Hike Palm Canyon, Victor, Vandeventer, Wentworth loop. Pretty day. Hermit's Bench parking lot almost full. A few hikers on Victor trail but didn't see anyone the remainder of my hike. 13500 steps.
Holiday vacation in New Orleans with Wen and Kai. Four nights at the Astor Crowne Plaza on the corner of Canal and Bourbon streets. Did a lot of walking as we usually do. Highlights were oysters at Desire, beers at The Avenue Pub, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, ride on Natchez river boat, and Killer Poboys. Fun little family trip.
Christmas day hike up the Shannon trail with Kai. Bright warm clear dary. 9200 steps.
City loop taking 1 hour 5 minutes. Turns out this is my last ride of the year. I rode 2268.83 miles in 2013 taking 148.85 hours. 113 more miles than 2012.
Hike Cahuilla Canyon to second stream crossing. 6790 steps.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 52 minutes.
Hike Palm Canyon, Wentworth, Vandeventer loop. Almost too cool in shorts and shirt with temps in mid-sixties. 5.84 miles taking 2 hours 3 minutes. 12260 steps.
Hike up the Shannon, Garstin to Wildhorse junction, back to top of Araby, Berns trail across the dip, over Smoketree mtn, and back down on Shannon. 2 hours 32 minutes, 16696 steps.
Hike Garstin/Thielemann loop.
Windy Point out and back taking 1 hour 32 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 41 minute with a stop at Starbucks.
Hike from Hermit's Bench to Hwy 74 via Vandeventer, Hahn Buena Vista, and Art Smith trails with Cameron Robbins. Cool with a bit of light drizzle at the start but turned out to be a nice day. 14.35 miles taking 4 hours 54 minutes hiking time. 28290 steps.
Hike north Lykken trail to find LED lights.
Hike south Lykken trail and Cahuilla Canyon to first stream crossing.
City loop taking 1 hour 1 minute.
Hike to Maynard Mine from Andreas Canyon. Bright but cool day with temp around 50° up the trail. No recent footprints on the trail. The hike somehow seemed easier today than the last time i was up.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 14 minutes with a stop at Starbucks.
Hike Garstin lollypop.
Drive to Anza-Borrego in early morning for meetup.com group hike to Pyramid and Palm peaks. Tons of offroad motorheads camping and stirring up dust. Ugh. Hike up Smoketree Wash to the natural tanks then the steep west face of Pyramid Peak. Follow ridgeline over to Palm Peak then out via canyon back to S22. Couple of tricky dropoffs in the canyon coming out. Long day but a good hike with nice people. 11.22 miles taking 8 hours 26 minutes total time. 27733 steps.
City loop taking 1 hour 5 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 31 minutes.
Hike north Lykken trail.
Hike Garstin trail.
Hiked up the West Fork of Palm Canyon this morning. Almost the entire drainage above 2500' appears to have burned. There is nothing left of the shady cottonwoods at the stream crossing at the Pelton trail junction. Totally wiped out by the fire and subsequent flooding. Sad to see. Was such a lovely spot to cool off on warm days. Fire also burned closer to Hermit's Bench (trading post) than i thought down to 1000' elevation or so. The fire appears to have just followed the west fork creek bed all the way down to maybe 1/4 mile from trading post. Most of the palm trees up the west fork burned but they seem to be recovering well. After the brush in the canyon burned the flooding scoured everything out. You can see the dark gray ash from the flow high up on canyon walls. Would have been an amazing thing to see in person but i think there will be issues with flooding for some years to come.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 31 minutes.
Hike Araby trail.
Hike Palm Canyon, Dry Wash, Vandeventer, Victor trail loop. First hike in canyons after 2 month closure due to flood damage. Really glad the canyons are open again. (The Garmin track is messed up. I started and ended at Hermit's Bench.)
City loop taking 1 hour 3 minutes.
City loop taking 1 hour 37 minutes.
Hike south Lykken trail.
Hike Shannon lollypop. A couple hiking with three dogs kind of annoyed me. I told them the trail was closed to dogs and they said they didn't see the sign. (The sign is pretty obvious.) But they were nice about it and turned around and even picked up their dog's poop.
Got up at 3a and drove out east to do some early morning comet hunting. Set up the TV76 just outside JT south entrance along the aqueduct road. C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) high in the sky bright and easy in binoculars; C/2012 S1 (ISON) short narrow tail visible in TV76; C/2012 X1 (LINEAR) very difficult faint and diffuse; 2P/Encke condensed and fairly easy in TV76 and like a fuzzy star in binoculars. Plus i got to see Mercury rising.
City loop taking 1 hour 6 minutes.
City loop taking 1 hour 33 minutes.
Hike Skyline to Wrong Way Rock and back. Started late at 7:30a so decided not to go all the way to tram. It's exactly 4 miles to WWR. That museum trail really sucks, especially coming down. Will do Ramon trailhead from now on. Pretty day.
City loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
Hike Thielemann trail from Frank Bogert trailhead. Last month when i hiked Murray Hill i spotted an old milk bottle off the trail south of Hotdog (1770) hill. At the time i didn't want to carry the bottle so i hid it. Found the bottle today and carried it down. Kind of a nice old bottle. Wonder how old it is.
City loop taking 1 hour 34 minutes.
