I was driving away from the senior center parking lot this afternoon when I spotted a handsome young man and took him home with me (after checking with his Dad first!) - our grandson! It was a happy coincidence for me that I was there as he was walking to his Dad's office from the AC. He was carrying a bag of popped microwave popcorn to share with his Dad - sweet!
At our house, I brought out the licorice vines and Tootsie Roll Pops that his aunt had bought for him and he enjoyed those along with some milk and a cantaloupe wedge.
First thing he asked when he walked in was where was the Grand Canyon jigsaw puzzle he had bought me! I assured him I still had it (I do) but had put it away in the closet. It's a 500 piece puzzle that he and his aunt started during his visit but I have no desire to complete it! I offered to pay him for it and then donate it to the senior center where people like to do jigsaw puzzles but he refused.
He said his Dad brought him an X Box 360, whatever that is! He was regaling me by naming all the different Pokemons. There are quite a few and some of them can make eggs or some such. I can't say that I really understand that yet!
I hiked the Hike of Death (so named by my sister during a hot hike on it), the White Rock Canyon Rim Trail this afternoon. I went from the Blue Dot trailhead to Sherwood and back whilst beset by rain (unfurled my bumbershoot) and thunder and lightning for the first two miles. I screamed out loud during some of the thunder. It was dumb of me to walk in that but I kept thinking I was going to walk from underneath it but it must have been going my way.
The mud got really thick on my shoes. I saw a coyote and shook my bumbershoot at it so it would keep moving - it did. The Rio looked beautiful in the rain!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Becoming a Regular Scofflaw
Today, I walked yet again up the first two miles of Camp May Road. Once again, I saw a single doe just east of FR2998. Could be the same one. I thought I heard her give a bark when she saw me but saw no other deer. On the way down the major curve below the Ocean, I saw a bigger doe who wasted no time in bounding away!
From Camp May Road, Quemazon Trail and Pipeline Road appear unburnt. I'll be glad when the forest trails reopen but so far this fickle monsoon only teases with a few drops of rain.
Looking into Los Alamos Canyon, I'm not seeing the burnt areas. Perhaps the 2,100 acres of the LA Canyon watershed that burnt in the Las Conchas fire are much further up and probably encompass the burned areas on Pajarito Mountain and the Cañada Bonita area.
Pajarito Mountain will be organizing work parties to get the mountain ready to reopen. The reseeding and establishing water bars looked most interesting to me.
From Camp May Road, Quemazon Trail and Pipeline Road appear unburnt. I'll be glad when the forest trails reopen but so far this fickle monsoon only teases with a few drops of rain.
Looking into Los Alamos Canyon, I'm not seeing the burnt areas. Perhaps the 2,100 acres of the LA Canyon watershed that burnt in the Las Conchas fire are much further up and probably encompass the burned areas on Pajarito Mountain and the Cañada Bonita area.
Pajarito Mountain will be organizing work parties to get the mountain ready to reopen. The reseeding and establishing water bars looked most interesting to me.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Took a Chance
Took a chance today and walked 2 miles up Camp May Road starting from West Jemez Road. Camp May Road is still closed to vehicles due to the Las Conchas fire but I decided to risk getting yelled at by the police and walk up to the first chain turnout and back down. It was so pleasant and relaxing to have the road to myself that I wish there were no motor vehicles on Camp May Road all the time! I did see a green forest service truck going up and it passed me again on its way down but the occupants ignored me and thankfully, no policeman was waiting at the bottom so I was happy!
Right now, of the trails that are open in Los Alamos and White Rock, there are not many steep walks unless I dare go down the Blue Dot or Red Dot trails into White Rock Canyon in the summer heat. Actually, I wouldn't mind doing that but would prefer to have a hiking partner to notify authorities where my body's located!
I was happy to see a doe in the woods from the road. The Route on the south side of Camp May Road was part of the back burn used to create a fireline to keep the fire out of Los Alamos Canyon. Time will tell if the big conifers were damaged enough to fall across the Route. If they do, the Route is history because I won't be able to remove them. Too bad - having a trail for walkers to use as an alternative to walking up Camp May Road is a good idea since the road has no shoulder to walk on.
I could see that a lot of the young aspen's leaves were sizzled during the burnout but the trunks look unburnt. Last fall, those young aspens, which had sprung up after the 2000 Cerro Grande fire, gave such a brilliant display of gold. It was a joy to see and I told everyone that our aspen display along Camp May Road was going to rival that along Hyde Park Road in the Sangre de Cristos! I'll have to wait until next year to see how many of the young aspens survived.
On the way down, the sky looked terrifically dark and threatening to the southwest but no thunderstorm happened. Sure was a short monsoon!
Right now, of the trails that are open in Los Alamos and White Rock, there are not many steep walks unless I dare go down the Blue Dot or Red Dot trails into White Rock Canyon in the summer heat. Actually, I wouldn't mind doing that but would prefer to have a hiking partner to notify authorities where my body's located!
I was happy to see a doe in the woods from the road. The Route on the south side of Camp May Road was part of the back burn used to create a fireline to keep the fire out of Los Alamos Canyon. Time will tell if the big conifers were damaged enough to fall across the Route. If they do, the Route is history because I won't be able to remove them. Too bad - having a trail for walkers to use as an alternative to walking up Camp May Road is a good idea since the road has no shoulder to walk on.
