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| Hiking | 5.50 Miles |
300 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.50 Miles | 4 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.27 mph |
| 300 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Yes, it's crowded - but it's so beautiful that I just have to hike West Fork occasionally. Plus I was in the mood for an easy Fall colors hike today, so it was the obvious choice.
I got one of the last few spots in the parking lot just after 8am.
Lots of people, but I did manage to hike in a bubble of solitude and quiet much of the time, and had two pretty cool wildlife encounters.
First one -
Hikers: There's a snake on the trail!
Me: Ohh, what kind?!
Hikers: We don't know.
Me: (seeing it) Oh, beautiful Kingsnake! Non-venomous.
Hikers: Oh my god, she's picking it up 
Me: He's really soft, do you want to touch him?
Hikers: Not at all, thank you.
(It was an Arizona Mountain Kingsnake. I moved him a little off the trail so people wouldn't be scared, and he wouldn't get hurt)
Second one -
I saw this squirrel working to gather some material to line it's nest (I assume). After a couple of minutes of watching it pull and twist and change position, increasingly looking a bit frantic and sort of flipping back and forth, I became concerned that it was actually stuck or tangled. I decided to approach it to see if there was anything I could do to help. I took out my knife and started towards it, and as I got closer it finally jumped/flew off the log and ran away ... I'm not sure if it was actually stuck, but the odd, awkward way it flew through the air made it seem like maybe it was - me approaching seemed to scare it into finally jerking free. So I cut a couple small straps of the fabric and left them there for the squirrel to use, then unwrapped the rest of it from the branch and put it in my bag to pack out. I told the two people who were watching "I didn't expect to be packing out an old pair of underwear - but I feel good about it!" They agreed  |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
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Route Editor
Route Scout
