We’re getting spoiled with blue skies and palm trees. We have been camped at Caliente Springs RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California for the past week. From the perspective of a couple of ex-snow-shovelers, the weather here is amazing. You can spend the whole day in yoga pants and a light hoodie, at least I can. Other Half is missing out, he doesn’t own yoga pants.
Today we decided to venture into the desert wilderness for our first “official” hike. Hiking is a big thing in the desert. Jeeps are also popular. The couple camped next to us, who happen to be from Perrysburg, Ohio, traded their Chevy for a Jeep so they could access remote areas for hiking. We’re not quite that serious at hiking, not yet anyway.
One of the requirements of hiking, especially desert hiking, is shoes and socks. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a flip-flop diehard. That could be why it’s taken us a week to go on our first hike.
We decided to head up the desert trail toward the mountains behind the resort. The same mountains we were cautioned against on our arrival. (That story here.) Of course, Rigby came along. Just so you know, we did take water. We hiked up a gradual incline for an entire 20-minutes – one way. Both of us pretended not to be mildly winded. Rigby cruised along, no problem.
We didn’t make it all the way to the mountains, they’re a lot further away than 20 minutes. We did get close though, sort of. It’s easy to see how you could get disoriented in the desert. Josh, the wrangler that guided our desert horseback ride, told us some bonehead hiker stories. We’re determined not to be boneheads.
We did figure out a few things on this first official hike – actual hiking boots might be nice, a backpack would be helpful, a walking stick could come in handy, and bringing the binoculars makes sense. We both have phones so that covers compass, camera and any accidental bonehead moves. Life is good.