Eventually we reached the Grotto, a little protected rock area with smooth benches for sitting and little pools of water. The wash outside it even had some running water that was fresh appearing. To this point, no one but a few millipedes and lizards joined us. After a snack and a rest, we continued on our way through the wash.

At one point, I thought I heard an animal up on the slope. A little walk later, instead of animals, we found 5 Jeeps and their drivers trying to get one of the vehicles unstuck from the wet rocky wash.

We soldiered on, encountering some deeper pools. One of them had such steep rock walls that we had to bushwhack up the slope a bit and drop back down after the pool. That left some scratches. Shortly afterwards, we left the wash and returned back to the desert paths. It was getting a bit warm into the 80s by then with bright sun beating down. The trails were usually easy to follow, but at one point, realizing we needed to be going a different direction, I led the group off the trail up a hill only to find the trail on the other side down below. So back down through the thorny plants we went.

The rest of the hike was uneventful and we ended up back at the cars eager to have cold drinks. We could only wait as long as the first minimart to quench our thirst with 44 oz soft drinks. A great way to end our first Fall hike in the desert.