Short Bushwhack

Creosote Bush, Soaptree Yuccas and a Little-leaf Sumac

Becca and I got a bit later start on our morning hike today so I decided to abbreviate it because of errands I had to run later in the morning--namely, shopping at Target and Albertsons.  But we did an interesting short trek, bushwhacking partially up an arroyo we often pass by, but never explore.  Our first effort culminated fairly quickly, though, as we reached an area of deeply cut gullies with dense desert foilage; so we exited the arroyo and followed the main trail up to the old white shack.  There we took the narrow trail closest to Tortugas Mountain's west side, crossing through the gully created by the same arroyo we had explored in its northern section.  A good time was had by all.

Wide section of an arroyo on the mountain's west side

Fairly large den with entrance and exit, but I also see a hippie

Exploring a narrow arroyo

One yucca, two heads

Wide trail back to the parking area

Many Soaptree Yuccas in this arroyo

Further explorations

More Soaptree Yuccas

Becca has reached the far point of our morning bushwhack

Bottle cap hubcaps used on 1961-1966 Ford F100 trucks

One trail to the observatory

Upper end of the arroyo