Mingus Mountain, View Point Trail #106

This weekend, I headed to Mingus Mountain (between Prescott and Jerome, AZ) for another "training hike" My intent was to hike the Woodchute Trail, but I couldn't manage to find the trail head. Instead, I found the trail head for the View Point Trail #106. I had no idea how long the trail was or the level of difficulty, so I decided to hike 1.5 hours and then turn around if I didn't reach the end of the trail.

Right away the trail began a steep descent down the mountain through a series of switchbacks.

There were some spectacular views of the Verde Valley and surrounding mountains.

There were a few areas in which the trail was overgrown, and I was no longer positive that I was actually on the trail.
But then I would pick up the trail again - even if it meant climbing over fallen trees.

There were some spectacular vista views.
(Obligatory picture proving I was really there!!)

I learned something new - sunblock has an expiration date.

I learned something else - if you use sunblock that expired 2 years ago, you will get burned!!

This trail runs below the peak where hang gliders jump. On the way back, I nearly fell a couple of times because I got distracted watching the hang gliders.

I had the trail to myself nearly the entire time, except for at the very end. I was only about 100' from my starting point when I encountered a couple of riders on their horses.

Woods Canyon Lake

I just booked a trip to Borneo for later this fall, and plan to hike to the summit of Mt. Kinabalu (approx. 13,400 ft) while I am there. In preparation for that hike, I decided that I needed to get out of the Phoenix area and get some practice hiking at higher elevations. With fairly level trails at 7500 ft, Woods Canyon Lake near Payson seemed like the perfect starting place for my "training" hikes.

This is a nice hike around the lake.

Even I couldn't get too lost on the trail with the blue diamond markers on trees!

NorCal Eskie Fest

On Saturday morning, I woke up early, ran to the farmer's market, then came home and made this salad. I then hopped on a plane to Pacifica CA for the NorCal Eskie Fest

Here are some of the friends I met at Jenny's house, including two of their dogs, Jackson and Luna.

Everyone brought delicious food to the potluck!

Elise cuts the carrot cake.

Luna tried her best to get some treats.

But then Jenny put her on a leash so she couldn't steal any food.

Look at these delicious looking dog treats.

Elise and Soraya inspect the delicious looking dog treats.

and then taste them....

And then they recruit Kenzie to taste them too!

Looking at all the pictures they took.

California was so cold. I needed to borrow a coat, wear gloves, and drink hot tea to warm up.

Jackson and Luna enjoyed the breeze and the view from Eskie Rock.

Philadelphia

I had a quick trip to Philly for work. For the first couple of days, it was raining, cold, and windy. One evening, we had a reception and tour at the Mutter Museum. Photos weren't allowed inside, and it was dark and raining outside, so I didn't bring my camera. The conference ended around 1:30 and my flight wasn't until almost 6:00, which meant that I had a little bit of time to explore the city before I had to head to the airport. I've seen the Liberty Bell before and didn't feel like standing in line, but here are a couple of picture of Independence Hall.

You could ride around the area in a carriage if you were so inclined.
I also briefly wandered through Chinatown. The conference had provided lunch, so I wasn't hungry and didn't try any restaurants there.
I don't remember what this building was, but it was pretty interesting looking and right near City Hall.

City Hall building

San Diego - Coronado Island

I went to Coronado Island off of San Diego for a work meeting. As has been my luck lately, it was cold, windy, and rainy when I arrived. Here is the view from my hotel room in between rain showers. You can see a faint trace of a rainbow on the coast of San Diego.

The rain let up long enough during a lunch break to be able to take a short walk around the hotel grounds. Here's a view of the bridge and San Diego coastline.

Here's a shot of the beach on Coronado Island. It was really cold and windy towards the beach, so I didn't head over there.

I tended to stay on the harbor side, since it was sheltered from the wind.

At least there were some pretty flowers to see.

Letchworth State Park, NY

While in Rochester, we took the short drive to Letchworth State Park to see waterfalls, instead of fighting the crowds at Niagra Falls. The park bills itself as the Grand Canyon of the East, and I was mightily disappointed when I saw this view. My first question was "where's the canyon?"

We watched a couple rafters head down the river (tiny blue spot coming around the bend) but they got out right before they hit a small set of rapids.

cicada

I was not disappointed with this waterfall!

Middle falls

One rainbow

Double rainbow

Middle and lower falls