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Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Bushwhacking Alone

This and the next:  Barrel Cactus with a healthy crop of fruit
I got off the beaten path and did some serious bushwhacking in the desert west of Tortugas Mountain this morning, and I felt very alone being out there without my favorite hiking companion; Becca loved exploring those places with me.  She was a true desert dog.

On my way back in, when I had gotten back on the beaten path, I ran into Jimmy who was climbing the mountain road.  We each made a slight detour so we could stand for a while and chat about this and that.  He told me he had bumped into our pal Raymond, with whom I had hiked on the first leg of my trek earlier.

While Jimmy and I talked several people passed up and down the road to the mountaintop, and one guy approached on the single-track trail we were on, his Mexican music playing fairly loudly from his audio equipment.  He asked if we'd seen any wildlife and then told us he'd encountered a large Mule Deer buck at the top of Tortugas.

Extended family of Torrey Yuccas

Road west

In an arroyo west of the mountain

A huge Ocotillo--at least 20 feet tall

Soaptree Yuccas and an enormous Torrey Yucca

Rolling hills west of the mountain

Exploring the arroyo

Desert flora on a steep bank

Trekked pretty close to this ancient Torrey Yucca

This and the next 3:  headed west out of this arroyo





Two Hedgehog Cacti and a Barrel

Ocotillos west of the mountain

Across the rugged desert to Tortugas and the Organ Mountains

Forest of Ocotillos west of Tortugas Mountain




1 comment:

Dr. K said...

Nice to see that some of the ocotillos are still greenish, even thought it's now autumn.

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