Although the Pacific Crest Trail extends from Mexico to Canada, there was no danger that Bryon and I were going to make Sunday’s hike a grand excursion. We simply headed east toward Sunrise Highway.
By the middle of the day, some of the trails were crowded with hikers and mountain bikers, so we looked for one that wasn’t congested with cars.
Manzanita shrubs grow along the trail. The wood is distinctive (and very hard).
The observatory, visible in the distance.
The scenery changed as we moved along. We only covered about two-and-a-half miles each way, but we could see the impact of recent fires along the trail.
The wind was picking up speed through the canyon here. The trees, though singed, were relatively intact.
These trees were on the direct opposite side of the trail from the trees above.
The view at the top of the hill, where, the wind gusted up to 50 mph. (On the way back the breezes slowed down a bit, and stayed between 20 and 30 mph.)