A Few Las Vegas Girls Go Hiking in Mojave National Preserve

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It was a great day for a 6-mile hike in the Mojave National preserve. Getting there was something of an adventure too, since I managed to miss my first exit and assumed all roads would eventually lead to Rome. Following the signs from Baker, Califnornia, I drove on a rutted dirt road for miles and miles and miles. It seemed to take forever, although I could only reasonably manage 10-15 miles per hour. It was a very scenic drive though, and one I might not have been inclined to take otherwise. Nearing the visitors center, there was snow lightly blanketing the landscape. I wondered how much now the desert got in the peak of winter.

The visitors center was a little ranch building in the middle of nowhere and was still closed when I arrived. The trail head was nearby. We set out at a reasonable pace and made the 6-mile loop hike in under 3.5 hours. It was a flat trail for the most part, which allowed for greater pace than my usual uphill one mile per hour. Along the trail there were free range cows scattered throughout the preserve who started at us as we marched along. Blank stares make me uneasy. Cows are strange creatures.

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