The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

California Desert hikes

The recent (and still ongoing) wildfires in Los Angeles County reminded me of the nearly 300 photos I took last winter in the California Desert that I had yet to even look at. It’s been nearly 3 years since my last post from Joshua Tree National Park, so here are a few more recent photos. . .

The Low Desert

For two weeks in December and then again for most of January I stayed in Indian Wells and Palm Springs, in the (warmer) low desert east of Los Angeles.

Indian Canyons oasis, Palm Springs
California Fan Palms, Carrizo Canyon, Palm Desert
Folded rocks, Carrizo Canyon
Oswit Canyon pond, Palm Springs. It was wonderful to see the waterfall actually flowing!
View from ‘Peak 638’, above my Indian Wells condo.
Indio Mountain trailhead at Bear Creek. The paved path belies a challenging subsequent scramble up Indio Mountain.
Indio Mountain loop vista. My favorite photo, with the wonderful morning clouds.
Two Coachella Valley Hiking Club members scrambling up Magnesia Springs Canyon In December 2023. This canyon is closed for Desert Bighorn Sheep from January to October each year.
Desert Bighorn Sheep on the South Karl Lykken Trail, Palm Springs. One of only two photos in this post taken with my Olympus; the vast majority were taken using my Samsung A52 phone.
Tahquitz Creek park in Palm Springs. On “off” days I frequently walked here.
Wormhole loop rocks, Mecca Hills. The San Andreas fault passes through here, evidenced by the stark difference in the rock strata. Mecca Hills is in the western portion of the newly-established (14 January 2025!) 624,000 acre Chuckwalla National Monument.
Dr. Mark on the Wormhole loop. He almost single-handedly maintains most of the ladders to enable access to this amazing area.
The Vagabond Hiker at Mecca Hills
Emory’s Rock Daisy, Mecca Hills
Skyline Trail vista, Palm Springs. This trail ascends nearly 11,000 ft up San Jacinto Mountain, though I hiked “only” about 4,500 ft up from the desert floor.

The High Desert

In February 2024 I relocated to Yucca Valley and then to 29 Palms for the remainder of the winter season, focusing my hiking on Joshua Tree National Park. All photos below except the last were taken in JTNP.

An old chimney on the Lost Horse Mine loop. The rest of the cabin was demolished.
Window Arch, Wonderland of Rocks
A monzogranite formation in the Wonderland of Rocks
The “Pink House” ruins
Sand Verbena
Panorama from my traverse of Mt Minerva Hoyt
An imposing Joshua Tree near Warren Peak in March. These yuccas usually bloom in April
Joshua Mountain loop vista above 29 Palms
Pine Canyon, a fun scramble I had never done before
Desert Bells in Pine Canyon
Golden Suncup
Desert Lavender
An ephemeral pond in the Wonderland of Rocks
A possible ascent route up Spectre Peak. Over the years I’ve attempted climbing this remote peak in the Coxcomb Range of Joshua Tree four times without success.
Chia
Dawn from my Yucca Valley bungalow (taken with my Olympus Tough)

Currently I am wintering on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco. As I have already posted twice on Lanzarote’s interesting hikes, here and here, I am taking a break from photography. However, before I return to St George, Utah at the end of February, I hope to post photos from some wonderful hikes I did in 2024 in that amazing redrock sandstone country.

The Vagabond Hiker

Walks and wanders in Slovenia and the Azores

As I mentioned at the conclusion of my last blog, The Traverse of the Picos de Europa, my plan in late September was to embark on a one-week trek in Slovenia’s Julian Alps, including summitting the high point, Mount Triglav. Following this trek and some cultural explorations in Slovenia, in early October I was to travel to São Miguel Island in the Portuguese Azores for several day hikes.

Unfortunately, everything went pear-shaped from the start.

A fall walking in the Picos necessitated a midnight trip to Santander hospital to suture up a finger. This injury made a high-altitude trek in poor weather imprudent, so I contented myself in enjoying easy walks around Lakes Bled and Bohinj. After returning to Britain and continuing to the Azores, running through Madrid airport in street shoes on a very tight connection (due to the usual delays at Heathrow and the absolutely predictable effects of Brexit), subsequently hobbled me to such an extent that for several days I could barely walk. Meanwhile, my luggage didn’t make the connection in any event and was ultimately delayed 5 days on a 7-day trip. My time in the Azores thus became far more sedentary and my itinerary resembled that of a typical tourist. Nonetheless, I did manage to capture a few good photos and hope to return to both Slovenia and the Azores when I can do them more justice.

