Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THREE

Pain usually gets worse on the second day after a big physical push for me but I actually feel OK today. OK except when I move. Then, my calves hurt, my knees are a bit wobbly and my kidneys feel like they've been punched. I haven't figured out if sitting or lying down is preferable because they but have their own problems. When I sit down my glutes hurt and while I lie down I start cramping up. I wish I felt good enough to go somewhere but I don't so I got Kahlua and went out to our little neighborhood trails.

Kahlua hasn't been out in a few days so she's very excited to chase anything that moves even it's just the wind blowing on a creosote bush.

It's great to be able to just leave my house and go out and hike but I'd sure like to see some different scenery, like maybe Zion National Park or the Na Pali Coast.

I just wish the trail was not quite so rocky; my footing is not so great today for some reason.

There are so many ways to go that even the trail makers here weren't sure. There is the more modern trail with the rock outline and the rock piles from the original Indian path.

But none of that matters to Kahlua. Regardless of whatever path there is, cross country is her favorite mode of travel. In a few days, when I'm back among the living that'll be mine, too.

Home Again, Home Again

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWELVE

After two days out on new trails it was time to get back to the familiar. I asked the kids and the wife if they wanted to go but they declined. Kahlua had no such choice; she's on a leash. I wish I had one for the other family members but they probably wish the same thing for me.

I headed out on this familiar trail and am happy that as I'm heading out six people are heading in. Kahlua and I have this little wilderness to ourselves.

Kahlua the hunter is always on the lookout for something. If a bug so much as moves, she's on it.

I don't think she should mess with this, though.

We go a different way then we've ever gone before and it looks like some moron painted his IQ on this rock.

This trail continues and is one we've not done before but it looks in good shape and well traveled.

The trail heads up to this mountain. It's an interesting spot with lots of holes in the rocks.

This area near the hill is flat and smooth and would make a wonderful campsite.

We didn't bring any camping gear so we have to head back but we'll be back. There's no end to what we might find out here and that's what keeps us coming back.

No Right or Wrong Way

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THREE

Leaving the house I planned to do a short flat hike with Kahlua. That didn't happen. Instead we went to see if I could find the pathway up to a cross on a hilltop that I've gone to a couple of times this year. The last time I came I was attacked by a swarm of bees and received several stings. For that reason I was reluctant to come back.

High on the hill I'd discovered a trail the last time I was here but I never was able to find where it came down. The bees made sure of that. Today I thought I could find the start of that trail, if nothing else.

At the bottom of the hill there are several options on which way to head up the hill, none of them the obvious "right" way.

We get to this place where the "trail" gets steep and I while I could easily climb it I don't think Kahlua will be able to.

So we scramble down and look for another way to get to where I want to go.

We traverse the side of the hill to determine if there is a feasible way to go up. There isn't.

Since there's not a reasonable way up for Kahlua and I, I decide to go and hike up to a cross stuck in this rocky gully.

As I work my way across the steep, loose rocks on the hillside I wonder why I didn't just go on a nice flat hike. It is something I often wonder.

The gully gets steeper and I wonder if I should go all the way up to the cross. Kahlua wouldn't let me turn back so up we went.

Lying there broken in the rocks is the cross. It is not a wooden cross like others I've seen but plastic. It is cracked and broken, garbage.

It also has someone's initials on it. I decide to carry it down and dispose of it. Thankfully, it's very light and not too unwieldy.

We make it down without mishap and find where someone has put some rocks to outline a nice, easy, flat trail. A trail that holds a lot of appeal when I think of all of the loose rocks that I have just passed over. There's really no wrong way for me when I go on a hike but I know for sure that the way I came was not the right one.

But at least we cleaned up the hillside a little bit.

On Restriction

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY EIGHT

Fifteen years ago I used to hike with my dog everywhere. OK, not everywhere because dogs are not allowed in State or National Parks but almost everywhere. Now it's almost impossible to find a place to hike with your dog. Here in La Quinta most of the trails are closed to dogs due to the bighorn sheep. Personally, I think the closures are stupid but I won't go into it too much today.

There are still a few places I can take my dog without restrictions but I have to be creative and stay off the known trails. That's what I did today.

From the top of the La Quinta Cove I went east to the concrete slab near the mountain. On the slab was a hawk and I managed to get a quick picture just before he took off.

We headed out toward the trails but took a right turn and went up the ridge of this alluvial fan that you can see in the middle part of the picture. There is not a trail there (yet) but if enough people start walking there we can create a trail in the way people have done for thousands of years, by walking the earth.

This is what it looks like when you start heading up. There is no trail (yet) but the terrain is not very difficult. There are a few sections with some decent size rocks but they are easily gone around or over.

As you get near the base of the mountain, you get a nice view of the top of the cove and Coyote Mountain.

We looked around for a while to find the best route for a trail and on the way back we found a geocache.

