Unplanned Parenthood

Day Fifty Seven

I had plans for a nice hike up Hwy 74 today but sometimes life gets in the way of your plans. My wife informed me last night that I was accompanying my son's class on a field trip to the Palm Springs Desert Art Museum and, oh yeah, I was driving. Asked why she didn't go since it was her day off, she replied that she hadn't signed up with the district for approval and I had.

OK. Dad duty overrules plan so now it's time for new plan.

I decide to go do a hike South of Lake Cahuilla, in some canyons I had been eyeing. To get there, I had to hike along the southern wall of the Quarry Golf Club. Next time, I'll drive a bit further. This part of the hike is not very interesting.

There is some landscaping going on in this area outside the club. It'll be good to remember there's water here once it starts getting hot.

I head up a wash, south of the club, with Martinez Mountain looming in the background.

I quickly notice this trail on the right and decide to take it.

From the trail, you get a nice view of Lake Cahuilla, some homes and the golf course.

A bit further on the trail I can look down about a hundred feet into the canyon bottom.

As the trail reconnects with the canyon, I decide to take a right and hike cross country toward another large canyon.

This canyon is deep and looks like a giant sluiceway. I'd love to explore it but I have a museum to go to so I must turn back here.

I decide to hike the canyon back to the start rather than take the trail. It is easy to see that the trail was built solely for the use of equestrians because the trail is quite passable for someone on foot. A horse, however, would have a bit of a problem coming down some of the obstructions in this canyon.

There are a couple of other canyons in this area to explore so I'll have to add them to my plans.