Wednesday: Depart house 9:40a, 9425 odo. Gas $3.44 at Red Earth Casino. Short detour on the highway south of Westmoreland. Big smoke plume west of Mexicali. Arrive Ocotillo at 12:36p. Chevron station south of freeway has gas. Have a $2 beer at Lazy Lizard Saloon. One of the Border Patrol officers at the Ocotillo checkpoint gave me a hard time for no apparent reason. First officer, a nice woman, asked where i was coming from and what my citizenship was. Those are the usual questions. She said thanks and waved me on. But before i could drive out a second officer motioned me to stop and then proceeded to ask me a bunch of probing questions that were none of his business. First thing he asked was if i had any "priors" (wtf kind of insulting question is that? i've never broken the law in my life), he wanted to know where i lived, if the jeep was a rental (with personal plates? i don't think so), why i only had only one key on keychain and no house keys (huh?), what was in the Pelican case (telescope), then asked where i was going. First time anything like that ever happened to me. Was insulting and i felt he wanted me to feel like a criminal. Wished i'd thought to have voice recorder on. What an asshole you are Officer Alvarado. Sardine lunch at Canyon Sin Nombre turnout. Drive through Bow Willow. One site occupied with a Vanagon. Take short break on Egg Mtn. Arrive Carrizo site 2:40p, 74°. Drive 150 miles today. Nice calm clear quiet afternoon. Wish was a bit warmer. Sunset 5:14p, 70°. Salad and spicy noodles for dinner. In bed 7:50p, very light breeze, 62°.
Thursday: Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) barely visible in TV76 at 4a. Competition with Mexicali skyglow, zodiacal light, and a just rising crescent moon didn't help. Comet similar in size and brightness to nearby galaxies M65 and M66. Canopus visible on southern horizon. Calm quiet night. Sunrise 7:06a, overnight low 48°. 5 bighorn on slope NW of camp. 1 male and 4 juvenile/female. Helicopter doing bighorn survey out of Mtn Palm Springs. Hang out in camp until around 10a. Drive down Vallecito Creek to Arroyo Tapiado and over to the Diablo drop-off. Thought about going down the drop-off but didn't feel comfortable being alone without a spotter. Drove back out via Arroyo Seco del Diablo and Carrizo Creek road. Back north through park. Lunch at Christmas Circle in BS. Tethered laptop to iPhone at park instead of going to library. Store for bag of ice then up to my Coyote Canyon site. Arrive 2:20p, temp 80°. Drive 94 miles today. Since last time i was here some pigs used my site and left an illegal campfire full of trash. Fucking assholes. Peaceful afternoon sitting in sun. Sunset 5:06p, temp 74°. Some mosquitoes tonight. Last time there were gnats. Canned corn and soup for dinner. Today is Halloween but no trick-or-treaters.
Friday: Up at 4:30a to check comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) again. Little easier to spot but still very faint. Sunrise 7:38a, overnight low 60°. Somewhat breezy night kept temps warmer. Was planning to hike to Alcoholic Pass and on to Coyote Mtn but once i got up the ridge south of Alc Pass realized was a lot longer to summit than i was thinking. Looks so easy on the map. I think i was only about 1/4 of the way at an hour so total round trip time would have been over 8 hours. Not in mood for that kind of hike today. Did an interesting loop around the boulders south of the pass instead. Ranger plane flew low up canyon while i was hiking but i never saw it come back. Hike 3.93 miles taking 2 hours 11 minutes. (Track) Enjoy some quiet time at my campsite after hike before driving home. Beautiful morning. Cleaned up the campfire mess. Depart camp 11:40a. 5 campers at Pegleg. Gas $3.44 at AM/PM in Salton City. The place is full of Glamis offroader trash. Home at 1:30p. Drive 86 miles today, 330 miles trip total.
Hike middle Lykken from Mesquite. Weird blustery day with lots of airborne particulates.
City loop taking 1 hour 35 minutes.
Hike Garstin lollypop.
Hike south Lykken trail.
Pinto Basin Road (JTNP) back-and-forth taking 1 hour 15 minutes.
Belle campground to Keys View (JTNP) out-and-back taking 2 hours 31 minutes.
Monday: Depart house 9:50a, 9143 odo. Stop at Cottonwood visitor center. Day use area and trails at Cottonwood are under some sort of emergency closure. Not sure what's up with that. Arrive Belle campground 12:20p, site #5, temp 78°. Sardine lunch at campsite. Site #5 is the best site. A guy in jeep and offroad trailer arrived just after me and probably would have taken my site if i had arrived a few minutes later. Drive 91 miles today. Timed myself setting up tent. Without hurrying took 8 minutes including blowing up air mattress. Perfect afternoon. Sunset 5:46p, temp 70°. Coleslaw and noodle bowl for dinner. Last time here i was using C8 hunting globulars. About 4 other site occupied. Everyone very quiet. Nice campfire with wood brought from home. Moonrise at 8:40p. In tent a bit after 9p.
Tuesday: Calm quiet night but didn't sleep very soundly for some reason. Sunrise 7:18a. Overnight low 52°. Quiet morning in camp. Ride to Keys View and back. (See above.) Back at camp a bit after noon. Drive to Joshua Tree for beer, ice, firewood. Pretty ranger at JT entry station. Sardine lunch along park road while driving back to camp. Return to camp 2:40p. Drive 58 miles today. Playing with Macbook trying to figure out how iPhoto works. Another perfect afternoon. Don't always get so lucky. Nice i can get NPR via SiriusXM. Too bad my subscription will expire this week. Sunset at 5:46p again, temp 72°. As nice as this campground has been i still really prefer camping on my own. Always worried someone will arrive and spoil the solitude. Can corn and mac and cheese for dinner. Had another campfire. Didn't need the extra fire wood after all. Some high clouds drifted over from the west in evening. Glad i can still hear crickets/katydids on the desert at night. Probably won't be able to hear them in a few more years. In tent at 9:30p as the moon rises.
Wednesday: Another perfect night. Slept better than last night. Sunrise 7:20a. Overnight low 53°. Walk around boulders south of camp in morning. All the bolts from climbers are a bit annoying. Depart camp 9:40a. Park at the Pinto mtn trailhead and ride road west to cholla garden and east to end of good pavement. (See above.) The new pavement is nice to ride on. Drive home via Cottonwood. Home at 1:30p. Drive 80 miles today, 229 miles trip total.
Windy Point out and back taking 1 hour 41 minutes.
Hike Murray Hill starting from Andreas Hills up the south side to summit then down the north side to Rimrocks. 3.34 miles to the summit taking 1 hour 15 minutes. Lots of people coming up the north side but didn't see anyone on the south side. 6.68 miles total taking 2 hours 29 minutes hiking time. (Same distance and time going up and coming down.) I think i'll stick to the south side trail next time.
