Trailhead
Climbing Mother Nature's stairway
? Worm holes?
or evidence of woodpeckers..?
Ponderosa Pine - bark
Someone told me it takes 70 years, or more,
for the red to start showing up in the bark.
this area has one of the few remaining Ponderosa forests in the world...
...or it did have, before Little Bear Fire.
a short rest
Junction.
The trails criss-cross all across the White Mountain Wilderness.
Trail dogs; we always have at least one. : )
Water!
BIG rocks. did I say I LOVE them?
'nother one; taller than I am!
We're at the end of this hike, but you can see we could just start down another trail. We make jokes in this area like:
"Support Your Local Search & Rescue!
Get Lost!"
but one really can get lost easily and someone does so with amazing regularity. That's one of the main reasons this group is so important to me.
Jim E. has led this group for years; he's hiked these trails for more than 30 years and is a trained S & R person with tons of credentials. He carries radios, GPS, and a miriad of other tools that gather info and entertain him/us. He can tell wind velocity; how much elevation we've gained or lost; temps, of course. And one of more of our speedier members also carry radios so we always know where everyone is.
Sometimes I think we must string out a mile or more. But our fearless leader keeps an accurate count, and always brings up the rear. Jim is always last out of the woods and keeps an eye out for signs of trouble. On at least two hikes that I know of (none I walked), hikers had to help out buddies who had broken legs in falls.
Did you know that two staffs (or strong branches) and a 30 gal. trash bag can make a sling strong enough to support an adult's weight?
That's not something I want to know 1st hand, but it's very nice to know that my leaders know it!
