We Got Out of the House

[perzephone]

With much prodding and goading, I actually got Rob to take me up Mt. Charleston today. We hiked up Fletcher Trail, which is about 1.8 miles, climbing about 1500'. We didn't make it to the end - there's a creek up there somewhere, but me & Rob are terrifically out of shape. If I'd tried it before my knee surgery, I probably would have given in within 15 minutes. I'm kind of proud about just how far we did go, especially considering it was almost 2pm when we got to Kyle Canyon and it was about 90 degrees out there. It's a fairly steady climb, mostly following a dry stream bed. My thighs were crying on the way up & my ankles were screaming on the way down. Some guy passed us on our way down... He was jogging & I told him, "Hey, thanks for making us all look bad!" It was busy up on the mountain today - a lot of picnickers & hikers, lots of people w/dogs, lots of dog shit and flies. The flies were continuous and constant and annoying beyond all belief. Every time we'd stop to breathe I felt like I was Pigpen from the Peanuts gang - an instant cloud would form around me. There wasn't much litter - people are relatively respectful.


I think this is Cathedral Rock


The Visitors' Center sign


Some blue flowers


Some fireweed


Actually saw some wildlife - mostly ladybugs, but also this king snake/corn snake/rat snake bull snake. Definitely a bull snake.


I think this is the picture of one of the lizards we saw - it was fighting w/another lizard & proceeded to sit and bob its head at me when I took its picture.


Here's me w/the Spring Mountains behind me



I am sore and tired and my lungs hurt from the panting I was doing, but otherwise it was a fulfilling day.

Comments

[greenforest-elf.livejournal.com]

beautiful pics, those mountains are wonderful!!!!

ughh I hate ppl who dont clean up after their dogs, sadly so many of our dog laws that stop dogs going to nice places are coz fkwits dont clean up after their dogs, its not that hard to do!!!!!

eeeuw snakes :( I dont like them coz all the ones here are deadly!

Dog Trails

[perzephone.livejournal.com]

Our mountains are craggy and the trees are sparse, but once we got about a mile up the trail, the rocks made up for it. You can see all the stones overhanging the dry creek bed - they're full of worn holes that are full of lichen and small plants and even moss in places. I was on a bit of a spiritual quest, but my husband never shuts up, lol - he came home w/pockets full of twigs and rocks, too.

Once we got above the sound of traffic, the wind was awesome. Here in the valley it makes me anxious, but up there it seemed more at home. Just listening to it blow over the treetops was soothing, and it was a cooooool wind, full of sage and pine - it felt really good on sweaty backs! Of course, along with sage and pine, there was an everpresent undertone of dog shit that would kind of hit you as the tail of the breeze passed by. They've got reminders to 'clean up after your dog' but no one ever does :P

We've got rattlesnakes here, sidewinders, lyre snakes (which are rear-fanged colubrids), and some puff adders, but we've also got a lot of harmless snakes - like the bullsnake/Sonoran gopher snake we saw today. We've also got one of the world's only poisonous lizards - the gila monster. My nieces brought their mom one once :D