Headed up on the first tram yesterday with Perry A, Sister Sally and her daughter Allison. I love the Hidden Divide trail -- lots of shade and great views of the desert divide. The wildflowers are starting to bloom -- we saw lupine, Indian paintbrush, wall flowers and five fingers.
The temperature increased as we descended -- it was a relief to reach the water. We went downstream and enjoyed lunch in the shade by a gorgeous waterfall. I took my boots off and headed in. The water was colder than my last trip two years ago, so I gradually walked into the pool up to my waist, then ducked in -- whoa, that'll cool you down. Swam over to the waterfall and tried to get underneath it. Couldn't stay long due to the force of the water pushing me away.
We headed up to the Carumba overlook -- a beautiful view. Then, we had a wild hair and decided to try to summit the peak to the right. Found and lost use trails as we headed up. Once on top of the rocks, we realized that the actual "peak" was behind us
Oh well -- next time. We scrambled down, crossed the creek and started the arduous buggy climb (mostly gnats 
) back to Laws.
It was a relief to rejoin the Hidden Divide trail -- it was completely shaded and bug free
Celebrated the day with appropriate beverages at the tram bar and dinner at Las Casuelas.
Miles of smiles,
Ellen
