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| Hiking | 7.00 Miles |
200 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.00 Miles | 6 Hrs | | 1.17 mph |
| 200 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Now is the time to visit West Fork, but not on a weekend! The parking lot and spots off 89a are taken by 10:00, so get there early if you want to beat the crowds. I had Monday off work--my school district had to schedule days off for those snow days we didn't use this year (snow days are unpaid days for teachers).
I got to the trailhead at 9:00 and it was filling up even on Monday. This is a perfect spring hike for flowers and playing in the creek. The photos show a wide variety of wildflowers, some I don't know the names of. The water is high, and there are tadpoles and minnows in the water. I even saw a fish (trout?) about 6 inches long about a mile up the fork.
Butterflies: spring azure, tiger swallowtail, az. sister, cabbage white, mourning cloak.
Birds: robins, hummingbirds, ravens, turkey vultures, and a little one high in the trees that made alot of racket with its song. I couldn't get a clear view as it flitted among the trees, but it seemed light underneath with a red gusset. Not a hummingbird. If anyone can help me identify it, I would appreciate it. I saw a pair of mallards far up the fork.
There is alot of new deadfall from the winter, in some places blocking the trail but new detours have been developed.
The trail is lined on both sides by violets and other flowers. Now's the time for the spring flowers.
I made it up to the "end" of the dry trail. Didn't bring water shoes so that is where I turned around. Back down the trail much faster than I went up--fewer photos to take. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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