Which we cleaned up a bit.

Kahlua likes the idea of creating a new trail and suggested the name the Kahlua Trail. She also thinks our next project should be to clean up some of the graffiti around town. I'll put it on our list.

Pleasant Surprise

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT

This morning I was planning on doing a little lap around my usual dog walk trail near home and then come back and call it a day. Not every hike can be exciting, new and rewarding. Some days are just like that. I figured I could write about the Lakers winning the championship, the upheaval in Iran, the new iPhone or the weather. You know, stuff that everyone blogs about. But I found another new trail. Actually, two new trails. I cannot believe it; I thought I'd covered every inch of this area and to find something new is amazing to me and every exciting.

I head out on the trail with Kahlua and try to hike a little different path than I've taken before. It's not easy because I've probably been here about six times this year.

The golf course looks awful lonely today. I guess people don't know how perfect the weather has been out here.

This trail will lead me up to another trail and then my loop will be complete. Once back home, I'll shower and then head off to work.

But as I go to make a left turn on the trail that will lead me back I notice this trail. Up until today I have only hiked this trail in the other direction and never looked down to see this. I don't have much time but I have to see where it goes.

This trail is amazing! It is very well built and goes in the direction of the wash heading toward the ridge between Indio Mountain and Eisenhower Mountain.

The work done on this trail is very substantial. Someone put in dozens and maybe hundreds of hours of hard work creating this. Amazing.

It is obvious that this trail was originally an Indian trail since there are several rock monuments all along the more modern improvements. There may be some water source up the canyon or some hunting blinds or something else that would bring the Indians up here. Look closely and you'll see three monuments in this picture.

Another trail branches off and heads up the hill. I have no idea where this trail would go or what the point of it would be but I will find out. Just not today.

The trail keeps on going but I've got to get going home and to work. I will be back here soon when I have more time. I'll try to get out in the morning when it's cool so I can follow the trail however far it goes.

Kahlua's got her nose to the ground and for all I know she's sniffing out another trail. This little section of the desert is loaded with them. On what I was expecting to be a little short loop ended up being a day of discovery and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Just Chillin'

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE

Today was one of those days--and there are many--when I just went out for a little hike near home. I had to work this morning and tonight my son had a baseball game so my choices were limited.

I started up the trail and saw that some sunlight was still covering the trail up ahead. I decide to take it slow so I'll stay in the shade the whole time.

I come with my most faithful hiking companion, Kahlua, as I often do on these hikes near home. I wish the wife and kids would come with me more often but they always try to bite me whenever I attempt to put the leash on them.

We are now fully ensconced in the shade of the mountains and the temperature is delightful. Kahlua is so comfortable that she even refuses water when I offer it to her.

The only sunlight near our hiking area is on the top of this little hill. We won't be going there today so no worries.

This is what happens if you spend too much time in the direct sunlight.

I follow the trail along and knock down all the unnecessary cairns. I have been bringing a hiking stick in case I meet a snake along the way but it works very well as a cairn dismantler. I may start carrying one all the time.

I thought we were alone but I notice this guy up on the hillside reading a magazine. He has his shoes off and is really making himself comfortable. I thought I was just chillin' today but I've got a way to go before I get to be as cool as this guy.

I get to the baseball game but, sadly, it doesn't turn out well for my son's team. They lose their second playoff game and are eliminated. Maybe now he'll go hiking with me more often. Or not, he tells me.

I guess I'll need to get a bigger leash.

All Better Now

DAY ONE HUNDRED NINETEEN

Last night I slept like a baby and today I am much less grumpy. It's funny how that works.

Some days I don't really have any idea where to hike so I just go and wander around. I like those hikes because sometimes they lead to fun discoveries but other times it's just fun to be outside for a couple of hours.

I started by going to find a geocache. I thought maybe I could get my kids to go but they were too busy playing with their friends to hike with the old man. Besides, with the world going to be getting swine flu any second they want to play with their friends while they can.

The geocache is somewhere up here.

There it is!

I dig it out from under the rocks and check inside.

I decide this little billy goat might be fun for the kids to play with. Believe it or not, this is the best thing in here.

I put in a Hartmann luggage lock. If you need one, you'd better hurry.

Here are the coordinates.

I start hiking around to see what I can find and come upon this cairn. There's no trail or anything so I keep walking.

There's another cairn. It again doesn't designate anything so I knock it down.

I decide that while I'm up here I'm going to climb to the top of this little peak.

The view from the top is great. When I look down I notice that someone put a bolt into the rock up here.

Here's a closer look at the bolt. I have no idea why someone would climb up here with a bolt in their pocket or why they'd wedge it into this rock but they did. Probably the same people who build the cairns that lead you nowhere.

This area west of La Quinta is the most untrammeled area out here. It's rough, rocky and leads nowhere. It's a perfect get away minutes from home.