A New Trail...

Last Saturday, Rod and I took a hike into the White Tanks on a new Trail. The entire distance traveled was about 6.2 miles. Yes, I know. It's hot, but I must protect myself from the sun with sun screen, a hat, long pants (I haven't been able to fit into my microfiber hiking pants for a while!) and a long sleeved shirt. I actually stay cooler by covering up, as the sun does not directly heat up my skin.

After about a mile on a fairly easy, sandy, and wide trail we got to these warning signs. We also saw a snake right off the side of the trail here. We decided we would go on ahead as we wanted to find the abandoned dam we had read about located on this particular trail. It was a perfect day for hiking. The sky was somewhat overcast, which gave us relief from the direct sun.

The trail really was rough. Very rocky and steep in places. I was glad to have my trekking poles, especially on the way down. They really save my knees! With my short legs it is hard for me to step up some of these rocky and steep places. I scraped my elbow on one of the rocks. If you don't leave behind some blood, sweat, and tears it's not a REAL hike! On our way back, we actually ran into some 11 & 12 year old scouts going up the trail. One of the chubby little guys was running too fast and fell. He gashed open his hand, scraped his knee good, and was cut on the back of his leg (Achilles tendon). It looked like he was bleeding all over! He was bawling and his buddies were trying to help him out. We stopped and offered to help. "I'm okay, he sniffled," but I could tell that he was NOT okay. I cleaned his hand and put a band aid on it. I checked out his shoes and he was wearing his DC skater shoes, with the laces all loose. We told him he would do a little better if he would tighten up his shoes and slow down a little. Then the dad that was at the end of the line came up the trail. He also told Chubby to tie up his shoes and slow down. The boys ran off. We hope they made it without any further mishap. They only had one bottle of water each, which is not enough on a hot day like that! And the trail was really quite treacherous, with a very deep ravine on one side, lots of rock and prickly bushes everywhere. This was such a beautiful resting spot. We had shade, flowers, and the pungent scent of the creosote bushes. I just love the smell of the White Tanks! Especially after a rain... We found several small pools of water. They were ALIVE with tadpoles (the black spots), and other pond life. Here is the first glimpse of the little dam. It was much smaller than I had expected! As you can see from this closer shot, it was just constructed of stones and concrete. It is full of sand behind it, and it is just part of the trail around a bigger loop around the mountain. I found it quite interesting, however, and enjoyed examining the dam up close. This is a good illustration of why these particular mountains are called the White Tanks. When you hike back in far enough, there are huge mounds of white rock, like this, and there are small holding "tanks" full of water. It is really beautiful! I found this ocotillo in bloom particularly beautiful. It was one of the tallest I have encountered, so I zoomed in on the bloom with the beautiful cloudy sky in the background. Here I wanted to show how HUGE the thorns on the ocotillo are. Just look at those suckers! When you are on the desert, every thing either stings, sticks, or scratches you. That's for sure! This was a welcome sight in the trunk when we finished our hike! I drowned myself in Gatorade and enjoyed my sun dried tomato turkey wrap! I could not have asked for a more perfect day. Can't wait for the next hike. The desert has really grown on me and I have come to love the unusual beauty, the earthy smells and the unique landscape.