Saturday, February 19, 2011

THE Trip, Indian Canyons, Palm Springs, California, The Amazing Palm Canyon

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

After a long and oh, so enjoyable, hike through the Andreas Canyon, Man and I drove over to the Palm Canyon to hike it.  More palms, different views, different terrain.

They say that the highlight of the Indian Canyons is Palm Canyon, which stretches 15 miles across the north slopes of the Santa Rosa Mountains.

NO, we did not hike 15 miles. Sadly we only saw a part of this canyon, we were tired, the day had already been long and we needed to get back to the fur kids.  That, plus a small matter of I had just about used up all the battery life on battery pack # 1 for the Sony, and, mmmm, RATS, the spare battery pack (# 2) was back in Tana.  What we did see was marvelous, and I eeked out battery life to the max, got every shot I wanted, except one.

When you first arrive in the parking area, and look out, this is the vista that greets you.


From the top of the path that leads down to the canyon floor, note the smooth sand and the surface is pretty flat here under the palms.


So, down we went to the canyon floor, the hike down was rather steep, thank goodness, once again, for our walking sticks.  (Note, when we left the canyon we took another path out, it was not as steep, and our bodies thanked us!  LOL)

So, we wandered around absorbing the beauty, moving slowly, enjoying the easy terrain.  Now, you know, we had to stop here and have a power bar and a rest.  Yep, it was a fab as it looks.


Looking out, as we sat.  Yes, it was cool and comfy and amazing (ya, there is that word again)!


The trail is not as smooth or flat here, one could walk around about 75% of this outcrop, viewing from different angles, again, capturing my imagination.  Snap goes the Sony!


This was the end of our journey into the Palm Canyon, the photo I missed was of Man crawling into this cave for a look.


From this point on the trail got rough, and we will assume steep.  We turned and headed back the way we came.  There were not many on the trails at this time, the canyon, the water reflecting sounds back at us, birds and some other creatures that sounded like Michigan peepers.  Could not see a thing, but the sounds were beautifully musical. (Note, according to this web site, there are frogs in them there ponds, so, maybe it was frogs/peepers I heard singing their little hearts out.)

And, this is why I carry the camera most of the time.  Man insisted that he be allowed to take a photo of me, I HATE my photo being taken, see that horrible snarly look??  Geesh dude, could ya tell me a joke next time??  I WAS having a blast, I WAS happy, even tho it looks like I am mean enough to snap a palm tree in half!  LOL  OK, so the batteries were all but depleted and he had to snap fast and hope he got the shot.  But, really.  ICK.  I'll take the camera back thank you!

Got my layers (note sweatshirt tied around waist), got my
walking stick, hat, bottle of water (in that blue thing near my left hand),
 back pack with more water and snacks.
We were tired, but exhilarated.  And, we had one more very short hike to take, coming up next - -



* I believe that one of the Indian guides we chatted with during the day in the Indian Canyons told us that this canyon lies along a fault line.  Like in earthquake fault lines, etc.  So far I have been unable to find anything on this on the web.

** And, yes, I took a LOT of flora and fauna photos this day of hiking in the Indian Canyons, those photos will appear over at Reflection's Flora and Fauna, coming soon.

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1 comment:

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I've added Palm Springs to my list of places to see when we venture to California! Beautiful!