Today we hiked the Dog Canyon Trail, out as far as the Line Cabin, ruins of a stone cabin at the box end of the canyon. It was a strenuous, steep hike totaling about 6 miles, with a 1,500 foot elevation change. We haven't been doing many longer hikes lately, so it was quite the challenge. The real challenge, however, was putting up with the flies! The little horrors were more concentrated along certain parts of the trail, but they were annoying almost everywhere, and we had to eat our picnic lunch as we hiked, waving our cheese sandwiches all around like windmills, because if you stop, they land.
 |
| This is part of the steep ascent that makes up the first part of the hike |
 |
| Part of the way up the ascent |
 |
| Teeny Darell ahead of me on the trail |
 |
| A view from along the trail - teeny Chinook is the white dot just to the left of the yucca spike, along the campground road |
 |
| After reaching a grassy mesa, we then descended a bit into the canyon where the cabin ruins are. This is the end of the canyon, where the water flows down the rocks alongside the cabin site. |
 |
| A grinding stone near the cabin ruins (and a little cactus starting to bloom on the rock in the background) |
 |
| Teeny Darell on the way back down the trail, stopping for a view of the White Sands along the horizon |
Flora and fauna (reptiles and insects, anyway) along the trail:
 |
| The lizards here are bigger than we've seen elsewhere; this one was about 10 inches long |
 |
| Prickly Pear Cactus buds |
 |
| Blossoms, and Bees, and Buds, oh my! |
 |
| This lizard was only about 6 inches long, but what a colorful chap! |
 |
| A wildflower |
 |
| These plants are blooming everywhere here right now |
 |
| I didn't know the bee was there when I took the photo! |
Love these flowers, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Delete