Words about science and hiking
I awoke to a still, clear morning, anxious to get up and get hiking. Another 13 miles or so and I would reach the end of my hike at I-40, meet up with my brother, and begin to wallow in the comforts of civilization once again. I enjoy long hikes. That’s why I keep doing Read More …
As expected, I woke with a fine coating of grit over all my gear. It is a peculiar kind of grit–a bit greasy, and it sticks to things (including my skin and remaining hair) and can’t be brushed off easily. But it is just dirt and I have been living in dirt for days. I Read More …
I am well into the basin and range domain now. The ranges are narrow, just a mile or two wide. The basins that separate the ranges are 15-20 miles wide. The upshot is that I am mostly walking through open desert. I did go through a 6-mile long fault canyon that separates two halves of Read More …
The easy striding of yesterday ended immediately as I began climbing up into the Coxcomb Mountains. The mountains are so named for a spine of spires along the ridge that looks like a rooster comb. It also looks impenetrable from below. But the high alluvial valley I camped in last night turns into a rocky but Read More …
A much more civilized hike today. I lounged in camp til nearly 8, enjoying the luxury of sunshine and no wind. I hiked the couple of miles out of Big Wash and on to Eagle Mtn Rd where I had cached water. I had also cached a Coors tallboy but a rock put a pinhole Read More …
Well. I thought my blood soaked hike through the catclaw hells of Carrizo Gorge was about the most miserable day of hiking I had ever experienced. And it was. Today was worse. I woke to the sound every hiker dreads – raindrops on the tent in the morning. The latest forecast, now a couple days Read More …
Rained most of the night again but let up before dawn, the rain being replaced by fog. Although my tarp did a fine job of keeping the rain out, it is not so good at keeping out the fog. Everything inside was clammy. But that’s why I bring a stove. A hot cup of coffee Read More …
The rain started as soon as I pitched my tarp last night. It was windy too, making me glad I had come down off the top of Orocopia Mountain. It kept up until well past dawn. Rain in the morning is among a hiker’s worst nightmares, as it means answering the call of nature under very Read More …
Man that was a hard hike today. Today’s hiking was a traverse of the Orocopia Mountains north and east of the Salton Sea. The washes and canyons trend north-south. The trail tends east. That is, the route tends east. There is no trail. The country here is dry and brown, even in March. There are a Read More …
Last year I hiked the Anza-Borrego section of the Desert Trail. Despite dealing with a serious infestation of thorny brush in Carrizo Gorge, I liked it a lot. Deserts appeal to me. They are lands stripped down to the essential. They are open and free. I feel at home in those landscapes. So naturally I Read More …