City loop taking 1 hour 29 minutes.
Hike north Lykken trail. Saw some wildlife including a tarantula.
Hike Shannon trail. Talked with a nice older couple visiting from Ohio on my way down. Pretty day.
City loop taking 56 minutes.
Friday: Depart house 12:30p, 8907 odo. Lunch at San Miguel: Campechana and a Pacifico. Arrive Truckhaven site 2:30p, temp 83°. Drive 65 miles today. Walk the old road south from campsite. Couple of chinook helicopters are flying around near Ocotillo Wells. Perfect afternoon. Calm, still, quiet. Sunset 6:05p, temp 77°. Canned chili and corn for dinner. Kit foxes visiting in evening.
Saturday: Perfectly calm all night. Comet UTL but Canopus visible before dawn. 66° overnight low. Sunrise 6:46a. Hike to Rosa Point with Steve, Peter, Linda and Walt. A couple in the group were a bit slow so i hiked ahead but somehow got up the wrong ridge. By the time i figured out my error i was over an hour behind the others. Decided to bail out early and hike out on my own via Smoke Tree Canyon. Long walk to S22. A nice couple in a jeep gave me ride back to trailhead. Long hike. Sorry i didn't make it to Rosa. Maybe someday. 12 miles total distance per GPS. Temp 83° at 4p but felt hotter hiking back. Stop at Calcite turnout before driving home to rest and clean up a bit. Caltopo map is here.
Hike Cahuilla Canyon to second stream crossing. Overcast and a bit cool.
Short hike up Rimrocks.
City loop taking 1 hour 30 minutes.
Hike Garstin lollypop.
Depart house 11a, 8657 odo. Gas $3.64 at Red Earth Casino. Drive Holly road to north fork Arroyo Salado to Truckhaven. Sardine lunch along Truckhaven trail. Continue up Arroyo Salado to Ella Wash. Arrive Ella Wash site 2p, temp 90°. Calm afternoon becoming breezy later. But at least no gnats. Sunset 6:14p, 86°. Cellphone tethering works from the hill but slow and temperamental. Spicy noodle bowl for dinner. In bed 9:45p. Up at 4a to look for comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) with TV76 but was UTL. Nice ISS pass at 4:45a. Breezy off and on during night. Sunrise 6:45a, overnight low 70°. Depart camp about 8a and drive over to Pegleg monument. No campers. Short hike round the area north of S22 east of Thimble trail before driving home.
City loop taking 56 minutes.
Hike middle Lykken from Mesquite.
Indian Ave to Amtrak station taking 1 hour 38 minutes.
City loop taking 1 hour 17 minutes.
Hike south Lykken trail.
Tuesday: Depart house 8:40a, 8091 odo. First time i've seen the huge Walmart and Home Depot center east of Yucca Valley. Ugh. Gas $3.79 in 29 Palms. Depart 29 at 10:30a. Cold chicken lunch by tracks in Amboy. 2 westbound BNSF. Amboy cafe is open and has gas for $4.99. Depart Amboy 12p. There are two large Chinese marble lions east of Amboy. Seem to have been installed recently. Stop at that gas engine generator south of I40. I just like how it sounds. Walk to foot of Kelso Dunes and then take a short break in shade of tamarisk trees a bit west. Sunrise Butte has cross on it again. I like it better without cross. Arrive Nipton about 4p. Room #1 again. $73.50 per night plus tax. Drive 211 miles today. Strangest sight of the day... A black BMW with Nevada plates drives up to Nipton store and 4 orange-robed monks get out, go into store one by one, and buy lottery tickets. Imported beers $3 at store. Not bad and they are on ice. Have 2 Dos Equis and 2 Stella Artois. Sunset 6:24p. One other guest in hotel, a biologist, Pete Sun. Sardines and corn for dinner on the porch. Can't get on internet with Nipton wifi but iPhone hotspot works good.
Wednesday: Only a couple of trains at night. My neighbor Pete in room #3 is extremely quiet. I didn't even know he was in the hotel last night. Hotel doesn't include hot breakfast any longer. Just cold muffins and weak coffee in the store. Total train count: 5 eastbound, 3 westbound. Depart Nipton a bit after 9a. Drive up to I15 and over to solar plant. Impressive and kind of upsetting at the same time. The air around the tower glows with concentrated sunlight. Also some freaky bright "plasma" balls. Drive back south on Ivanpah road and then up Caruthers Canyon. Empty gas cans into jeep. 8 gallons of gas brought me from 1/4 full to 3/4 full. Kind of a nuisance and smelly but saved me having to drive into Primm or Searchlight. Sardines for lunch at Hole in the Wall. Hike down ring trail and back. Drive south to Essex then west on 66 then south through Danby to Skeleton Pass. Arrive Skeleton Pass site about 3p. Windy most of the day. Thought about driving to 29 Palms and staying in a motel but wind isn't too bad at campsite so far. After about an hour or so decide not to stay and move to my regular Cadiz site. Arrive Cadiz 4:55p. Drive 158 miles today. There seem to be lots of flies but they are more interested in the jeep than in bothering me. 5 bars 3G internet. Sunset at 6:30p, 90°, light breeze. Very nice. Sitting on the desert in the evening, with stars above, computer in lap, connected to the internet, watching trains, drinking beer... Can it get any better? Okay, would be better if i had some ice cream. Or maybe some cookies. And a glass of milk. Haven't seen Milky Way this bright for a while. Pretty. In bed at 9:30p.
Thursday: Breezy night. Between the trains and the wind didn't sleep very soundly. 65° overnight low. Sunrise 6:50a. Depart camp 7:45a. Train count: 19 eastbound, 14 westbound. Gas $3.79 in 29 Palms. Was planning to drive home via Joshua Tree nat park but 29 Palms entrance is still closed due to road wash out. Was also planning to buy an annual nat park pass but their credit card machine is out of order at visitor center. Home a bit before 11a. Drive 123 miles today, 492 miles trip total.
