Looking back down the trail from a little further up. The square white patch in the trail is some sort of utility vault cover. At various points you'll see several sets of pipe [of varying ages), overhead wires, and buried utilities like this. All related to various "upgrades" over the years. Along the lower section of trail there's lots of grass and brush. It's green in the winter andl crispy brown in the summer (see the next photo). Further up there's less brush and it's even hotter. The only shade comes from the rock walls, if you're in a spot where they block the sun at that time of day.
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