Day 30

We seem to have fallen into a healthy routine. There has not been one day go by that we have not done something that gave us a good bout of exercise. This is a very good thing and our exercise of choice has turned out to be a good brisk hike on one of the many desert trails that criss cross the mountains on the edge of the city. Today we really out did ourselves. We wanted to do the Hopalong Cassidy Trail, but higher than we had ever done it before. The sky was slightly overcast and the air was cool so it seemed the perfect time to test our endurance. Cahuilla Hills Park is the trail head for a myriad of paths, hikes, and nature trails and that was our base for this morning.

We chose the Homestead Trail which would eventually link up with the Hopalong trail, somewhere at 800ft. in elevation.

The first part was quite steep and the steps were a life saver on the loose rocky trail. We reminded ourselves that each step upward would be a step down on the way back, when we would be tired and we would appreciate it.

The first place to stop and get a breath, and look back at how far you had come, was Engstrom Point. There was also a little cabana and some water fountains there to get your last drink or fill that water bottle that you would need soon enough.

I did not realise that the Eskimos had migrated this far south, or maybe they wintered here, for right on the junction of two trails was this Inukshuk.

We came across this large outcropping of crumbling pink quartz. The picture does not do it justice. (That is what one says when one takes a poor photo)

We were not sure just far we were going to hike, as the trail is 14 miles long. But, then we came around a bend and saw something that would become our goal. From many places in the Coachella Valley one can see this cross on the mountain, lit up day and night. It was a long way off but we were determined that we get at least that far. The people on the trail near the cross were like ants and it was farther away than we thought. Can you see it on the ridge, just to the left of center?

With a clear goal in sight, we put our heads down and trudged up the steep grade and sooner than we thought, we arrived. The trails are wonderful, very well used and hard to miss. Joggers, hikers, walkers, and mountain bikers all use them, although the traffic today was not heavy at all.

We were considering going up the Airtram, which is a very popular tourist attraction in Palm Springs, but after seeing this view, we realised that for $26 more, the cost of the Airtram per person, we not get a view very much better than this. What you do get at the end of the tram ride is a lot of snow. Didn't we come to Palm Desert to get away from all that?

This is the plaque at the base of the cross, put there only 10 months ago. It has recently been defaced with a Budha like etching and the words "True peace can only be obtained through thyne ownself" It might get people thinking and talking about the subject, but it is unfortunate that there could not have been more respect for those who spent the time and effort and money to put this up on the top of the mountain.

The hike down is always faster, but I find it hardest on my knees. We came around a little bend in the trail and look what we found, propped up on a rock. How appropriate! The perfect place to advertise such a service. Problem is, it is probably considered litter and how easy will it be for the environmental Nazis to find this guy?

Jim and Dawna are in the Indian Canyons today but we will spend the evening together. Last night in the hot tub, we heard the extended version of how they met and courted. Tonight it will be our turn. I should make some stuff up, like we met in jail, or something. :) Come to think of it, we did. .... Just kidding.