Peeps on the Mount

Happy hiker ahead of the pack

The problem with the Labor Day holiday weekend is that it brings hordes of people out to the mountain who should be laboring instead. :)  Just kidding, although our first encounter with a hiker wasn't an especially pleasant one.  A woman coming down the road let her two Chocolate Labs (one young, one older--both dragging leads behind them) come barging through the desert toward Becca.  The woman kept calling to the dogs, but neither one listened.  They weren't aggressive, and when they saw Becca's raised hackles they turned around and ran back to the woman.  To be clear, Becca wasn't aggressive, either, but her hackles do go up when dogs approach her in that manner.  The woman yelled "Sorry" to me, but I didn't interact with her because I was a tad POed.  It's really stupid and dangerous to let dogs run while still attached to their leads; if you're going to let them loose take the leads off.

We had several other encounters on the way back to the trailhead, the best of which was with our buddy Gregg.  He and I talked awhile, then the three of us headed back to our waiting vehicles.  For being so good out of the trail today I let Becca drive us back home.

Nipple Beehive Cactus

Best buds

Barrel Cactus still in bloom

Trailing Four O'Clock

Artsy Four O'Clock

Odd thing to find west of Tortugas (beer sleeve?)

Translation:  "Hang Loose"

Off Roaders do love these dirt tracks

Much-needed respite

Unicorn Plant

Unicorn Plant (aka "Devil's Claw," "Elephant Tusks," "Grappleclaw")

Plumed Crinklemat

Riders of the purple sage (next to the fence on our property)

Purple Sage is also known as "Cenizo"

Purple Sage is also called "Texas Ranger"

Flowers and buds of the Purple Sage