[Bloated Chipmunk]

On Friday I took my group to another obscure peak in the Pine Creek Wilderness, Pk. 2,345', which is just a little south from a higher bump I did last yr. It's an easy 1/2 day hike with views over to the elusive Barrett Lk. reservoir. Most of the hike was on trail, however, as is somewhat customary for the hikes I choose the last part involved some bushwhacking. No rattlers or ticks found, thankfully. We parked @ the Horsethief TH & took the trail that goes south.

@ the TH

Lots of flat-top buckwheat starting to bloom.

Flat-top buckwheat in bloom

Standing rock

Big berry manzanita

From the main trail heading south, there's a split where we veered right. It makes a gentle climb to a saddle near Pk. 2,665' , then drops & splits again where we went left & meandered around a drainage before once again heading in the correct direction of the pk. The trail gets faint in places & my GPS came in handy to keep us on track. Eventually we reached the saddle next to Pk. 2,345' & I deemed it a good place to turn off. From there it was a relatively easy ridge walk over to the summit, w/a couple of areas of rock scrambling.

Tecate Pk.

Echo Mtn.

Summit

The hike out was uneventful & we were better able to stay on track.

Short hike

Rt.

On the drive out on Lyons Valley Rd., I had to brake for something crossing the rd. A coyote?...no, too small. A cat?...yes, but wait...something's different...a BOBcat! Yesssss! I think that's only the 2nd time I've seen one in the wild. Stubby tail, ear tufts, correct color & pattern. It ran across the rd. & started climbing the bank on the far side. I came to almost a complete stop & was rubbernecking to get a good look. This caused me to cross the center line a bit, but thankfully midday on a Friday no one else was around. Sorry, no pic since I was driving & therefore not ready w/a camera available.