Slovenia, a small country bordering Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, is an ex-Yugoslav republic that always had more in common with Austria and Hungary than it did with its Balkan neighbors to the south. Not only is it far more developed, but the culture and architecture clearly owe much to the Austro-Hungarian empire. I spent three nights in the capital, Ljubljana, followed by about 10 days in Bled, on the east side of the eponymous lake.

Ljubljana old town street scene
Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, Prešeren Square, Ljubljana
View northeast from the Castle path, Ljubljana. My superb AirBnb was in a quiet wood near here.
River view in the medieval town of Škofja Loka, enroute to Bled
A panorama from my first Bled condo
St. Martin Parish Church at night from my Bled condo
An autumnal view from the balcony of my Bled condo. I had to book very early to get this basic but amazingly situated condo.
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, seen through the trees, and located on an island in Lake Bled.
Bohinj path. Lake Bohinj was a 45-minute bus ride from Bled, and was MUCH less developed.
Nettle-leaved Bell-flower along Lake Bohinj. There weren’t many wildflowers this late in the season.
A colorful inlet stream (Sava Bohinjka) on the Lake Bohinj circuit path
Another view along the Lake Bohinj (Bohinjsko jezero) circuit path
Bled Lake with parish church and castle. I did the easy 6-mile circumambulation of the lake several times.
Bled Lake and Church of the Assumption view from Mala Osojnica. This was the only real hike I did, gaining several hundred feet up a steep and slick trail to this iconic viewpoint.

After my eventful flights to Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island in the Azores, I rented a car and settled in to my amazing ocean front AirBnb, Casa da Rocha, in the village of Ponta Garça on the south coast. As mentioned, I did very little actual walking, but did capture several lovely landscape photos during three day road trips that encompassed the island.

Isle Vila Franca do Campo. Photo taken from along the promenade near my favorite seafood restaurant, the Atlântico Azorean.
Vista from my balcony at the AirBnb Casa da Rocha, in Ponta Garça. Note the Isle Vila Franca do Campo in the background.
Looking towards the Casa da Rocha. This was one of the best AirBnb’s I have stayed in yet.
Late day view from Casa da Rocha. In my hobbled state I spent much time on my spacious balcony.
Fumaroles at Caldeira das Furnas, in the center of the island.
Northeast (Nordeste) coastal vista with Hydrangeas. After visiting the fumaroles, I continued my first road trip around the eastern portion of the island.
Ribeira dos Caldeirões Natural Park, a very popular tourist attraction, particularly among the selfie-obsessed.
View south from Miradouro do Salto do Cavalo, high on a ridge. With generally southwest breezes, mist off the Atlantic was a frequent occurrence in October.
Finally, a sunny day at Vila Franca do Campo!
North coast in the mist with ubiquitous Easter lilies
Mosteiros coast in western-most Sao Miguel

Returning back to St. George Utah via London, I spent the remainder of the autumn exploring more of the amazing red rock landscape of which I never seem to grow tired. In reviewing some of my (and others’) photos, another blog post from southern Utah seems to be in order. . .

The Vagabond Hiker

Traverse of the Picos de Europa

Last month I joined a KE Adventures guided group on a one-week hut-based traverse of the Picos de Europa, the highest and most dramatic mountain range of the Cantabrian mountain chain in northern Spain. For those who wish more detail about the Picos as well as its national park, I recommend this website.

This trek has been on my bucket list since before 2020, when it was cancelled due to Covid. Starting above the hamlet of Soto de Cangas, where we spent the prior night, the trek in general went from west to east. The first 3 days we traversed the Macizo Occidental (western massif) and the final three the Macizo Central. (The lower, eastern massif lacks much infrastructure and only occasionally sees overnight visitors). Our fun group of 7 clients and guide, Bruno, hiked almost 55 miles with more than 20,000 ft total elevation gain across some of the most rugged limestone peaks in the world. Enjoy the photos!

