Wen taking the high trail in and then out on the main trail.
Hike the Wellman Divide, Saddle Junction, Willow Creek loop. Perfect day. Lots of "boy scout" groups coming out in the morning but once past RV saw very few people on trail. Made a couple of contacts via Catalina repeater from above Saddle Junction. 4 hours 53 minutes total time including breaks and talking on the radio. Photos from Wellman Divide looking south and Wellman Cienega area.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 15 minutes.
Up and down the south Lykken trail.
Descanso trail hike to south Lykken tables. Fresh bighorn track on trail!
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 10 minutes.
First tramway hike of the summer. High trail to Round Valley then up to Wellman Divide. Sort of bothered i now have to go into the ranger station and get a permit in person. No more permits at the self-service station outside. Ranger said they've had a lot of rescues this year and want to see people face-to-face. Bah. Nice day otherwise. Saw 10 deer in Round Valley.
Araby trail hike. Nice speckled rattlesnake coiled up on the trail at the top. Very docile snake. Didn't even rattle as i prodded her to move off the trail. Couple of pictures here and here.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 28 minutes including climbs up Rose, La Mirada, and Mesquite.
Shannon lollypop. Still nice on the desert. Warm but not too hot.
City loop taking 48 minutes.
Memorial Day hike up the Garstin trail, over Smoketree mtn, and down the Theleman. Temp only about 80° which is quite cool for the end of May. Very few people on the trails which surprised me for such a nice day on a holiday.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 8 minutes. Breezy.
Up and down the south Lykken trail then quick side loop up Cahuilla Canyon to the first stream crossing.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 16 minutes.
Hiked north Lykken trail from Ramon to Tachevah Canyon all the way to the base of Dry Falls. Wasn't quite dry with a bit of water and a little pool. There are climbing bolts in the face of the rock that i never knew were there. Took a shortcut out to Crescent Drive and got a ride back to my truck at Ramon trailhead.
Shannon lollypop.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 22 minutes.
Enjoyed a very nice, although rather warm, hike in the Indian Canyons today. East from Hermit's Bench via Fern/Wentworth Canyon to the Wildhorse junction, then south all the way to Dry Wash. My original plan was go west down Dry Wash and then back via the main Palm Canyon trail but instead i backtracked a bit and came down the East Fork trail. Nice day but temp was a warmish 95° by the time i finished my hike. 9.1 miles per GPS taking a total time of 3 hours 30 minutes. A map is here.
City loop taking 50 minutes.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter all within 6° in the early dawn sky. Venus and Jupiter bright and naked eye, Mercury easy through binoculars, and Mars finally found with difficulty. All four planets fit within 10x binocular field.
Hike south Lykken trail from the Cahuilla Canyon trailhead north to the south ridge of Tahquitz Canyon. Scrambled up to my Tahquitz Overlook geocache finding it in good shape. Tons of water coming over the falls. Had intended to hike down the shorter way to the Mesquite trailhead but was such a nice day decided to take the long way and retrace my route back to Cahuilla Canyon.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
Warm hike up and down the south Lykken trail. Saw quite a few chuckwallas. Then made a quick side loop up Cahuilla Canyon to the first stream crossing.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 12 minutes.
Hike Murray Hill going up the north side from Rimrocks and coming down the south side via Hotdog and Shannon to Barona. Breezy on the top. Didn't pass any other hikers all day. 3 hour 12 minutes total time including break on the summit. Probably my favorite local hike. Here is a picture of me at the top.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 28 minutes.
Anza-Borrego camping trip departing house 9:20a. Lunch break at willow along Font's Wash where i camped last month. Find some nice firewood and take. Not sure what my fascination is with found firewood. Only two campers at Pegleg monument. Flagman and road work along San Felipe creek east of Scissor Crossing. Quick stop at Carrizo Badlands overlook and turn around. Drive through Bow Willow. One small motorhome and one tent site occupied. Up and down Egg mtn then over to my Carrizo Valley site arriving at 2:05p. Drive 146 miles today. Temp 94° at 3p with wind gusting to 10. Lots of military helicopter traffic. Sunset over ridge at 6:12p, 86°, very light breeze. Sardines and Beanee Weenees for dinner. No tent. Sleep in open truck bed.
Up before sunrise Friday. Night mostly calm but helicopters woke me up a couple times. Sunrise 6:01a, temp 72°, breezy. Walk a loop around camp. Found one pot shard. No Border Patrol activity. Didn't see a single vehicle. Mid-morning coyote serenade. Depart camp 10:10a after a nice morning in camp sitting in shade of the desert lavender and listening to the bees. Drive alternate route back via Ranchita coming down Montezuma Grade. Stop at the visitor center, store, and library. Lunch in the shade at Christmas Circle park. Drive up Glorieta Canyon to end and stop along road on way out for a break. Temp 85° at 2p with wind gusting to 20. Too windy so driving home. But that's fine as i was kinda ready to go home anyway. Home at 4:20p. Drive 158 miles today, 304 miles trip total.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 30 minutes.
Kai and Doris visiting for a couple of days and they wanted to go for a hike so we did the Shannon trail to Smoketree mtn. Kai's hiked in the desert before but i don't think Doris ever has. She did good! Got a bit of a late start but temps were still fine.
Cahuilla Canyon to the second stream crossing. Still a bit of stagnate water in the middle pools. Wildflowers mostly over and the grasses are all brown.
Hike Garstin lollypop. Warm and sunny.