City loop taking 57 minutes.
City loops taking 1 hour 47 minutes.
Hike Araby trail.
City loop taking 1 hour 10 minutes.
Hike Cahuilla Canyon to second stream crossing.
Hike Shannon trail. Still hot.
City loop taking 1 hour 11 minutes.
City loop taking 1 hour 18 minutes.
Quick hike up and down the south Lykken trail.
Tuesday: Depart house around 9a, 7650 odo. AM/PM in Salton City gas pumps are closed. Chicken for lunch at Ella Wash campsite. I was first to drive wash after recent rain. Gas $4.29 in Borrego Springs. Use wifi at library. Ocotillos very lush and green
from recent rains. Shelter Valley and Blair Valley have green grass and carpets of yellow chinch weed flowers. Arrive Carrizo Valley site 1:20p. No tire tracks up road since last rain. Sit in shade of my ocotillo a while. Lots of little gnats (midges) are annoying. Glad i brought repellent even tho it's not helping much. At least when a breeze comes up the gnats disperse a bit. Drive over to Bow Willow (vacant) and sit on Egg Mtn a while. iPhone works on Egg but not AT&T mifi. Back at Carrizo site at 4p, 95°. Drive 150 miles today. Nice afternoon. Mostly clear with some pretty puffy clouds. A bit humid but not too bad. The gnats are annoying. Low overhead southbound helicopter pass just before sunset. Yay. Sunset over ridge north of canyon at 5:55p. Temp 94°. Can corn and sardines for dinner. iPhone works at campsite but not the mifi. Gnats finally gone after dark. No traffic on S2 all evening. Went to bed early.
Wednesday: Sunrise 6:26a. 72° overnight low temp. Gnats are up early. Morning nap in tent to escape the gnats. Depart camp a bit after 8a. Drive up both forks Indian Gorge. Lunch at Carlee's in Borrego Springs. Market and library. Arrive Coyote Canyon site 2:30p, temp 99°. Drive 108 miles today. Some gnats here but not as bad as in the south. Ocotillos are very lush and their shade is nice to have. iPhone and mifi both work well here. Watching a dragonfly use my radio antenna as his base to hunt from. Sunset 6:26p, temp 92°. Bit breezy in the evening. Went to bed around 9:30p.
Thursday: Light breezes off and on during the night. 79° overnight low temp. Sunrise in camp 7:22a. Depart camp at 8a and drive up canyon. Water flowing at first crossing but don't cross cuz i don't like mud. Quick stop at Pegleg monument (vacant) on way home. Home about 11a. Drive 88 miles today, 346 miles trip total.
City loop taking 1 hour 50 minutes.
Hike Garstin lollypop.
Hike north Lykken trail from Ramon. Hot.
Hike tramway to Wellman Divide via the High trail. Tramway hike number 20 for the year. Having a $50 summer pass that works out to $2.50 per ride! (Actually now that i think of it i did ride the tram once without hiking when the trails were under fire closure so that would make my cost per trip only $2.38!)
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
Hike Southridge trail to Tahquitz Peak. Brought dad's hiking pole as a kind of remembrance. Not being a hiker i think he only used it once. Meet host Ken at the lookout. Listen to Beethoven's 6th on iPhone on way down. 6.98 miles round trip per GPS. Drive up via Banning and down via hwy 74 this time. Times: Leave house 7:35a, start hike 9:06a (temp 76°), peak 10:36a, start down 11:12a, end hike 12:35p, home 3p.
Hike Cahuilla Canyon to second stream crossing. Overcast with some very light rain sprinkles.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 27 minutes.
Little mini vacation with Wen in Venice Beach staying at Venice Breeze Suites right on the boardwark. Very nice short term apartments in a neat old brick building. Nicer than we were expecting actually. We have a sweet little studio room with kitchen in the back but still have beach and ocean view. Had dinner with Kai on Thursday at C&O Cucina. On Friday walked to Santa Monica pier and had lunch at True Food Kitchen. Dinner Friday at Enterprise Fish Co.
City/canyon loop taking 48 minutes.
Hike Humber Park to Tahquitz Peak via Devil's Slide trail. I think it's probably been 30 years since i've hiked Devil's slide. Is a very nice trail. Other trails from Saddle Junction are still under fire closure. Start 9a, temp 66°. 1 hour to Saddle Jnk. Looking east into Tahquitz Valley can see evidence of fire damage but hard to tell what the long term consequences will be. Also can see a new fire on San Antonio putting up a large smoke plume. Talk with Gene and Greta (?) fire lookouts. 8.4 miles round trip distance taking 3 hours 35 minutes total time. Other than i somehow lost my nice pen on the Devil's Slide was a wonderful hike.
City loop taking 1 hour 4 minutes.
City loop taking 47 minutes.
Hike Ryan Mountain. Beautifully constructed trail with nice stone steps. 2.95 miles round trip taking 1 hour 12 minutes hiking time up and back.
Tuesday: Joshua Tree camping trip. Depart house about 11:30a, 6922 odo. Sandwich for lunch next to ironwood outside park at 1p, temp 99°. Cottonwood visitor station closed for cleaning. No entrance fee! Pinto Valley road recently resurfaced. Would be good for cycling. White Tank and Belle campgrounds both closed. I really wanted to camp at Belle. Arrive Jumbo Rocks about 3p, temp 92°. Site #56. Drive 92 miles today. Jumbo Rocks is okay but i never really cared for it much. It's always busy and lacks distant views. Forgot the salsa. Bummer. Nice afternoon. Relatively quiet with people a few campsites over playing music but it's not too bad. Temp 88° at 6p. No cell coverage. Sunset 7:20p. Perfect conditions, calm, clear. I've kind of gotten to like the music my neighbors are playing. Techno groove beats. Macaroni and cheese and canned beets for dinner. Have a nice big campfire with found firewood. Wasn't expecting to have a fire tonight. The wood i found was red, heavy and hard. Curious what it is. It's not redwood. Strange to camp with people nearby. Changes the whole dynamic of camping for me. Temp 73° at 10p. Listen to Beethoven 4th on iPhone. In tent around 11p.