Map of the mountain ranges of Spain. The Picos de Europa are the highest portion of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain
Day 1. Landscape with huts above the Lakes of Covadonga, where we began our 6-day, generally west-to-east trek
European monkshood (Aconitum variegatum)
Large-flowered selfheal (Prunella grandiflora). While September is certainly not the best time to see wildflowers in the Picos, there were several species still in bloom.
Asturian Mountain cow. We saw numerous herds of this local bovine.
Heather, our guide, Bruno, and the Vegarredonda Refugio, our first night’s lodging on trek
Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) with griffon vultures soaring overhead. We saw so many chamois that, sadly, the novelty wore off.
A small limestone cave. Some of the deepest caves in the world are found in the Picos de Europa.
Either a vulnurable Iberian rock lizard (Iberolacerta monticola) or a common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis). Where their ranges overlap, the former is found at higher elevations. After looking at dozens of photos of each, showing widely-varying coloration, I’m still not sure which species this fellow is.
Eroded limestone rock formations, known as lapiaces. The Picos are almost entirely limestone.
An Asturian calf joined our group for a short while
View northwest from the Mirador de Ordiales
Some of our group at the Mirador de Ordiales
Climbing up to Pico Cotalba
Our group on the summit of Pico Cotalba. Bruno graciously shared many of the photos he took during the trek.
A chamois herd on Pico Cotalba
Day 2. Our group in front of an outbuilding of the Refugio Vegarredonda, where we slept the first night.
With Oliver and Peter, walking by a chilled sheep dog
Merendera, an autumn crocus (Colchicum montanum)
Bruno and a misty landscape
Our group descending to the Covadonga Lakes in the mist
Our group at Lago de la Ercina. Due to the geology, very few lakes exist in the Picos.
Another photo of some of the many Asturian cows (and a few bulls) we saw
An orograph at Cabeza la Forma pass, showing many of the nearby mountains, none of which was visible in the fog.
View of the Cabezo Llerosos group with cows
Day 3. The splendidly isolated Refugio Ario, where we stayed the previous night, seen in the morning light
Resting with Oliver and Peter (lower left) on the long descent to the Cares Gorge
Rebecca, seen here descending to the gorge, with a goat in the foreground
The Cares Gorge and path hewn out of the mountain. Although undoubtedly the most popular day hike in the Picos, the gorge didn’t seem overly crowded to me.
The Cares gorge with a tunnel and bridge
Bruno admiring the Cares Gorge
A portion of the Cares Gorge hydro plant
A goat in the Cares Gorge
Fringed pink (Dianthus hyssopifolius)
Now heading north after a rest stop at Cain at the head of the Cares Gorge. From here it is less than an hour to Poncebos, where we enjoyed a hotel for the night.
Goat and limestone formation

Day 4. This day we climbed from our hotel in Poncebos to the Refugio de Urriellu. More than 6000 ft vertical gain. In the rain. I took zero pictures. Bruno’s camera malfunctioned in the wet conditions. Therefore, no photos from that day are extant. I am also trying to erase it from my memory, but without much success.

Day 5. Morning landscape leaving Refugio Urriello. The weather steadily improved this day.
Some peaks of the Macizo Central
Some of our group descending near Tesorero and Peñas Urrielles
Mountain vista with El Naranjo de Bulnes (Picu Urriellu in Asturian) on the right
The Vagabond Hiker on the summit of Torre de los Horcados Rojos
A raven also summited
The unlikely Cabaña Verónica, a high mountain refuge. This building is an anti-aircraft battery, taken from the aircraft carrier USS Palau.
A view from Cabaña Verónica, above the clouds
Peter descending towards Hotel Aliva. Located at the end of a jeep track, Avila is somewhere between a refugio and a hotel.
Day 6. View from the Hotel Avila towards the Royal Chalet
Yet another goat.
The Teleférico Fuente Dé top station. According to Rick Steves, this cable car is the longest single-span aerial lift of Europe, with cable length of 1450 m (4757 ft)
Descent view from Pico Valdecoro to Espinama, where our final night’s lodging awaited us.
A magnificent Oak on the descent to Espinama

Following this wonderful trek in Spain, my intention was to complete another hut-to-hut trek in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, and then spend a week in the Portuguese Azores hiking around its main island from my AirBnb base. Alas, neither trip panned out the way I planned. As the scenery was spectacular, in a post next month I’ll share a few photos from some short walks I did in Slovenia.

Rather than bewail the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, however, I am now planning my 2.5-month winter trip to Rajasthan (India), Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, and Oman on the Arabian peninsula. The Rajasthan trip has large cultural and wildlife components as well as several day walks. Mountainous northern Oman has some amazing trekking, and my KE Adventures trip in late February encompasses many of the highlights. Lanzarote has long been one of my favorite winter destinations, and the subject of not one, but two blog posts from 2018 and 2019. I’ll probably take a break from blogging for those six weeks. . .

The Vagabond Hiker

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