| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 7.45 Miles |
1,018 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.45 Miles | 5 Hrs 16 Mns | | 1.48 mph |
| 1,018 ft AEG | 14 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | A foray into the superstitions, I'd been hoping to see the trees in Haunted Canyon and West Pinto sporting fall colors, but alas - it's still a bit early. There are some colors to be seen, but the pockets are isolated. The road from the mine to Haunted Canyon has held up surprisingly well from all the recent rains, though it's still plenty skittery with the gravelly surface and steep grade. The road to Miles also seems to be holding up alright, though the last stretch definitely seemed a bit more rough than when we traveled it last. Was surprised to see several cars both at the Haunted Canyon TH as well as at the Miles TH on arrival (including a few that had obviously camped out overnight), though I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised given that it's hunting season and we saw loads of deer prints while we were out hiking.
Temps at the start were brisk, in the low 40s. We headed off through the flower speckled meadow to pick up the trail on the other side. Time on the trail passed quickly - once we hit the burn area, we tended to stay in the drainage for the bulk of the rest of the trip. The pace was a bit slower with the rock hopping. The way was dry until we hit West Spring, where the water surfaced and was cultivating a healthy growth of algae. We continued making our way up until we came to a section where the loose rocks underfoot gave way to bedrock and some small pouroffs and pools. Water here was flowing clear and without any algae in the pools. We stopped to enjoy the area for a bit before turning back, picking up old sections of trail as we were able to. As we were climbing one section (on the right hand side, looking down canyon), I had a vague sense of deja vu...sure enough, as we started descending the other side, I recalled hiking that section on one of our previous visits to the area and having to scramble over some significant deadfall. At least I made it over and back down to the drainage unmarked this time! While we were negotiating the first deadfall snarl, we heard (and eventually saw) a pair of hikers and a dog in the creekbed below. The remainder of the hike back went by quickly, and without seeing any others (aside from the folks still camped out at the Miles TH).
It was a wonderful day to be out - it was a nice surprise to hear frogs singing in the riparian area as we hiked through! No significant wildlife sightings, though we saw plenty of evidence of deer, some extremely fresh coyote scat, and possibly a lion print. |
|
Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
|
|
|
Wildflowers Observation Light
|
|
| _____________________
Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually  |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