Wednesday: People were up talking until almost 4a. Thankfully no music. And no dogs. Sunrise 6:08a. 64° overnight low temp. I think i picked the best campsite in the entire campground. Glad no one camped right next to me. Quiet morning. Depart camp 7:35a. Hike Ryan mtn. [See above.] Key's View to get cell connection and check msgs. Drive through Hidden Valley campground. Seems nice. More open than Jumbo Rocks. Big Horn Pass road and then east to Georgia's rock for lunch. Temp 95° at noon. Drive back through park. Check msgs in ironwood shade near I10. Chiriaco Summit for $3 bag of ice. Arrive Cottonwood 3:20p, site 26A on lower loop. Drive 102 miles today. Temp 101° at 4p. Talk with Natasha from Ohio State doing seed dispersal studies. Sunset at 7:08p. I really like Cottonwood. Only two other sites occupied. Spicy noodle bowl for dinner. Temp 86° at 8p. Coyotes loud and noisy and close by after 9p.
Thursday: Slept very well. 70° overnight low temp. Sunrise 6:30a. Depart camp early and park next to ironwood a while before driving home. 10° warmer here than at campsite. Home at 8:30a. Drive 54 miles today, 248 miles trip total.
Warm hike up the Araby trail.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 32 minutes.
City loop taking 1 hour 13 minutes.
First hike in Palm Canyon since the fire closure. Went up Wentworth Canyon a bit then hike Victor trail and back through the main palm grove.
S22 in Anza-Borrego from Calcite view westward and back. Would have ridden farther but bottom bracket needs tightening and i didn't bring tools. Worried it's going to damage the frame.
Depart house 11:55a for Anza-Borrego overnight trip, 6715 odo. Stop at Truckhaven, 1:35p, 105°. No sign of any recent rains in AB. Turn around at Font's Wash. Stop at Ella Wash for a bit. Breezy 107°. Too hot to stay so drive around a bit more. Move over to Calcite view for a while to use wifi. Decide to camp up Calcite Mine road instead of Ella Wash. I think Georgia and i camped here once. Drive 88 miles today. Temp 104° at 5p and breezy. Sardines and sauerkraut for dinner. 94° at 8p. Light breeze. Found one scorpion with black light. Smoke from Banning fire finally arrives just after 10p. Calm night. 84° overnight low temp. Depart camp 7:20a Thursday. Ride 12.48 miles from Calcite view. [See above.] Hang out at Ella view for a bit before driving home. Drive 74 miles today, 162 miles trip total.
Quick hike up and down the south Lykken trail.
Hike tramway Desert View trail around Long Valley. State park wilderness beyond Long Valley is still closed due to fire and rain damage to trails.
Hike Shannon trail. Kinda warm.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 7 minutes.
Hike Garstin trail to Smoketree mtn.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
City loop taking 52 minutes.
Hike South Fork Santa Ana River to Dry Lake and Mine Shaft Saddle and back. Good flow of water in river. I was worried it might be dry. Feeling kind of slow on the trail today. First hike with new boots. Started out warm but then clouds built up keeping temps nice. No rain. Long day. Leave house at 7:30a and not home until 5:50p. 10 hours. Spent almost as much time driving as i did hiking. I miss San Jacinto hiking.
Hike Cahuilla Canyon to second stream crossing. There is (green) water in the bathtub pools. Hot hike.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 20 minutes.
Quick hike up and down south Lykken trail.
Hike Garstin lollypop. Heavy downpour early in the morning has the trail quite rutted. Ugly black ash-laden water from the fire flowing in Palm Canyon wash under the Bogert Trail bridge. Also walked up Cahuilla Canyon to the first stream crossing. Looks like water had been flowing but was gone by mid-morning.
City loop taking 1 hour 8 minutes.
Hike Shannon trail on a warm muggy morning.
City loop taking 1 hour 13 minutes.
Wildfire starts near Mountain Center about 1p. Burns a huge area including Desert Divide, Cedar Spring, and Tahquitz Valley. Very sad.
Hike tramway High trail to Tamarack Valley.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 29 minutes.
Hike tramway to Wellman Divide then back via High Trail. Cool 55° with a bit of light rain. Not many people on the trail today. Nice.
Hike south Lykken trail. Hot muggy morning.
City loop taking 56 minutes.
City loop taking 1 hour 4 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 8 minutes.
Hike tramway to Hidden Divide and then over to Round Valley via High Trail. Back to tram on main trail. Picked up some trash along trail near RV.
City loop taking 1 hour 17 minutes.
Hike tramway to Round Valley then back on the High Trail. Simple hike, nice day.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 23 minutes.
Hike the old field telephone route to Round Valley. The wire is long gone but many of the old insulators remain.
City loop taking 1 hour 1 minute.
Hike to Round Valley via High Trail with Wen. Back on the main trail. Nice day.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 24 minutes.
Up on main trail and down via the Miller shortcut. Tons of backpackers heading out from RV in the morning. Met some museum coworkers on way down from Wellman's.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 30 minutes.
Day trip up Toro Peak. Haven't been up Toro since 2008. Nice day. Temps just right. Walk up to the summit. Nice to see the AB desert from up here.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 22 minutes.
Forgot to turn off GPS when i got back to tram so the track is mostly tram ride and driving down the tram road.
Hwy 111, Country Club, Bob Hope, Ramon loop taking 1 hour 26 minutes. Should have avoided Ramon between Date Palm and Landau.
City loop + Windy Point taking 1 hour 34 minutes.
City loop + Amtrak station taking 1 hour 25 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 31 minutes.
Hike tramway to RV via High trail. Back the same way. Nice relaxing hike on trails i know well. But i do wonder why the CCC is doing stupid unnecessary work along already good trails. Why don't they work on the trails that actually need maintenance?
City loop taking 57 minutes. Watch presidential motorcade arrive at airport.
City loop taking 1 hour. Got some nice views of Air Force One at the airport too.
