 |
West of the mountain, early |
I thought I had dressed appropriately for an early morning hike today--long trousers, long-sleeve shirt, Polartech coat, Marmot PreCip jacket, ear band, hat and gloves--but I still froze my butt off due to a cold, brutal wind. Within the first quarter mile I had to put the hood of the PreCip jacket up to help block the strong gusts of frigid air. I didn't remove any items of clothing until I had nearly reached Whitey the CR-V at hike's end.
There was only one vehicle in the Sunset Area parking lot when I arrived at around 7:20, and there were only four or so in the lot when I finished up. I did see a couple of runners on the mountain road, one of them radically under-dressed in my opinion: long-sleeve shirt, shorts and calf-length socks. I know you warm up when you're running, but no way you can block the wind in an outfit like that.
On the final leg of my trek, just when I reached the junction with the single-track where Shaq's memorial is, I said hello to two guys who were just setting off on their hike. I was grateful mine was nearly over.
 |
Sunlight breaking across the desert floor |
 |
Desert Cottontail enjoying the first rays of winter sunshine |
 |
Trail between two dirt roads |
 |
Ocotillo and sinuous Tortugas Mountain |
 |
Probably a Red-tailed Hawk |
 |
Far west of the mountains |
 |
Closer in |
 |
This and the next 2: might be the same Red-tailed Hawk I saw yesterday |
 |
This and the next: views of Tortugas and the Organs |
 |
Can you guess which type of Barrel Cactus this is? |
 |
Soaptree Yuccas |
 |
Soaptree Yucca crown growing out of fallen trunk |
 |
A different perspective of the fallen trunk |
 |
Barrel Cacti and a huge Torrey Yucca |
 |
Trekking past that huge Torrey Yucca |
2 comments:
Is that a Fishhook Barrel Cactus? Nice photo of you trekking along on this cold, windy morning.
It IS a Fishhook, Dr. K! :)
Post a Comment