Another Long One

First 4:  sky at start

I did not intend to do an extended hike this morning, but I ended up doing one nonetheless.  I started out of the Sunset Area, followed the trail along the arroyo until it intersected with the road to the mountaintop, followed the road to the intersection with the trail leading to the lower desert and descended.  From there I hiked the outer loop road counterclockwise to the intersection with the road leading to the far outer loop road.

I did a bit of exploring in one of the major arroyos on the west side of the mountain, and then I bushwhacked into the desert west of the far outer loop road for a short while.

The best part of the trek was running into my friend Jimmy closer in to the mountain, where he and I stood talking for quite a spell.  The second best thing was getting to pet Billie, the female dog that hikes with a woman I see fairly frequently out around Tortugas.  The woman asked about Becca, and I had to explain what happened to her.  The woman expressed her sincere condolences, to which I said, "At least I got a chance to pet Billie for the first time."  We always kept our respective dogs on leads whenever we encountered each other, though Billie and Becca sniffed noses a few times without incident.  

Ocotillos growing along the western slope of Tortugas Mountain

Headed away from the mountain

Further away from Tortugas

In the lower desert now

On the loop road

South on the loop road

Tortugas and the Organs

Deep arroyo west of the mountain

Far west of Tortugas now

Striking further west

This spindly Ocotillo is at least 20 feet tall

On the far outer loop road

Tortugas (left) and the Organ Mountains

This and the next:  a little bushwhacking seemed in order

Back on the far outer loop road

On the loop road just west of the mountain

Look at all those Ocotillos wearing green finery

This and the last 2:  the same Checkered Whiptail Lizard