Hike tramway to SJ peak via Miller shortcut.
City loop taking 1 hour 5 minutes.
Tramway to Wellman Divide and back via the High trail. Planes are dropping Phos-Chek on a small wildfire on Thomas mtn. Looks like it's pretty much under control.
Shannon to Smoketree mtn and back. The smoketrees are in full bloom in the wash.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 39 minutes.
My annual visit to Mini Cache One and Mini Cache Two. Today also happens to be my birthday.
Hike up Alcoholic Pass in AB desert from Coyote Canyon side.
Anza-Borrego overnight trip. First camping trip in almost 3 months. Walmart ice is $2/bag now. Drive through Truckhaven. Warm and a bit hazy. Should have brought shade. Pegleg monument vacant. Arrive Coyote Canyon site 1:40p. Temp 100° at 2:30p with intermittent breeze. Nice but warm afternoon. Quite blustery by 6p gusting to 22 mph. Got tent set up so i'll be ok with the wind. Sunset 7:27p. Temp 88° and windy. Mercury, Venus, Jupiter form a vertical line in the west. Found one big scorpion and a few little ones with UV light. Night breezy becoming calm toward dawn. 76° overnight low. Slept well. Hike up Alcoholic Pass in morning. [See above.] Ranger plane flew over as i was walking back to camp. Relax in camp for a while after hike. Nice quiet morning. Brought bike but didn't ride. Depart camp about 9:30a and drive up canyon. Good flow of water at 2nd stream crossing. Lunch at San Miguel on way home.
Up and down the south Lykken and Cahuilla Canyon to the first stream crossing.
City loop taking 1 hour 6 minutes.
One of my favorite hikes on the mtn. Good way to avoid all the crowds that are heading to the peak on a holiday weekend. Willow Creek still flowing and tasty ferns are coming up in Tahquitz Valley.
Canyon/city loops taking 1 hour 23 minutes.
Hike Skyline trail from museum to tram. 5 hours 24 minutes hiking time, 6 hours 10 minutes overall time. I think is PR hiking (moving) time but not fastest overall time. Perfect day for Skyline with cooler temps for this time of year. Only saw 6 other people on the trail.
Drive jeep to valley tram station then ride bike home in preparation for tomorrow's Skyline hike. Hit 46 MPH coming down tramway road but i'm not really comfortable going that fast with nothing between me and the asphalt except spandex and a little helmet made out of styrofoam. I think i could have done 50+ if i had tried.
Hike Garstin trail, over Smoketree mtn, over to the top of Araby on the Berns trail, then around and back down the Garstin. Cooler today with temp around 85°.
Hike tramway to SJ peak. Perfect day on the mtn with only a few other hikers on the trail. Had the peak all to myself.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 50 minutes.
Nice easy High trail loop from tramway. Still feeling a bit congested so didn't want to do anything strenuous.
Easy city loop taking 51 minutes. Still recovering from chest cold trying to clear the phlegm from my lungs.
Quick hike up and down the Shannon. Pretty clouds over San Jacinto.
Canyon/city loop taking 1 hour 28 minutes.
Jo Pond trail with Cameron Robbins. Cameron isn't a very fast hiker. I'd hike ahead 30 mins then wait 20 mins for him to catch up. Otherwise a really good hike and the first time i've done this trail all the way through. 11.8 miles taking 5 hours 20 minutes hiking time but almost 8 hours total time.
South Lykken to the viewpoint and then Cahuilla Canyon to the first stream crossing.
Hike main Palm Canyon trail to the stream crossing south of Dry Wash. Creek bone dry except for a small stagnant pool upstream about 100 yards from the crossing.
Hike Willow Creek trail from tramway down to Saddle Junction and loop through Tahquitz Valley. Good flow of water in Willow Creek. Nice day. Not too warm. Just right. Sardines for lunch near Skunk Cabbage Meadow. On way back tripped over a tree across the trail and scraped up my right arm. Only a flesh wound. 10 miles taking about 4 hours.
Canyon/city loop taking 1 hour 34 minutes.
Hike tramway to Wellman Divide. Only a few little snow patches on trail. No water in Round Valley creek at the log crossing near Long Valley. 62 minutes to Wellman Divide. 50° at the divide.
Middle Lykken from Mesquite.
North Lykken from Ramon. Found a nice Starbucks travel mug in the middle of the road at the trailhead. I put it on the roof of my Jeep while i was hiking thinking the owner might come back for it but it was still there when i returned so i kept it! Yay me.
Shannon trail to Smoketree mtn.
Canyon/city loop taking 1 hour 42 minutes.
City loops taking 1 hour 26 minutes.
First tramway hike of the year. Temps cool around 50°. Only little patches of snow left. No water in Hidden Lake and just a trickle in the creek along the trail to Round Valley. Going to be a very dry summer on the mtn i think. The red panties are still in the tree along RV trail! 5.1 miles.
Hike Araby trail to my Araby Hope (GC9FD) geocache.
Pretty day with bit of a breeze. 6.6 miles taking 2 hours 26 minutes total time.
Varner/Washington/Ramon loop taking 1 hour 3 minutes. Strong headwind coming back on Washington and Ramon but Varner was fun going out. Chavela at San Miguel after ride.
Windy Point out-and-back + city/canyon loop taking 2 hours 5 minutes. Had a tailwind heading out which was a nice change.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 32 minutes.
Joshua Tree day trip and hike. Drive up Berdoo Canyon to Pinyon Well trailhead. Berdoo road in pretty good shape. Berdoo Canyon is 15.3 miles from Dillon to Geology Tour road junction. Hike up canyon to Pinyon Well and then check out the abandoned guzzler. Follow old road to summit where it drops down to Pushawalla Canyon. (I drove this route west-to-east about 40 years ago in my 1946 CJ2A. Hit a boulder and blew out a tire. I think i found the same boulder.) Explore a bit around the Tingman-Holland mine and the stone building ruins. Hike 6.6 miles taking 2 hours 38 minutes total time. Have sardine lunch along the Geology Loop road then drive back down Berdoo. Home about 3:30p. Drive 86 miles for the day.
