One For The Road

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY SIX

Tomorrow we leave for vacation! Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon I'll be doing some hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. But I still had one more day to hike in the desert so off I went south of Lake Cahuilla to look for something new.

I head just south of the Quarry and see this first hill and think, "You know, I've never climbed that. I bet it'd be fun". So off I went.

As I was walking up it looked as if there was almost a trail but it was just my imagination running away with me. There's no trail to speak of and no indication of one being there.

The going is pretty easy, though, and I get toward the top of the ridge rather quickly.

And from what appears to be a hunting blind it is obvious that I am not the first person to investigate this little ridge top.

There is also a fairly large sleeping circle a bit further on.

It looks like there might be some semblance of a trail up ahead but again nothing.

It also looks like this ridge gets some use but it could just be erosion.

There's the top. On the topo map this is unceremoniously called 502.

What? No summit register? I'm so disappointed.

The traverse of this little hill has been very pleasant and I'd like to try it again when it's cooler and I have a bit more time to explore. The descent down the far end, however, is heinous. It is probably the worst thing I've gone down this year. It's steep, loose and has no traction whatsoever. I get down just before dark but on my next visit I'll try to find another way down. I don't want to go down this again.