Pushin' It!

DAY EIGHTY FIVE

Papa's got a new pair of shoes!

I was quite excited to get a new pair of Patagonia trail running shoes delivered the other day and could not wait to try them out. After putting them through the paces, I can only say one thing.

My feet are in love.

I decided to put my new kicks to the test by going to Pushwalla Palms. It's the only trail I hadn't done this year at the Coachella Valley Nature Preserve so I figured this was the perfect time. The preserve honored my new shoes by putting some new steps on the trail.

You hike high on the ridge above Horseshoe Palms.

There are still some flowers along the trail but they are on their last legs. If you want to get out and see wildflowers in the desert, you'd better do so this weekend.

The palms and the mesquite are doing quite well, though.

Except this one palm which created a little trail limbo. Good thing no cars were around.

The oasis is strong and healthy with new growth emerging to replace the toppled trees.

It's easy to see why the oasis is so strong. There is a lot of flowing surface water.

There are several stands of large healthy palms at this oasis.

The trail goes right through one of them but I take the trail that goes around. Do you think I want to get my beautiful new shoes muddy on the very first day?

On the way out of the oasis, you come across this carcass of a vehicle that just didn't quite make it. I wonder if maybe a palm tree fell on it.

I feel so good that I literally run most of the way back from the oasis to the car. Of course, it's mostly downhill so that helps.

It's funny how a new pair of shoes can make a person so happy. Somewhere, Imelda Marcos must be smiling.

Dogging It

DAY EIGHTY FOUR

I didn't have much time to hike today so I decided to just go close to home. Since it was a perfect day, weather-wise, I brought the dog along. She has become quite the little hiker. When I get the leash off of the shelf, she starts jumping up and down and scratching at the door. That dog loves to hike.

We went to the top of the La Quinta Cove to the parking area adjacent to the intersection of Calle Tecate and Avenida Ramirez. I guess a lot of people walk their dogs here because they have these little doggie doo bags. You know, I understand the idea behind these but I kind of hate them. Environmentally speaking, it's really probably better to let your dog's doo dry out in the desert than to put it in a bag and send it to the landfill. Just kick it off the trail. Oh well. I've carried a bag of my own poo on Mount Rainier so I guess hauling a bag of dog doo is not the worst thing in the world.

After following a road, you get to a couple of trails going up a little hill.

But they both go to the same place so it doesn't matter which one you take.

There are not many flowers left up here but this Ocotillo is still blooming beautifully.

We get to a place where we can't go any further so I'll have to come back without Kahlua to see where else this trail goes.

We head down this road to.....

Some big water tanks. It's warm and Kahlua doesn't really know how to drink from a water bottle so I walk around to see if there's some kind of spigot but have no luck. Time to head home anyway.

On the way back, I spot this Silver Cholla (Opuntia echinocarpa) blooming. This is actually the first of these I have seen this spring.

It has a beautiful green flower.

I can't say this was really a great hike for me but to Kahlua it might have well been the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite rolled into one. She's not really particular; she just loves to go along.

I guess that's one reason why dogs are man's best friend.

Desert Trailblazer

DAY EIGHTY THREE

Trails do not just appear by magic, they have to be made. Some trails are made by animals traveling from one watering hole to another. Others were created by nomadic aboriginal people moving across the land. Still others are engineered by government agencies who use surveyors, construction teams and dynamite, if needed.

Here in the desert, however, we have a few trails that are the work of one man: Harold Schey. Mr. Schey was a retired gentleman with a shovel and a pick who built some trails in Palm Desert and Palm Springs. I only met him a couple of times but he seemed like a no-nonsense sort of man. His trails are certainly built that way.

One of his trails is inaccessible due to the scar on the mountains known as the Bighorn Golf Club. The other goes down from the top of Murray Peak toward Eagle Canyon in Palm Springs. The trail I hiked on today is in Palm Desert near Cat Canyon.

To get there, take Hwy 74 south from Hwy 111 and turn right on Cahuilla Way. Then go right on Cat Canyon, left on Cholla, right on Paisano. You'll see a gravel road on the left going up the wash, turn here. It is probably best to have a 4WD the further you go up the wash but that's up to you. Follow the wash to the fence at the end. There are plenty of No Trespassing signs but hikers are OK. Just stay away from the homes on the left. You don't want to get shot.