Up and down the south Lykken trail.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 59 minutes.
Quick hike up and down the Shannon trail.
Hike Palm Canyon and Dry Wash. Was planning to go to Dunn Road but turned around about a mile short. 8 miles taking 3 hours total time. Warm hike.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 31 minutes.
City loop taking 55 minutes.
City loop taking 1 hour 18 minutes.
City loop taking 58 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 23 minutes.
Hike Cahuilla Canyon to the second stream crossing.
North on 111 then back through town and up the canyons taking 1 hour 50 minutes.
City loop taking 59 minutes.
Up and down the Shannon trail.
Palm Canyon East Fork to Dry Wash then back on the main Palm Canyon trail. Saw a nice desert tortoise up the east fork. I don't think i've ever seen a tortoise in the Santa Rosa mtns before.
Hike up Garstin trail, over Smoketree Mtn, then down the Thielemann trail.
City loops taking 1 hour 56 minutes.
City loops mostly trying to get view of the B-29 at the airport taking 1 hour 56 minutes.
Hike up and down the south Lykken and then Cahuilla Canyon to the first stream crossing.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 28 minutes.
Borrego Springs loop taking 59 minutes.
S2 in southern Anza Borrego riding between Agua Caliente and Bow Willow taking 1 hour 32 minutes.
Monday: Magnitude 4.7 earthquake just as i was about to leave house. Depart house about 10a. 3330 odo. Gas $3.99 at Salton City. Sandwich for lunch south of Clark Lake. Arrive Carrizo Valley campsite 1:40p. Drive 135 miles today. Feeling a bit sick with head cold and queazy stomach. Hope doesn't get any worse. Temp 84° at 2p. Perfect afternoon. Lots of Osprey traffic these days. Sunset 5:44p at campsite, 78°. Trying to find comet after sunset i found three bighorn sheep on the ridge along north side of canyon! Would not have seen them had i not been looking for comet. Find comet C/2011 L4 at 7:20p with 10x32 binoculars looking up canyon from south of campsite. Canopus also visible setting at 7:45p. Cold chicken for dinner. In bed at 10p.
Tuesday: Get up at 6a while still dark. Perfect calm still night. Sunrise 6:58a, 55°. Walk over to the elephant trees NW of camp. Surprised i never realized they were here before. Ride 23 miles on S2 between Aqua Caliente and Bow Willow. (See above) Ocotillo store for ice and kleenex for my runny nose. New owners no longer have wifi. Gas station is also closed so no gas in Ocotillo any more. Good to know for future planning. Talk to cyclist Janice Heaton Sheufelt whom had just ridden down from Borrego Springs and was about to ride back! Two sites occupied at Bow Willow. Kipper lunch on Egg Mtn. Four campers in Mtn Palm Spring. Back at campsite at 1:50p. Drive 44 miles today. Left tent set up from morning. Conditions same as yeserday with temp 84° at 2p. A big solitary turkey vulture flew over in mid-afternoon. Cellphone email and msging work from camp. Did not try to make a phone call. Two vehciles drive by in afternoon and are apparently spending the night up canyon. Canned canned beans and corn for dinner. Try to take pictures of comet and new moon from south of campsite. Wish i had tripod. Comet seems fainter tonight but the thin moon is pretty. Bright cross-sky meteor at 9:15p. In bed by 9:30p.
Wednesday: Sunrise 6:55a, 59°. Another calm still night. Weather has been absolute perfection all trip. Depart camp 8:50a. Ride 16.4 miles Borrego Springs loop. (See above) Sardine lunch at Ella Wash turnout before driving home. Glad i hiked Villager Peak last week as this week would have been very warm. Home at 1:30p. Drive 130 miles today, 309 miles trip total.
City loops taking 1 hour 7 minutes.
Cool and windy hike with clouds and some very light rain blowing over the desert divide.
Hike to Villager Peak from S22. Overcast morning kept temps nice going up. Coming down was sunny and i was starting to worry about snakes. Temp 58° at summit. Tiring hike but still good and had the trail all to myself. 7 hours total time.
Depart house about 11a. 3058 odo. Drive through Truckhaven. Have sandwich for lunch along Font's Wash north of S22. Pick up a bunch of .40 shells. Again surprised people are shooting in the park so close to main road. Drive up Beckman Wash thinking to camp but decided to head for Ella Wash instead. West Truckhaven trail. Arrive Ella Wash site at 2:15p, temp 80°. Military helicopters doing practice landings at Ocotillo Wells. Neither phone nor internet work at site this time. Both worked last time i was here. Quiet afternoon with two vehicles passing by. Sunset 5:32p, temp 76°, wind calm, some thin high clouds. Spicy noodle bowl for dinner. Nice little campfire using Bic FlameDisk and a few small pieces of wood. Clear and calm after dark. Surprised to find skies overcast in morning. Overnight low 60°. Depart camp about 6:30a to climb Villager Peak (see above).
City loops taking 1 hour 15 minutes.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 52 minutes. Getting warmer.
Hike Shannon trail to my Flag Over Palm Springs (GC2165) geocache.
Hike middle Lykken trail from Mesquite to my Tahquitz Overlook (GC2569) geocache.
Seems i can't get enough of these trails. 7.5 miles per GPS taking 2 hours 20 minutes hiking time.
City loop taking 1 hour 2 minutes. Breezy.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 48 minutes. Also snuck into the vintage trailer show while out riding.
Someone fell off their horse near the Dry Wash and Palm Canyon trail junction. There were two helicopters plus the Highway Patrol airplane circling. Not exactly a quiet hike. Beautiful day otherwise.
Hike Garstin lollypop.
Dinah Shore, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Monterey, Ramon loop taking 1 hour 27 minutes. Chavela stop at San Miguel at 14.5 miles.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 49 minutes. Lots of people in town today.
Up the Araby trail, to Wildhorse, across to the Berns, and back down Araby.
City loop taking 1 hour 1 minute.
