Rehab

Boulders on the northeast side of Tortugas Mountain

I was going to wait a full week before getting Becca back into the desert, but she's shown marked improvement over the past few days so I took her out to the east side of Tortugas Mountain for a short, flat hike.  I kept her on lead most of the way, but let her off for a while.  She did quite well.  It wasn't very crowded in the Monte Vista area, and we only encountered one mountain biker.  It was very cool this morning (50F), but it warmed up pretty quickly.  I could tell Becca wanted a longer trek, but we have to take it easy until she's fully recovered.

Looking at those boulders from the other direction

Stark contrasts

In an arroyo that runs on the east side of the mountain

Back in the saddle for rehab

Hikers have left small offerings to a young man who died at this spot

His family erected a nice cross in his memory

The family maintains the trail to the cross

The way back around the mountain

Man the desert is dry

Flying high on the thermals

Find the Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)