Near a familiar place

I haven't been going to Bulldog Canyon much lately because there aren't many places there that I can get to that I haven't already been to. I was looking at Google Earth and decided there might be an interesting spot that I hadn't seen before near the Willow entrance to the area.

This rock is near the Willow entrance to Bulldog Canyon OHV area. It is very noticeable as you drive to Canyon Lake.

I was going to check out a spot that looked like a wash had cut a mountain in half. Surely there would be something worth seeing there. It didn't look like there would be much climbing involved, either, which was good because it was about 102. I started out following what looks like a road but really isn't. When I left the road I found that I was following a very well-defined trail.

This trail is narrow with sharp edges. That means it was made by people on horses.

Before I had followed it very far, the trail split. I followed the side that went towards the notch. It climbed slightly and after going past a large column of rock, it dropped steeply down to the wash. Very steeply. I can't imagine people riding horses down that part, and I didn't see horse shoe marks on the rock. I was going slowly and carefully and thinking about the article I had read that morning in AARP magazine about old people falling down and decided not to add to the statistics that day. It was too hot to go back to the fork and follow the other route so I was just moseying back to the truck and looking around.

The trail descends steeply on the other side of that rock.

I looked to my left at one point and thought that area needed its picture taken. I did that and of course, I needed to go in that direction a little to see what else needed a picture taken. It's funny how you can wander from one interesting spot to the next and then the next and before you know it you're on top of a mountain.

This led me away from the path.

Then I had to get a better view of that.

Then I needed to get pictures of these scattered rocks from different angles.

Which resulted in my finding this (suspected) rattler hiding in a rock hole.

Which was right next to THIS.

Obviously, somebody hid something here. Recall that not 10 feet away from here I found a napping rattler in a hole just like this. Anyway, I figured that it was either the Lost Dutchman's gold or a geocache. One would be worth wrestling rattlers, one would be *meh*. I carefully removed one rock and could see the corner of a Tupperware container. Geocache. I put the rock back and looked for the next picture to be taken. That's when I found myself on top of the mountain. I took a 360 panorama which is on my Panoramio page and my Photosynth page if you're interested in seeing it.

I couldn't go any further, so it was time to head back. I passed by a grassy area along the way and heard a rattler start up. I really like it when they tell me I'm getting too close. I would hate to step on one. I didn't get any good pictures of this one. It was moving away quickly.

Notice the pinkish underside and reddish tail. I think that's real (and not because it was getting late).

Click below for all of the pictures.

2013_06_09