Saturday, February 18, 2012

Ryan Mountain, and a bit of a surprise!

Our nice temperatures were back again today, and first thing this morning I was out at the flying field, putting both my new plane, and my  Super Cub, up in the air in successful flights! 

I was back at the RV by 9:00, and Judy and I were soon off for Joshua Tree National Park, as we wanted to go and hike Ryan Mountain.  This has been on our list for quite some time now, and today was the day!

However we hit one great big snag we did not count on!

SNOW!

We did not really think about it, but last week when I showed you all the nice snow up on Mount Jacinto, it snowed up in Joshua Tree as well.  12 inches!  They had to close the road for a day or so, and keep everyone out, till they got it cleared…

Here is a picture you will not see every day… snow all around the Joshua Trees!  It was melting today though…

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The pictures were great as we started climbing up Ryan’s Mountain… what a beautiful day it turned out to be.

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This picture below, as at the trail head, and as you can see there was a bit of snow.  My Handheld Magellan GPS told me we were at 4,400 feet above seal level.   We had to climb up to 5,400 feet to reach the top of Ryan’s Mountain!  We had our hiking sticks, so they worked good, and fortunately we had good hiking boots with big treads to ward off the snow, and as we were not slipping on the snow, we decided to give it a go!

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Judy was right at home in the snow… a good Canuk!  We started with our light coats on, but soon ended up in T-shirts as it was warm out!

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The views were great as we made our way up, it turned into about 1 1/2 hours to climb up the 1.6 mile trail… plus a 1,000 foot altitude gain… got your heart pumping for sure!

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You could see for miles…

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There were lots of people on this trail, the parking lot was full.  There was some slush on the trail, as it was all melting, but we were able to make it OK.

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I could see for “miles and miles…”

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OK, so we are into the serious stuff below… no big problems though, as we are now near the top!

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Monster Ravens at the top flying around…

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Hey, we made it to the top! My Magellan told me it was 5,493 feet in elevation, but we won’t argue!  It was a long way up!  We packed up a great lunch that Judy prepared as I was flying, and enjoyed it at the top! 

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We are on our way down in the picture below, as Judy caught me at the top of the world!

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Overall, just a great day, even in the snow… ran into lots of Canadians enjoying the day.  We made our way back to DHS and enjoyed a nice warm afternoon outside, plus a hot tub.  No one wanted to cook, so we made our way over to the Restaurant across the road from our Resort, “All Star Burgers” and enjoyed a nice Mexican Dinner!

Till tomorrow…

9 comments:

  1. Looks like you had more snow there then in the Tecumseh/Windsor, Ontaio area.

    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    http://ricknkathyrousseau.blogspot.com/

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  2. Thanks for taking us along on your terrific looking hike. It's pretty weird to see all that snow in the desert and on the Joshua Trees.

    A soak in the hot springs and dinner at All Star Burgers is a great way to cap the day.

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  3. I'll have to take my Ryan to Ryan Mountain someday! Love those Joshua trees. I've only ever seen one in person, and it was here in Prescott so it doesn't count. =]

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  4. Looks like a great hike ~ we loved Joshua Tree National Park...
    Have fun & Travel safe
    Donna

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  5. We felt that bit of cold emanating from the snow up there in Joshua Tree. The winds blew in a bit of coolness here in Yuma. It did not last.

    I have to agree with many locals who profess that this area likely has the best weather in the US southwest. The winds are nothing like Desert Hot Springs and the daytime temperatures are ideal.

    Great photos of Joshua Tree in the snow.

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  6. We love Joshua Tree and I'm glad there wasn't any snow when we were there. But you got some gorgeous pictures.

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  7. who would have thought there could be snow around the Joshua trees!!..great shots of the hike today!!

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  8. great blog and great pictures...two seasons in one blog how kewl..:)

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  9. A good example of being in the right place at the right time. How fortunate to be at Joshua Tree when it snowed. As much as we may not enjoy our Canadian winters, it's pretty hard to beat great snow photos on a perfect day in a perfect location....

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