With the reopening of the remainder of the
Chiricahua Mountains in the
Coronado National Forest last week the
Portal Rodeo Hiking Club took the opportunity to get into the high country to view first hand the results of the fire along the Crest Trail. On the drive to Rustlers Park everyone stopped to admire a Mountain King snake near the Basin Trail head, a beautiful animal. Upon reaching Rustler's Park the group parked at the entrance before the gate (the camping area is currently closed) and hiked up to the
Crest Trail and headed south. The hiking club was met with a profusion of wild flowers carpeting the higher elevations of the Chiricahua Mountains. After stopping for a break at Bootleggers Saddle the group headed on to the intersection of several trails at the base of
Flys Peak. One group of hikers continued along the Crest Trail to Anita Park while the rest headed to the summit of Flys Peak. After lunch on top of Flys Peak and a decent down the south side to Round Park the group divided again with several hikers heading to Bear Wallow on the east side while several others hiked back along the Crest Trail on the west side covering about 6.5 miles with 1300 ft of elevation change. The hiking map may be found
here or in the sidebar.
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| Mountain King snake near the Basin Trail. |
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| Along the Crest trail | . |
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| View from the Crest trail NW across the Chiricahua Mountains |
Wonderful pictures Bruce. Are you processing them?
ReplyDeleteThank you. I generally adjust the light levels and contrast which intensifies the color. But with landscape like the Chiricahua Mountains it is difficult to take a bad photograph. Here is a link to an abstract landscape image I made of a tree atop Flys Peak. http://www.flickr.com/photos/balvarius/6199021486/in/photostream
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures! Looks like it was a wonderful hike getting to the top of the Chiricahua Mountains again.
ReplyDeleteThere was a carpet of wild flowers everywhere one looked in the high country.
ReplyDelete