Words about science and hiking
It rained a good deal of last night but was not windy or cold, so not so bad. My route left Pushawalla Canyon and its hiking corridor and headed west cross country along the face of the Little San Bernardino mountains. Although rain threatened early, the skies began to clear and the weather was fine Read More …
Another cloudy night last night. I was hoping for some good stargazing on this trip but it is not to be. At least it hasn’t been as cold the last couple of nights. But warmer nights have their downsides. I was pestered by some buzzing insects much of the night, which may or may not have Read More …
I covered a lot of ground today. But that is because the first 10 miles were on the CRHT, which was smooth and sloping gently downhill. Also I was down to a couple of liters of water, making my pack a much more reasonable weight. Easy to walk fast under those conditions, to get into Read More …
I was a bit slow getting up and out of my cold and soggy camp this morning. It’s remarkable just how wet it got, heavy dewfall is not something one often encounters in the desert. Especially when the ground is dry. It must have been the clear skies and subsequent rapid drop in temperature that Read More …
The dwindling daylight of winter got me thinking about hiking the desert again: somewhere warm, or at least warm enough that I could light out on a trail and stretch my legs and not have to strap anything on my feet in order to move across the landscape. Not that backcountry skiing is so bad, Read More …
Despite the abundant snow I slept warmly- albeit with all my clothes and layers on. I didn’t wait around for the sun, but got moving at first light, still fully layered. In no time at all I was at the Nevada state line. Like most state lines in the west, its location is meaningless. Congress Read More …
My tarp held up fine through the windstorm last night. Until the wind reversed direction at about 6am and turned it from a wind shelter into a sail. The front stakes finally pulled out and it flipped over while I was answering nature’s call. But the back stakes held and I only had to chase Read More …
Somehow didn’t get around to writing in my journal yesterday even though I had plenty of time. With another day of high heat forecast I was up at 4:30 yesterday and hiked several miles before sunrise. It was a very pleasant time to be out and walking. The wash continued good as a route and Read More …
36.78580, -117.25209 The NWS forecast for the next two days is highs near 100F. Yet I lingered at Stovepipe for the sake of a thoroughly mediocre buffet breakfast. This was a mistake. Although I was walking by 8:30, it was already hot. The first few miles were through the dunes. The walking surface was pretty Read More …
36.60530, -117.14520 A fine sunrise walk found the rocks diminishing, with sandiness increasing. After a few miles I reached the highway, crossed over, and hiked more or less parallel with it among the Mesquite Dunes. I must say these were some pretty nice dunes–shapely, interspersed with mesquites, and relatively easy to walk on. Much easier Read More …