No more outdoor activities in low-lying areas unless it’s hella early—meaning, 5 a.m., and then it’s vamoose by like 7 a.m.-ish. Reason being, the hot weather is upon us here in Southern Nevada.
In other words, it’s time to take to higher elevations. So locally, that means the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.
Like today’s excursion to Kyle Canyon, where I tested out my new Garmin InReach Mini 2. Fun stuff! I figured I’d do so in a familiar area before venturing into more remote spots (to avoid those pesky humans).
Along the trail, there’s a stream bed that meanders parallel with the entire route. Normally, it’s as dry as a long-dead tree. But today, water ran robustly due to all the snow-melt in the mountain range (see video below.) The water looked to be around 2 feet deep in some sections, and you had to crisscross it repeatedly in order to complete the trail.
So the hiking got a bit technical in many spots due to the stream, as well as some snow, downed trees and lots of brush that hindered access. I used my trekking pole not only for my footing in the stream, but also to hold back the bramble where there was limited room to walk.
I navigated over the water about a dozen times, stepping gingerly on larger rocks or piles of smaller ones, leaping over the banks and sometimes unavoidably getting my feet soaked. I took it slow and focused on my footing, otherwise it was sayonara.
A couple of times on the trail, I stopped to pour the water from my hiking boots and wring my socks (as futile as that seemed.) Heading back to the valley and the upper-90s, I drove home barefoot, with my socks drying atop my toasty dashboard.
the prickly pressed 