Barely Ahead of the Wind

Early start

It was chilly when I started off west of Tortugas Mountain this morning (45F), but I managed to do about two-thirds of a morning trek before the wind picked up.  The wind is the leading edge of a cold front that will drop our temperature into the low 20s tonight.

About a quarter of my hike was comprised of bushwhacking in the outback, where I saw no one, with the exception of one Black-tailed Jackrabbit running away from me.  But on my return to the mountain I ran into Renee and his dog Rayo who were descending the upper foothills trail.  I scratched Rayo on the head and greeted Renee; they were headed around the mountain on the outer loop road and were eager to keep going before the wind picked up.  So we quickly parted company.  I encountered nobody else, though a fair number of vehicles occupied the Sunset Area parking lot, and five or six cars and trucks were parked along the access road.

The wind is howling now (1:15 p.m.), and the temperature is dropping from the mid-50s.  Going to be very cold overnight.

This and the next 5:  still in the shadow of Tortugas Mountain

Following the single-track west of the mountain

Lady Ana Mountains

Looking at the sun

Road around the mountain

Further west of Tortugas

This and the rest:  doing some serious bushwhacking