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Sunday, October 6, 2013

Sierra Norte

Just starting off on the Sierra Norte Trail
Dr. K, Becca and I considered going to Soledad Canyon this morning (well, Becca didn't really consider it), but we assumed it was probably closed because of the government shutdown; the area is run by the Bureau of Land Management.  The Sierra Norte Trail is, too, but there's no barrier to block it off.  So the three of us did a moderately-long hike.  We would have gone further, but Dr. K had big-toe surgery last Monday; the entire nail had to be removed because of an old injury that caused it to grow in as a double nail.  The foot doctor said it was OK to exercise.
Do you cairn for me?

Becca always sees things we don't

Mountain greenery

I thought this might be desert tobacco, but the leaves are too small

Clammyweed (caper family) has fruit pods that grow upright

The trail snakes down toward the lower desert

Part of the community of Talavera with Tortugas Mountain behind

The trail runs diagonally through the midsection of the image

Somebody's mountain home

The trail used to go this way, but they've created another route to the left

The Organ Mountains across a lush desert floor

Headed back to the trailhead

3 comments:

Dr. K said...

It was cool but not cold, and the sun was bright.

Scott said...

Very nice images, Packrat. The humidity must be low because the sky is deep blue and everything in the images seems "crisp."

We had high humidity yesterday (Saturday) and today with temperatures in the mid-80s. We took a walk yesterday afternoon and were soaked with sweat when we were done. Today, we bicycled about 10 miles, which was more pleasant despite the humidity.

Late this afternoon (Sunday about 4:30) we were doing some yard work out in hot sun. I went to get a cart to carry the clippings to the compost pile. By the time I had loaded up the clippings and hauled them to pile, the sky had gotten cloudy and it was sprinkling--all within the space of 20 minutes. Then the heavens opened up and it poured for half an hour. We need the rain (it's been very dry), but the change in the weather happened astonishingly fast.

packrat said...

Thanks, Scott. Yes, we have low humidity, and the mornings are cool and crisp. Bike rides always feel better than walking because of the cooling breeze you generate for yourself.

Your rain sounds good. We can always use more here, but local doctors are reporting record numbers of allergy sufferers due to weeds from recent rains.

Down the Mountain

Morning sky (camera) Did a slightly shorter version of our forest hike this morning in anticipation of packing up and heading down the mount...