Saturday, I had to head over to Carson City, so I spent a couple of hours ambling in the northwestern foothills of the Pine Nut range, amongst the pinyons and junipers. Over towards Carson Valley, the OHV hordes were having a blast, but a little further in, it was quiet – no sounds but me huffing, the pitter patter of Minnie feet, and the wind. Not many birds out and about, just a flock of about 30 Bushtits peeping, and a couple of Juniper Titmice. Deep mud on all the north-facing slopes, but the snow had crusted over, so the footing alternated between solid and squidge. It was glorious – I cannot express how grateful I am that my foot is finally healing, and I'm back hiking. Having to go slow and take care … though I couldn't resist a short jog there at the end. Gentle hills and a forgiving surface beckoned! It was incredibly handy that I had parked next to a patch of snow, so on our return, I was able to ice my foot. It's feeling great today, so my giving in to temptation didn't have an unhappy ending. All in all, a fantastic afternoon!
Ambling through the pinyon-juniper. Minnie is incredibly excited to finally be able to run around!
Single-leaf pinyon against snow.
The final seconds of golden hour: pinyons, junipers, sagebrush, and ephedra. I took the photo, smiled, turned around ... and golden hour had finished.
Sunset over Carson Valley. Imagine this scene with vivid pinks and oranges: it was truly spectacular.
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