Art Smith & Hopalong Cassidy are a great pair of cowboy gentlemen and their trails are great too! My plan was to hike a large portion of Art's trail then return and at the junction hike along a smaller section of Hopalong's trail. These trails are high above Palm Desert and offered the best of both worlds, to be able to look down on civilization and to be able to escape from it. There is no warming up on a long flat section first, it's up hill after a mere couple of minutes.
After the first uphill stretch then the cactus and the views begin.
Palm Desert
Then it's time to leave civilization behind and become one with the mountainous desert. There were so many distractions, it felt like I was getting no where. Who knows, I may never get back here so made sure to appreciate every little thing. There were cacti galore.
There were even a few oasis along the way.
A couple of folks suggested this trail for the beauty. They said it was their favourite. I took their word for it and just hoped our ideas of beauty were on the same page. They sure were! With little pops of color here and there, add a fluffy puffy cloud now and then, at times backdropped by rocky ruggedness, Art Smith knew what he was doing, it was the perfect package.
the cactus pops
rocky ruggedness
fluffy puffy clouds
Completing an out and back on the Art Smith, I then did the same on the Hopalong Cassidy.
This trail brings you back to being high over civilization.
You can see the trail far below from where I stood. At this point I did not go further, I was feeling hot and lazy and did not want the climb back up . The views along the whole way would be the same as what I had right around me at this point. I did some zooming in on the mansions below but will keep those photos to myself.
my destination shot along the Hopalong Cassidy Trail
view from back on the main trail
This last photo has it all for me.
Down over the dip, it's back into some rubble then a rocky down back to the car.
Another lovely hike in the desert.
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