[Bloated Chipmunk]

Since once again no one was interested in hiking on this day, I went anyway, though chose a few short hikes closer to home rather than the one scheduled in AB. I opted for 3 short hikes in relatively close proximity to one another in the Laguna Mtns. Hike 1: Oasis Spring I'd skipped this one for years since it's so short, close to the road, & overall didn't seem too exciting. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the dramatic views down to the desert & the abundance of wildflowers. I parked @ the Storm Canyon overlook, dropped down below the platform to pick up the PCT, & headed in.

@ the edge of Storm Canyon

I can see the fields of yellow from here...

When it crosses an old road, I turned right on the rd. while the PCT curved & headed uphill instead. The rd. skirted the edge of the cliff & gave a good view down into Storm Canyon.

The top of Storm Canyon

@ the brink...

The rd. was a bit overgrown but easy to follow. I spotted the old pumphouse down the hill a bit but found no obvious/easy trail down to it. Ultimately I decided I wasn't enthused about bushwhacking down to it so I called it good here & after a short break headed back up.

Oasis Spring pumphouse

Once back on the PCT, I passed by a couple guys taking a break who appeared to be thru hikers. They asked if I had just come from Canada. Nope, just a day hike I said, & kept walking. A bit later, a bunch of young attractive men in skimpy shorts came running down the trail. I pulled off to the side & enjoyed the show. I resumed my hike back to the car & drove to the next trailhead. Hike 2: Secret Peaklet Yep, it's that time again. It'd been several mos. since I'd visited my little perch & I was feeling the urge to get my fix once again. & as always, I was curious if anyone else had been up there & signed the register. I found the TH parking area empty, of course. I picked up the old rd., steadily making my way down to the PCT. It was a little more overgrown than usual, no doubt due to our wet winter.

1st view of Secret Pklt

The old rd.

I dropped into the wash, hit the PCT, & turned south. I enjoyed the trail while it lasted, & after curving around a bit I spotted a decent place to leave the trail & head down thru the brush. Along the way I spotted a horned lizard.

Horned lizard

Reaching the wash, I continued down pushing my way past bushes loaded w/bees & hoping I wouldn't get stung. Then, leaving the drainage I climbed gently up to the saddle & worked my way over to the summit area.

In the wash

Gettin' closer

Home stretch

Summit area

The entire hike I had been thinking of rattlesnakes, as the temperature seemed about right & I'd be doing a fair amount of off-trail travel in rocky areas. As I neared the summit rocks & negotiated a good way around, of course I stirred up a rattlesnake in the process. Already being on edge about seeing them, it startled me more than usual. I leapt back as a yelp escaped my mouth, likely followed by some choice words, & then of course reached for my camera. I just caught a brief glimpse of a smallish red diamondback rattler before it quickly slithered into a bush, denying me a photo. It kept rattling & I didn't want to get any closer to it, so gave up & continued on. Unfortunately the "easy" way up the summit was in the direction of the rattler, so I was forced to go up one of the sketchier parts that involved scrambling up exposed rocks. I slowly, carefully made my way up, hoping that no rattlesnake would surprise me @ a really inopportune moment. Thankfully there were no more & I got to the top & let out a sigh of relief.

Rattlesnake is down in those bushes

I couldn't totally relax up there tho, because the summit is comprised of a jumble of rocks w/gaps in between, perfect for rattlesnakes to be hiding. I tapped my pole on the rocks, stomped around, & didn't hear any rattling so finally made a quick grab of the register & vowed to put it not so deep in the rock this time. I opened up the jar & pulled out the notebook, but alas we were the last ones here. No one had visited my peaklet since we were last here several months ago, or if they did, they didn't sign the register. It remains a secret.

Summit pano

Summit pano

Summit views

Summit views

Summit views

Summit views

Summit views

On top

View from atop the Peaklet

I had a snack, snapped photos, texted a selfie to friends & family: Yep, this is me, yep I'm alone here w/a rattlesnake & a 3,000' drop to the desert floor behind me. Yep, no big deal. I changed the location of the register slightly, crawled my way down the rocks, & quickly made my way past where the rattlesnake had been. I heard no more rattling so maybe it was far enough away to not be disturbed by my presence.

Time to head down & hope I can avoid the rattler

Thankfully the remainder of my hike back to the car was rattlesnake-free. Time for hike #3.

Back on the PCT

Umbrella hiker

Tick

Hike 3: Pedro Fages Trail This was just a quick add-on hike @ the end, a familiar trail thru a meadowy area that is always a nice little walk. I was curious to see what, if any wildflowers were blooming in this area. I parked @ the monument & headed in. Once again it was windy here...seems it is always windy on this trail. I decided I would just go as far as where it hits the Mason Valley Rd., as I was feeling unusually tired @ this point & ready to wrap things up for the day. I blame the snake. I made my way thru the meadow, which @ times was carpeted w/yellow flowers. Yep, just 'yellow flowers'. If I tried to ID every single flower I saw on my hikes, I'd be spending WAY too much time @ the computer. Keeping up w/my pics & TRs is already a challenge.

On the Pedro Fages Trail

Yellow blooms

Meadows

Meadows

The trail further on

I took a quick break @ my turnaround spot & then headed back, passing a few people along the way. It was a good day for a few short hikes since Plan A fell through. The place I'd planned to stop for my post-hike marg was closed, so I was forced to make my own @ home.

Post-hike marg

[zephyr]

[Gimpilator]

Awesome report. I didn't know the actual name of the lizard until now but I saw several recently. We always called them horny toads when we were kids. Thanks!

[Bloated Chipmunk]

Yeah, I still usually call 'em horny toads.