The Museum Trail Loop

We went to the Palm Springs Art Museum to find the trail head for the Museum Trail, also known as the Skyline Trail.

The trail was stark, steep, and rugged right from the get go.

After wandering on and off trail, we quickly learned to watch for these white paint blazes

We started early in the morning, but it quickly got brutally hot.

The white paint marks the trail

This large cairn marks the intersection with another trail, the North Lykken trail.  You can see the city below

We elected to keep going up the skyline trail for a while, with this ominous warning.  Round Valley is above 8000'

We kept climbing

And climbing

Finally got a little shade for lunch

Then started back down

Coming down the mountain

We came back down the North Lykken trail as fast as we could because it was so hot.  Once we got back to the city, we followed city streets back to the museum.  A most interesting loop indeed.

Stats:
Elevation gain=1800 feet
Round trip=7 miles
Date of Hike= Oct. 31, 2015