Big Morongo: Cottonwoods, Bobcats, and Birds, Birds, Birds

Here’s an invitation for you: “The Canyon Trail starts at 2,300 feet and descends to 800, as you drop from the cooler high-altitude Mojave Desert to the warmer Colorado Desert. For centuries, native tribes (including the Morongos, a powerful Serrano Indian clan) favored this route as they moved between high and low deserts. A fit person, walking briskly on a 60-degree day, can complete the round trip hike in about four and a half hours.” Then, of course, there is the fact that 60-degree days are extremely uncommon in this southern California desert in all but the winter months, a revelation that comes very near the end of this New York Times feature about a truly magnificent place to hike. And, one more thing: “The preserve’s jagged backcountry is mountain lion terrain.” Despite all of the above,  a walk in this wild place seems almost irresistible.