City loop taking 56 minutes.
Hike Palm Canyon from Hermit's Bench via main trail and Indian Potrero. Stopped at the stream crossing south of Indian Potrero and thought about trying to navigate down the creek or taking the east road. Decided to come back the way i'd come. Lots of water in the creek and very few people on the trails. Didn't see anyone on way out but on way back came upon a 40-something couple skinny dipping in the creek south of Dry Wash. Warmish day with temp around 90°. 10.1 miles total distance per GPS taking 4 hours 40 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 24 minutes.
Hike Shannon lollypop. Cool and a bit breezy.
Mini vacation to Santa Monica with Wen.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 12 minutes. Strong headwind in north part of town.
City loop taking 1 hour 15 minutes.
Quick hike up and down the south Lykken trail.
North Lykken from Ramon. Warm day. Temp was 92° when i got home at 10:45a. High temp for the day was 101°!
City loop taking 52 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
Starting from Araby trailhead, cross-country to my Araby Hope geocache, then across the dip to Smoketree mtn, down Shannon and back via the wash.
Middle Lykken from Mesquite. The encelia is really going crazy. Lots of Spring Break hikers on the trail too.
Quick afternoon hike up Cahuilla Canyon with Eddie. Encelia in full bloom. But the non-native grasses are also really bad this year. Still, kind of pretty in their own way. At least the grasses seem to be choking out the sahara mustard.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
Shannon trail to Smoketree mtn and back. The sahara mustard infestation doesn't seem quite as bad this year.
Canyon/city loop taking 46 minutes.
Watch Jupiter and Mercury within 2° of each other setting over mtns through binoculars. Naked eye Jupiter fairly easy and could just glimpse Mercury with difficulty in the bright twilight.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 18 minutes.
City loop taking 56 minutes.
Depart house 10a. Stop at Walmart for supplies. Sardines for lunch at Ella Wash turnout. Drive Ella Wash, to Palo Verde Wash, back to S22, then western Truckhaven, to Font's Wash, and S22 again. Drive up Beckman Wash road planning to camp but just didn't find a spot i liked. Rockhouse Canyon road north toward Clark Lake then east on cut over trail to Inspiration Wash and back to Font's Wash. Camp at the willow along Font's Wash north of S22 arriving at 2:20p. Very nice afternoon. Light breeze. Temp at 3p is 84°. Sunset at 5:32p. Temp 74°. Didn't set up tent. Slept in open truck bed. Drive 93 miles today.
Slept well in open truck bed. I may stop bothering with tent unless cold or windy. Mostly calm all night. Overnight low temp 55°. Sunrise 6:10a. Depart camp 7:15a Friday morning and drive to Pegleg Monument. Planning to hike to top of Coyote Mtn starting at 7:40a. Stop at 9:20a at peak labeled 2144 on topo. GPS says i've hiked 3.75 miles. Decide not to continue. Still pretty far to summit and the trail isn't that interesting. Start down at 9:40a. Back at truck 11:10a. 7.7 mile total per GPS. Borrego Springs for ice and some vegies. Use library wifi for a bit. Lunch in shade of Font's Wash smoketree south of S22. Over to Truckhaven site arriving at 2:30p. Breezy turning to windy with 20+ gusts. Otherwise nice with 88° temp. Winds and a bit of blowing sand continuing after 4p so decide to drive home. Home at 5:45p. Drive 101 miles today, 194 miles trip total.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 45 minutes.
Hike up the Theleman trail, over Smoketree mtn, and down the Garstin. Nice loop. Poppies and lupine starting to bloom. Saw a nice rosy boa coming down the Garstin too.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 42 minutes. First ride in 2 weeks after recovering from chest cold.
Hike Shannon lollypop.
City loop taking 56 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes. Tour de Palm Springs is also today but i didn't ride in the event.
Skyline to 1st rescue box and back. Bit breezy and cool but otherwise perfect. 2 hours 30 minutes total time.
City loop taking 1 hour 18 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 21 minutes.
Cold at home last night. Overnight low 27°. Desert day trip heading east on I10 to old Eagle Mtn road, north through Victory Pass, then aqueduct road to Pinto Wells gate. Aqueduct appears to be shut down. Just a few inches of stationary water in the bottom. Hike to Pinto Wells starting at 11:30a. Explore around the well site a bit. 10 MPH wind at top of tank, temp 48°. Last time here was Oct 85 camping with Georgia. Back to truck at 1:15p. Saw a bobcat along the aqueduct road on my way out!
City loop taking 58 minutes.
Hike Shannon lollypop. Beautiful day. Another perfect day.
Cahuilla Canyon to the first stream crossing then looped south though the Indian land. The chuparosa is blooming like crazy. Gorgeous day.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 16 minutes.
Hike Araby lollypop to Wildhorse junction and then back across the dip. Beautiful day.
Canyon loops taking 50 minutes.
Hike south Lykken trail to Descanso trail junction and back.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
First visit to the AB desert since October. Hiked to the Clark Valley rock north of S-22. While taking a break at the rock i spotted a herd of 12 bighorn sheep up the slope to the north. Looped back going a bit to the west. 4.7 miles total hiking distance per GPS. Beautiful day. Rather wish i'd brought camping gear to spend the night.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 10 minutes.
Hike middle Lykken trail from Mesquite with Eddie.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 34 minutes. First ride of the year.
New Year's Day hike up Cahuilla Canyon with Wen and Eddie.
© Florian Boyd