The Schey Trail will be on the left up just a little bit.

The trail quickly merges with the Hopalong Cassidy Trail and passes numerous flowers. This is a good area to go right now because the trail is on the north side of the slope and gets less direct sun.

The Schey Trail takes off to the right from the main trail and gains elevation quickly.

The trail is not maintained so in some places it is a bit rough. Bump and Grind regulars would not like it although they'd get twice the workout in half the time.

It runs into the Art Smith Trail allowing for a nice loop by going down the Art Smith Trail and then connecting with the Hopalong Cassidy Trail.

Desert beauty is everywhere along these trails.

So are several palm oases.

Palms require water so you know there is an underground spring here.

The Art Smith goes directly through this oasis.

You make a left on the Hopalong Cassidy Trail and follow it back to our intersection with the Schey and then on to Cat Canyon.

There's one section where the original Schey Trail parallels the new Hopalong Cassidy. Even though Mr. Schey's trail is now somewhat eroded you can still respect the love he put into building his trails and his place as a true desert trailblazer.

Don't Drink The Water!

DAY EIGHTY TWO

A couple of months ago I took my kids and one of their friends out to the General Patton Museum and Cottonwood Spring. Today, I skipped the museum and with the kids in school, headed out to Cottonwood alone.

Just south of the Southern entrance to the Joshua Tree National Park seems to be a very popular spot with RVers. It's freeway close, has a National Park in its backyard and is FREE.

I head over the Cottonwood but decide not to follow the trail but a wash that heads south. I come through this little gap and on the other side discover something very special.

Water! There's not a lot and it's not pretty but if you needed it to survive it would look heaven sent. Of course, a little further on I make a discovery that makes me think twice about drinking the water.

I doubt it was the water that done him in but you never know. Good thing I brought a couple of bottles of Dasani® with me in my pack.

After tromping around a bit I come to the trail to the Mastodon Mine. You can read about the mine here.

Some of the remnants of the mine are still there to see but the shaft itself is grated and cemented closed.

After leaving the mine, I hike down to another wash. I follow it for a little bit until the trail takes off to the right. I stay in the wash and soon find out why the trail goes to the right.

There are lots of boulders and dry falls to navigate. It's not bad for me but I'm glad I don't have the kids with me because some of the areas are kind of sketchy.

Now who put that there?

I work my way around to Cottonwood Spring in just the nick of time. A school bus is just getting there with about 17,000 kids.

This is a good time for me to leave.

Wild Is the Wind

DAY EIGHTY ONE

Today in the desert the wind was crazy. There were gusts of probably 70 MPH so it was not a great day to do much of anything. Even a kite would've gotten ripped to shreds. But that wasn't going to stop me from going hiking. I just had a figure out someplace that was somewhat sheltered from the wind.

While I was at work this morning, a palm tree was blown down and smashed a couple of cars. I decided that hiking to one of the palm oases might not be a good idea today.

Ouch. This car is not going to be driven home today.

I decide on this little canyon near my house. It is accessible from the bike path here in La Quinta near Avenida Montezuma and Calle Chillon.

My son, Nikolas, and some of the neighbor kids want to go along. We also bring Kahlua, our dog.

We work our way up the canyon past this large pile of rocks.

We hop over rocks for a while but I don't take many pictures because my eyes are on the kids.

I did manage to get ahead of them and get this one of them scampering up the canyon.

We get to this dry fall and work our way around it. The kids could've actually climbed this if I spotted them (and they wanted to) but the dog wasn't going up it so we figured another way. Kids are natural climbers but dogs, not so much.

We climbed up to a trail and made our way back home that way. Slow down, guys!

It's never too early to start your kid's love affair with hiking. I took both of my children when they were babies in a backpack. From left to right: Markus, age 5, Johnnie, age 6, Amaya, age 5 (and Markus' twin sister), Nikolas, age 10 and Kahlua, age 3.

It turned out to be a great hike because the wind was never a factor and there was not a palm tree in sight.