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| Hiking | 9.10 Miles |
2,650 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.10 Miles | | | |
| 2,650 ft AEG | | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Jim, Mike, and I met at the Butterfly trailhead on a beautiful Saturday and started hiking late morning. This was my first time on Butterfly since the 2020 Bighorn Fire and I was interested to see what things looked like post-fire. We made our way down slope through tickets of very tall bracken ferns, old survivor trees, and dead post-Bullock Fire regrowth, taking our time to enjoy the scenery. Mike wanted to check out Butterfly Peak, so we did, where we stopped for lunch in the shade.
We weaved our way in and out of canyons towards Novio Spring, encountering another flowing side drainage along the way. Some areas of forest looked ok, others were heavily damaged from the Bighorn Fire. The poison ivy patches along the trail were just fine, of course, nothing touches that stuff.
We took a nice long hydration break in the lush, shady paradise that is Novio Spring, where we filtered refreshingly cold creek water for the sunny climb to Mount Bigelow. Mike went on a side hike to see the plane wreck, while Jim and I made our way further up the trail.
Bigelow’s north ridge, which we ascended after Novio Spring, was very heavily damaged, with much of the old tree cover gone. New aspens are coming up in some places. We more or less solo hiked until we regrouped on top of Mount Bigelow in the late afternoon.
Once on top, it was a pleasant stroll down Bear Wallow Road and then one of my favorite social trails to the floor of Bear Wallow creek. We cruised along the creek through massive trees and lush maple groves, crossing under the highway, to where the social trail ended at the Sunset Trailhead. A quick hop over the road and we were back to our starting point.
We then drove to one of the picnic areas nearby that had a grill, where we got our cooking fire going as the sun set. The temps grew quite chilly in the evening breeze. We watched the moon rise over Bigelow while enjoying our mesquite-smoked barbecue dinners. After dinner we headed for home down the dark and surprisingly busy highway. Great day! Thanks guys for organizing this one! |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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| "…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
