But if you do find yourself drawn here I highly recommend the ledge under the 170th Street bridge over the California Aquaduct. Because we are basically lazy bums and don't want to walk during the heat of day and carry 6 liters of water each, we're night hiking. Night hiking means we have to find a cool place to spend the day while we wait for our traverse of the hot and mostly shadeless Antelope Valley. A good layover spot has to have access to water too. Not only does the bridge have those features, it has ambience.
Rattlesnakes slowly make their way down to the water's edge to quench a desert thirst.
Quail, rabbits and snakes congregate around seeps where water has collected on the outside of the canal. Wind across the water's surface generates a constant flicker of teaming reflections on the shadowy bridge above. And the funniest things float by - like a grasshopper hitching a ride on the back of a dead blackbird. Better than cable. Running low on sleep, we laughed about that for about 5 minutes.