What better way to beat the long days of summer than doing a 12 plus mile 2000 feet elevation gain hike during the heat of mid-day? That's exactly what I did yesterday and although I was beat from the trek it sure did help to take up a big chunk of the day. I followed a new steeper route up to the Boney Mountain region of cliffs and big boulders and it proved interesting trying to carry my camera gear and tripod while scrambling up the narrow crumbling chutes. I was stoked to have found that neat cave pictured above which was a perfect rest location near the summit and I was even more delighted to find that it even had a log book organized by a lady calling herself Nighthawk. That's now three logbook locations I know of and have been to just in this small area.
I was also trying to photograph dragonflies and swifts this day and those two creatures have to be some of the most difficult things to capture. The dragonflies never stop moving and the swifts are just amazingly fast like little fighter jets you can hear them swoosh by. Needless to say I didn't get any great dragonfly or swift shots but I did stumble upon a fence lizard duel in progress. Both of their bodies were totally flared out and they looked like little komodo dragons the way they were posturing and moving about.
I have to remember to start hiking either really early or later in the afternoon so that I can catch the better light and cooler temperature for the ascents.
