Near Side

Sunny and hot on the west side of Tortugas Mountain

Dr. K, Becca and I started off for Tortugas Mountain early this morning fully committed to hiking out of the Monte Vista side.  But because the Sunset area was uncrowded we decided to go there instead.  Almost immediately we were assaulted by the heat, and it was quite apparent that none of us would enjoy this Sunday trek.  So we limited our excursion on the west side of the mountain to 60 minutes, and that was plenty.  Although we took frequent shade and water breaks all of us were delighted to get back to the car and its air conditioning.  We're supposed to reach 105F today.

Big old green Ocotillo

Looking for shade

Bushwhacking to shorten the hike

Back to the trail

Becca leading the way

Hey--slow down a bit

High-rise Cactus Wren nest

Adolescent quail at the waterhole

Used the Dry Brush filter on this image