Hike Palm Canyon, Victor, Vandeventer, Dry Wash loop. Another gorgeous day on the desert. So many nice hikes and rides so far this year. 7.86 miles taking 2 hours 38 minutes hiking time.
Ramon, Washington, Ave 40, Monroe, Ave 42, Varner loop taking 1 hour 42 minutes. After ride chavela at San Miguel and some tacos de pescado to go.
City/canyon (not the Tour de Palm Springs) loop taking 1 hour 55 minutes.
Hike Cahuilla Canyon with Eddie. Chuparosa are in bloom.
Hike Palm Canyon, Wentworth/Fern Canyon, Wildhorse trail, cut over to Dunn Road and back on the bike trail. Side trip to the single palm tree in the middle of the valley. First time i've actually been to that palm tree. 8.66 miles taking 3 hours hiking time.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 38 minutes.
Anza-Borrego S22 between Calcite overlook and Pegleg monument taking 1 hour 26 minutes.
Thursday: Anza-Borrego overnight trip departing house at 9:55a. No campers in ORV area east of park on my way in. Stop at Truckhaven site for a quick break. 4 sites occupied at Arroyo Salado. Stop at Ella Wash overlook and walk around "zen garden" north side of road. Drive west side of Truckhaven Trail. Lots of campers at Pegleg monument and in the open area to the east. Drive Palo Verde wash to Ella Wash site arriving at 12:55p. Temp 70°. Sardines for lunch. Testing out gas cans on the roof rack. No problems except next time only fill 4 gallons each to prevent a bit of seepage around the vents. Pick up a ton of bullet shells near campsite. .223, .40, .45, and 9mm. An osprey is doing practice landings at Ocotillo Wells. Flying swarms of mating ants in late afternoon over wash. Very nice afternoon. Some high clouds but clear by sunset. Sunset 5:04p from top of hill. Temp 66°. Mercury and Mars through binoculars in west after sunset. Mifi works at campsite. Zodiacal light quite prominent. Spicy noodles for dinner. Canopus. In bed at 9:30p.
Friday: Calm night. Overnight low 54°. Sunrise 6:42a. Coffee press is too messy for camping so will go back to instant next time. Ride 21.1 miles on S22 from the Ella Wash overlook. (See above.) Market and library in Borrego Springs. Kippers for lunch along Font's Wash. Arrive Truckhaven site about 1:45p. Temp 75° at 2p. Sunset about 5:05p through high thin clouds. Temp 69°. Couple of bats flying around in twilight. Didn't see any bats last night. Spicy noodles again for dinner. Two kit foxes visited after dark so i left out a bowl of water for them.
Saturday: High clouds all night kept temps warmer for an overnight low of 60°. Sunrise 6:38a. I had left the tailgate window on the jeep open all night and found the kit foxes had eaten all my powerbars! They were very tidy and did not make a mess. They drank all the water i left out as well. Discovered there is an active kit fox den about 100 yards south of my campsite. Ocotillo is covered in tiny leaves after recent rains. No sign of sahara mustard yet. Quiet morning in camp until a group of 6 vehicles arrives and starts setting up camp just east of me at 9:45a. Amateurs. Time to go home. Lots of weekend warriors camped in the ORV area on my way out. Home about 12:30p.
Hike up Palm Canyon West Fork trail and back down the Pelton trail and walked back to Hermit's Bench. Took a little off-trail shortcut near the end. A bit cool with some pretty clouds. Saw no other hikers all day except one guy near the Pelton high point doing the same hike in opposite direction. 7.45 miles taking 2 hours 47 minutes hiking time.
Farrell, Vista Chino, Ramon, Monterey, Dinah Shore loop taking 1 hour 26 minutes. Quick stop at San Miguel for a chavela halfway through ride.
Hike Shannon lollypop in the fog.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 24 minutes.
Hike Hermit's Bench to Sirocco Palms. Very nice palm groves off the main trail. Gorgeous day.
City loop taking 1 hour 5 minutes.
Meet up with Martin Caniza at the Love's in Indio and ride Dillon, 1000 Palms Canyon, Washington loop taking 2 hours 10 minutes. Was a fun ride with perfect conditions. Martin and i ride about the same speed.
Hike Shannon and Wildhorse trails through to Hermit's Bench and drive Jeep home. (See below.) Exceptionally nice day hiking on the desert and fun logistics.
Drive Jeep to Palm Canyon and park at Hermit's Bench then ride bike back home in preparation for hike from Shannon trail. (See above.)
Hike south Lykken trail and then Cahuilla Canyon to first stream crossing.
Thousand Palms east on Ramon, north through 1000 Palm Canyon, east on Dillon to Indio Hills community center and back taking 1 hour 40 minutes. Chilly but otherwise a good ride. Don't like going up 1000 Palms Canyon road. Most drivers give me room but one guy came too close for comfort. Chavela at San Miguel after ride to recover.
City loops taking 1 hour 15 minutes. Cold 52°.
Hike Palm Canyon Indian Potrero loop. No water at either stream crossing. Clear day but chilly with high temp in the upper 50s. No fresh footprints through the potrero. Came back via the old road route.
Hike Garstin lollypop. Breezy and a bit on the cool side. Carried out some shitty (literally) garbage from along the trail.
Desert day trip to Corn Springs. Depart house 8:10a, 1854 odo. Gas $3.55 and coffee at Loves. Only one site occupied at Corn Springs. The palms have seen better days. Drive to far west end of road to wilderness boundary. Explore a few small mines. One has a tunnel 13 paces deep. Cool and overcast with temp 57° at noon. Sardines for lunch. Home at 3:10p, driving 196 miles.
City/canyon loop taking 1 hour 36 minutes.
Hike from Andreas Canyon to Murray Canyon. Back via Coffman trail loop. Nice flow of water in both Andreas and Murray canyons. Another beautiful clear day.
Hike north Lykken trail from Ramon with Eddie. Beautiful clear day.
City loop taking 1 hour 10 minutes.
© Florian Boyd