Weekend Donkey Hike

This past Sunday was our second donkey hike in a week, and this time to a spot where we'd never been. The original place we'd considered was crowded and by crowded, I mean that everyone and their mama chose to come out that day, line the streets with their cars (the parking lot was closed) and hike into the park. Everyone fancies themselves a goddamn outdoorsman after being stuck inside for a few days.

So, off we went to the western side of The Valley, known to only a few locals, many of whom ride their horses there. The city made this road many years ago and it's an access trail to the power lines that run generally north-south. I'd been hiking out here before but wanted to see what was past a locked gate. Signs that read "No Trespassing" were posted, but they were mixed in with signs saying that the county forbids motorized vehicles from entering. Reading between the lines, I realized this meant that we could indeed go beyond the locked fence, provided that we walked. Which is what we were doing. It was smart of the locals to add the No Trespassing signs, as this ensures that their secret spot stays that way.

As we walked, the trail slowly increased in grade, but it was never too difficult to traverse. The land got more green as we went and the brush got thicker. Intermittent streams appeared and it occurred to me that this is the type of land that holds black bear, bobcats and a mountain lion or two. While we didn't see any predators, we did see at least 40 wild donkeys on this hike. When we got to our furthest point, we looked back and could see our cars waaaay in the distance. The straight-line distance was probably 1.5 miles, but since we'd taken a roundabout path, we probably had gone two miles one-way. We've promised ourselves that we're going to get back there and hike some more in the near future. It's only a 15 minute drive, so it would be crazy not to return soon.