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| Hiking | 3.85 Miles |
923 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.85 Miles | 1 Hour 48 Mns | | 2.66 mph |
| 923 ft AEG | 21 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | It was so windy I thought of taking the short route up to the summit from the ramadas parking lot. But I drove on over to the Visitors Center and started there, thank the trail gods for that. Otherwise I would have missed the inner basin and all the ironwood trees decked out in their purple and white flowers. The blooming occurred in the last nine days, since the 17th when I last visited the inner basin.
The cool, fierce west wind made the climb, even on pavement, difficult. It was chilly on top and I didn't stay long. Talked to a Hispanic family of three, about hiking, my camera, photography, etc. Counted only 17 hikers coming up as I descended. That's about 1/4 of what I usually see. Must be the wind.
Near the VC at sunset I ran across a half dozen men in orange vests and shirts searching among the blooming palo verde and ironwood. I thought they might be park personnel doing some sort of scientific work. But no. They were from the Sheriff's Posse doing an exercise, one said. "I thought you might be counting quail," I offered. "No," said my informant, "we're just looking for some blue tape." The guy seemed almost embarrassed to have nothing better to do than, what? geocaching. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
