Saddle 5252, aka Deer Saddle

First blog of the week, first blog of the month, first blog of the year, the decade! Heck, first hike of the decade! Having left the neighborhood New Year's Eve party as early as decently possible, we woke up early and I walked the dogs in full moon light, with the sun coming up at the same time. Pretty special.


After breakfast we set out to our favorite close-by hike, the rounded hill and saddle that we see from our front window. We did not want to go too far and miss the Rose Bowl game, with the Oregon Ducks playing the Ohio State Buckeyes this afternoon.


We followed some deer tracks up and actually spooked a couple of them. The view from that hill into the Stronghold is spectacular. I have been looking for fossils on every hike and I think that I found petrified wood at a couple of places on this hill.


We opted to follow the rockface to the southwest and found the tops of some big waterfalls that we have seen from below. Or perhaps I should say that when it does rain, during the monsoon season, the water rushing over these rockfaces must be spectacular. A whole new set of hillsides opened up, inviting us to explore more. Better do this in the winter because these hillsides are very exposed and will be hot soon. Great start to the decade.