A Simple Hike

I made a last minute choice to join a moderately paced group hike and so, what the heck, decided to give it a go and test my patience.  When I arrived early at the parking area, I looked at the above and thought, maybe we will go there.  I should have paid more attention to the description.

A guy was walking his 3 dogs and one approached me and I said, "Hey buddy" and he replied, "How did you know his name?"  

Also in the parking lot was a nice road bike with Di2 shifting.  Very strange as someone could easily remove the frame from the wheels but....

….across the road was a sheriff's patrol vehicle and I wondered if the bike was a plant, to entice a would-be thief.  There was a broken windshield in the parking lot with plenty of glass and I have heard there have been a number of break-ins.  Glad I left my BH at home.

The small group arrived and we began our trek through the Sonoran desert.  The group was going a bit slow and the trail was unusual in that it was runnable so I picked up the pace and soon began running too.  Nice not to worry about rattlers although the temp did reach 70 degrees. 

The trail avoided climbing for the most part but I decided to take a side trail that zig-zagged to the above saddle and then.....

...dropped back to the parking lot.  California continues to pass through disturbances that leave us with drizzle, gather energy as it churns northeast and then dumps 8" of snow on parts of the Midwest.  Damn those Californians!  Finished with 5.5 miles and less than 1000' of climbing.  Actually, kind of nice not to do a knee buckling hike.  On the bike tomorrow!