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| This and the next: 1st plateau |
Dr. K and I started at the lower trailhead of the Sierra Vista Trail (Norte), hiked through several arroyos and then veered east on a single-track toward the Organ Mountains. We went all the way to the dirt road that drives east to the base of the mountains and then veers to the south. We walked that road between 1/16th and 1/8th of a mile before taking a trail that climbs up toward the higher peaks.
We had never explored that trail before, but it was well worth the extra effort; we got some outstanding views of the mountains and the valley to the west, and spotted some unusual desert flora, notably the interesting cacti in the area. We got in some good exercise as well, trekking for nearly 2 1/2 hours in the high desert.
It was noticeably crowded in the campground when we got there, and even more so when we got back from our outing. We saw license plates on RVs from Minnesota, Florida, Colorado and Nevada. The national monument is becoming quite popular.
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| Distant look at Tortugas Mountain |
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| Me and a healthy Barrel Cactus |
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| This and the next 5: clouds over the Organ Mountains |
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| Rainbow Hedgehog Cactus growing in rock |
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| Quintuple Barrel Cactus |
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| Quintuple Barrel Cactus, Sotol and the Organ Mountains |
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| Baby Rainbow Hedgehog Cactus growing in rock |
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| Rugged territory |
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| Following a trail we've never hiked before |
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| Sotols |
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| Barrel Cactus and Sotol |
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| Yucca with elephant leg trunk |
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| Climbing |
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| Torrey Yucca forest up high |
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| Another look into the maw |
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| Ever higher |
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| View from an upper ridge |
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| A trail worth following |
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| This high |
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| Headed back down a narrow trail |
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| The rugged Organ Mountains |
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| 2-foot tall double Barrel Cactus, half-eaten by Javelinas? |
1 comment:
Your photos really capture the beauty of this desert, Packrat. I've never seen a half-eaten barrel cactus like the one we saw (your last photo), and I think it must have been a javelina or two.
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