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Wednesday, October 30, 2019

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





1 comment:

Dr. K said...

I like the photo "Looking at the Sun." I'm glad you were able to stay out of the worst of the wind today, Packrat.

Sunny, Windy, Cold

1st 2:  slightly different views of yucca and the Organs We really cut the hike short this morning.  The strong wind and near-brutal cold ga...