February 3, 2023-

It is Hiking Buddy’s birthday, so what better way to mark the occasion than for us to take in an unvisited trail, above Watson Lake. The approach to most trails on the east side of the lake lies in walking a 1/2 mile each way on Peavine Trail, a converted rail bed. This quotidian part of any hike has its own magic, depending on the time of day, as shown above.

Our jaunt was primarily concerned with Captain’s Trail, a fairly short walk up into the southern reach of Granite Dells. Fortunately, it is a loop trail, connecting with Easter Island Trail, which we did the last time we were here. Here are a few scenes of the robust rock formations, left us by glacial action during the Pleistocene Era, aka The Ice Age.

A birthday lunch at Wildflower Bakery capped the morning, before we had to head off to our respective errands. I got a much-needed haircut, deftly carried out by the manager of Fantastic Sam’s, with my regular barber temporarily out of commission. I would rather have done this, before our hike, but life is not always neat.

It is always enjoyable, to get on the trail with Akuura- and with so many trails in this area, not to mention Sedona, it ought to be a wondrous Spring.