Something Old, Something New

Summer is finally arriving. Though the cold and wet and windy has hung on amazingly well. It appears the warm weather has finally made it!

Which means - time for a hike. As for something old - I went back to the State Park I've hiked many times, usually once a year. Something new - I hiked a long different trail I've never been on. I thought this trail was unfinished in the past so I avoided it. Not sure, but it's a loooong loop now that went around a second reservoir at the park, then back to where I started.

I started at the north reservoir. This is the face of the old dam from near the bottom. Built from 1902-1904. But still doing its job. Time to hit the trail and head south...

A separate spillway from the dam. Running a bit of water, made for a pretty good current in the stream that leads to the second reservoir.

Lots of terrain changes along this trail. Trees and greenery near the stream, lots of rocks, cactus, etc especially farther away. Some areas were pretty flat, some quite steep and rocky with slippery small gravelly rock on the trail. The weather was nice - low to mid 70s for temps, light breezes, mostly cloudless. Though by the end of the day all the sun was making me feel a bit like a baked potato. Even with a hat and sunscreen.

The trail ended being a LOT longer than I expected from looking at  the map. Lots of turns and switchbacks. Plus I took the longest routes possible when there were shortcuts. Just to see more. Which my legs were rather unhappy about by the end of the day. Here's a relatively flat spot, with the second reservoir becoming visible in the distance.

This was along the most difficult part of the trail. Very rocky, steep up and down, winding around with loose footing. And no shade. By this point I was getting tired, so I kind of slowed down going through this area. Fortunately, at the end of this section I crossed the reservoir, and the return trip was a much easier trail.

The trail back was mostly pretty flat and featureless. Though there was this interesting rock formation along the way.

All in all a good hike. Worth a second pass. Maybe I'll hike it from the other direction someday!