Construction Ahead

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY EIGHT

After a few days on the road, it was time to do something close to home. I've been very vocal about the dearth of dog friendly hiking trails and the need for new ones, so I decided to head over to the area I think should become the Kahlua Trail.

The area at the top of the La Quinta Cove is incredibly popular with hikers so there is an increasing need for more trails.

There are some areas where trail work will be fairly easy.

Just by kicking rocks out of the way I managed to create over 15 feet of trail.

Of course, in some areas it won't be that easy.

This section will also be pretty easy and Kahlua gives this portion of the route her full approval.

But for every easy section is another that's will be quite a challenge.

But all the pieces fit together and I think this will one day be a nice trail for dogs and their people. Next year, I think I'll have the time to make it happen.

The Painted Desert

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVEN

Work and family left me little time to hike today and tomorrow will be a similar day. I need to find a new job. Where can I apply as a professional hiker?

I headed up to the Kahlua Trail later than I'd hoped. Except for this little portion at the beginning of our hike, the shade was gone. We'd be walking in the sun.

For all the graffiti abatement programs the city has this area never seems to get cleaned up. I'm thinking that maybe I should call the graffiti hotline.

Not only do these taggers leave their marks, they also leave their cans. I'm definitely contacting the city TODAY. Since it's out of view I bet they don't even know and most hikers probably forget about it once they get back to their cars. I wonder how long it'll take the city to clean up this mess.

Kahlua fancies herself as a hunter but there is no way she can catch one of these Antelope Ground Squirrels. They are too quick and too smart and as much as Kahlua loves the outdoors she's not much of a hunter. Just don't tell her I said that.

Only the start of the Kahlua Trail is really much of a trail. I think anytime we come up here we go a different way and never leave much to follow the next time. Starting next year we're going to have to make this a real project. Dog people need more area to hike around here.

I wonder what this wash basin thing is doing here. Hiking around I see so much interesting stuff and always wonder the story behind it.

We head up into the sun and it is starting to really warm up.

Kahlua is looking for some place to lay in the shade. She has NEVER done this before. Of course, I usually don't bring her into the direct sunlight. That black coat isn't made for sun.

I let her lay down for a while and get her some water. She doesn't need much time to rest and we're on our way again. Cooler weather can't come soon enough for either of us.

We get to the base of the hill and I give her another moment to rest. There's a perfect little den for her to kick back before our return home so I can shower and head to work. We'll get this trail done one of these days; I just have to remember to work in some shade along the way.

North of The Kahlua Trail

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY ONE

This morning when I woke up the temperature here was actually cooler than the weather in San Diego.

That didn't last too long.

By the time I got ready, took my son to school and came home to get my hiking gear the temperature had gone up over twenty degrees and was now eighteen degrees warmer than the 71º of San Diego. I'd hoped to get out early enough to hike in the shade on the not yet created Kahlua Trail but no luck; I got there too late.

I went to the top of the La Quinta Cove where I've been so many times this year and headed toward the hill to go to the Kahlua Trail.

But as I head toward the mountain I get a crazy idea: why not turn left at the base of the hill instead of right? So that's what I do.

We don't have to go very far and we find a trail that climbs up the hill so we decide to check it out. It's so much easier to walk on these rocky hills around here with a trail.

Besides the trail, there are a couple of rock piles that make it evident that we're not the first ones to come up this way.

The trail climbs across this rocky hillside and diminishes into nothing. I think there might be a trail here but it's not much. I figure it might just be a game trail.

At least there's a nice view from up here.

If there is a trail it really doesn't lead anywhere. We've got to drop down into this wash and it doesn't look like fun. Steep, loose, rocky slopes scare me. I slipped on one yesterday and got a little bruise on my thigh that I didn't discover until this morning.

We get down safely and Kahlua is ready to go home. Every time we go by some shade she stops to lay down. It's now 25º warmer than it is in San Diego. I'm ready for summer to end.

Just Another Dog Day

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWELVE

When I get ready to go hiking Kahlua gets so excited because she always thinks she's going. Unfortunately, that is not always the case and she gets so depressed when I leave home without her.

This is the look I got yesterday when I left to go to Mount San Gorgonio.

So today I had no choice but to head to the Kahlua Trail.

My plan to create a trail by just walking is not coming together quite yet and I may have to resort to real trail building tools, like shovels and picks. One reason is that Kahlua can never follow the same path twice in a row. She likes to wander.

She also likes to sniff around and chase lizards, birds and bugs.

Instead of going across the hillside we head down a wash. I'll have to remember this way when I bring some of the kids because they love climbing down the boulders in the wash.

It looks like someone likes it so much they were camping here.

Looks like they probably left for the summer but no doubt those snowbirds will be back.

I sure hope Kahlua doesn't get too bored going to the same place all the time. It's going to take a bit of work before there's an actual trail here and there aren't a lot of places to go in the morning that offer the shade needed to hike in the desert summer. Hope that I hit the Lotto so we can get a cabin in the mountains for summer.

Southern Comfort

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FIVE

This morning I was planning on getting up at 6 again to do my hike. When Early Bird (THE wife) woke me up she said it was really cloudy outside and not TOO hot. Awesome. I'm sleeping in. I set the alarm for 7 and looked outside. Still cloudy so I'm sleeping some more. I finally got up and got ready for my hike. The thermometer showed the outside temperature to be less than 90º. Awesome. What it failed to show, however, was the humidity. Walking outside was like walking into a damp sponge. It felt like I was in Georgia.

The cloud cover protected me from the of the desert sun but it adds to the humidity level. While the humidity is ONLY about 40%, it feels very sticky to this desert rat.

We go and hike the Kahlua Trail. I will be doing this a lot because creating a trail is not easy. I could bring equipment and work the trail but that feels like cheating. The wilderness ethic is to leave only footprints and that's how I intend to create this trail, with footprints.

Of course, a pick ax and shovel might work better on this terrain.

I know people have been here before because I find this ancient fluid transport device.

I wonder whether to go down here.

Or maybe up would be better. I'll figure it out eventually.

Someone has been here and left this rock monument. I won't be leaving any of these or any cairns. Once I figure out the best path, I'll be able to follow it instinctively.

Looking back I wonder if maybe going high might not have been a better choice.

I'll let Kahlua ultimately decide. After all it's going to be her trail.

One thing we are going to do, though, is make the trail too tough for mountain bikes. They rip trails to shreds and I don't want that for Kahlua.

This terrain is so tough it tore someone's boots to shreds. That's why a trail will be so nice.

On the way back I spot something conspicuous in the wash.

It's a water meter cover. They'll charge for everything in this town.

I bet next they'll charge this guy for parking.

I enjoyed a respite from the intense heat but I don't think I'd like this weather all the time. When I finish the hike my shirt is soaked with sweat. That never happens on a normal desert day. It's usually too hot and too dry and I'm sure it won't be too long before it's both of those things again.