Mac, Lloyd, John and I went on a hike this morning in the Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area.
It snowed yesterday afternoon and evening, and the wind blew like Hell. As we drove up Old U.S. Highway 91 (the approximate location of the Old Spanish Trail), and then into the wilderness area, we began to run into very fresh snow. In another five miles, at an elevation of about 3,000 feet, we parked Lloyd’s 4WD Toyota near a cattle corral. It was about 6:30 a.m. and the temperature was 23 degrees. Brrrrrr.
Mac and John call these hikes “exploratory” because they really don’t know where we’re going…except uphill. So, off we trudged, in the snow, planning to go up and over that peak, just ahead.
Actually, the desert foothills and mountains are very pretty when dusted with snow. It’s neat to see barrel cacti, Joshua trees, Native Yucca, cholla, and Juniper trees in their winter garb. Very cool.
The snow was only a couple of inches deep most of the way, although we did slog through stretches where the drifts were 6 to 8 inches deep. There were lots of rabbit and coyote tracks, and occasional fox paw prints, in the fresh snow. We didn’t see any coyotes, but we did happen upon a herd of about 15 mule deer, which skeedaddled before I could get a photo.
We put in about 7 miles this morning, with an elevation gain of about 1,000 feet, and returned to our car by 9:30 a.m.
A nice bit of exercise, crisp fresh air, and good company. No one got hurt, and I probably worked off last night’s spaghetti dinner.
