Mark’s Photos #3

Today’s picture was taken in May 2014 when I was near PCT mile 620, passing through the western Mojave. I had been climbing up a treeless desert mountain all afternoon. There was no shade. I was tired, hot, and low on water. The map showed a spring at an abandoned ranch house 2 miles and a 670-foot descent off the trail, down a ravine. The spring might be dry, but it was my only option. Boy did I hate to lose that elevation, but I had no choice. So, I climbed down the ravine. There was an abundance of cacti, but no trail and lots of 8-10-foot cliffs/boulders to get down. (Oh, and a couple of rattlesnakes just for fun.) Eventually, the ravine dropped me onto a narrow sandy road. I found the ranch, or what was left of it, and the spring, and it had water. Hallelujah! From there, my map showed that the narrow sandy road would intersect the PCT in a couple of miles near the top of the ridge, so I didn’t have to backtrack up the ravine. Hallelujah again! As I climbed up the road, these lenticular clouds suddenly formed near the top. They are created when a steady flow of moist air crests a mountain or ridge and cools to its dew point. Once formed, they hung there the rest of the afternoon, morphing slightly as the day went on. The fish-shaped one turning into a couple of flying saucer shapes. I’d never seen clouds like that before. They are a bit bizarre.