I could see that a lot of the young aspen's leaves were sizzled during the burnout but the trunks look unburnt. Last fall, those young aspens, which had sprung up after the 2000 Cerro Grande fire, gave such a brilliant display of gold. It was a joy to see and I told everyone that our aspen display along Camp May Road was going to rival that along Hyde Park Road in the Sangre de Cristos! I'll have to wait until next year to see how many of the young aspens survived.
On the way down, the sky looked terrifically dark and threatening to the southwest but no thunderstorm happened. Sure was a short monsoon!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Making the Best
I've been making the best of the trails that are open after the Las Conchas Fire. It's been very hot except for the last few days (thank you, God!) and the trails that are open are hot, dusty and shadeless. But I figure it's good heat conditioning for the next time I run a marathon in Death Valley - NOT EVER!!
The monsoon has been happening more reliably in Los Alamos lately. Not so much at our house since we're further from the mountains but at least it's been cooler inside the past two evenings. I love the cloud cover! It's odd, though, that so far there hasn't been much lightning with the rain. But that's good because we don't need another wildfire!
I noticed on Kwage Mesa that the drought has stunted the New Mexico locusts which is welcome. That's the only good feature but can think of tremendously long list of bad! No wonder the ancient puebloan Indians moved to the Rio Grande when drought struck the Pajarito Plateau during their time! Living in the Pacific Northwest is sounding better to me all the time!
This is what's open: White Rock Canyon Rim Trail, Bayo Canyon, Pueblo Canyon, Kwage Mesa, Canyon Rim Trail, Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail, Quemazon Nature Trail, section of North Perimeter Trail from Mitchell trailhead to just north of Quemazon Community, the trails behind the Walkup Center, Tsankawi, Burnt Mesa and Tyuonyi Overlook (the latter 3 in Bandelier National Monument). It's good that these are open but I viscerally miss hiking Pajarito Mountain!
The monsoon has been happening more reliably in Los Alamos lately. Not so much at our house since we're further from the mountains but at least it's been cooler inside the past two evenings. I love the cloud cover! It's odd, though, that so far there hasn't been much lightning with the rain. But that's good because we don't need another wildfire!
I noticed on Kwage Mesa that the drought has stunted the New Mexico locusts which is welcome. That's the only good feature but can think of tremendously long list of bad! No wonder the ancient puebloan Indians moved to the Rio Grande when drought struck the Pajarito Plateau during their time! Living in the Pacific Northwest is sounding better to me all the time!
This is what's open: White Rock Canyon Rim Trail, Bayo Canyon, Pueblo Canyon, Kwage Mesa, Canyon Rim Trail, Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail, Quemazon Nature Trail, section of North Perimeter Trail from Mitchell trailhead to just north of Quemazon Community, the trails behind the Walkup Center, Tsankawi, Burnt Mesa and Tyuonyi Overlook (the latter 3 in Bandelier National Monument). It's good that these are open but I viscerally miss hiking Pajarito Mountain!
Stultified
Thoughts I had the whilst walking on Canyon Road one weekend night, listening to South by Southwest's Deep in the West, a magical waltz song, on their Deep in the West CD: Wouldn't it be lovely to have a man to waltz with under the full moon? I once was very interested in learning how to dance, both ballroom and folk dance. I enjoyed the music and movement immensely although I never became an expert. Somehow, that weekend night, it just seemed like a wonderful idea to waltz under the moonlight. As it was, just walking while listening to the beautiful music of South by Southwest intoxicated me and, yes, I shamelessly sang along! Then, to top off all my longing, as I approached home, I saw a man and dog slip across the Main Hill Road to walk the Canyon Rim Trail in the moonlight and I wished so much then that at least if I didn't have a man who would waltz with me in the moonlight that I'd have one who'd walk with me in the moonlight!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Frustrated by Evacuation
Sunday, June 26, 2011, sometime between noon-1 pm (I don't remember the exact time), walked to Los Alamos airport and on the way back, thought I saw a few straggly wisps of smoke rise up in the distance. Since I saw no distinct smoke plume, I convinced myself that it was only dust stirred up by the high winds. After briefly stopping at home, I continued walking to Mesa Public Library on the Pueblo Canyon Rim trail behind East Park. When I got up to the Walkup Center, just before 2 pm, I was astounded to see a well-developed, towering plume of smoke south of the ridge above Water Canyon.
One of the librarians found the newly developed wildfire quite ominous because it reminded her of the 2000 Cerro Grande fire. She was very worried about having to evacuate 2 dogs by herself because her husband was out of town attending to his dying father. In my naivete, I thought that another evacuation would be highly unlikely. On the walk back home, I kept looking to the southwest. The smoke filled the southern half of the sky with blue skies to the north. The sunlight had an orange cast to it. I was surprised by how quickly the fire was growing but I shouldn't have been since our mountains are tinderbox dry. In the evening, we could smell the smoke so we closed our windows even though it was very hot outside.
When it was dark, we could see flames to the the southwest. (Later we learned we were looking at the area of Sawyer Hill and Ponderosa Campground burning.) Other neighbors were also out watching the flames. On KRSN, we heard that a voluntary evacuation was ordered. We could see a lot of traffic, including horse trailers, driving down the Main Hill Road (NM502), leaving town. Husband kept insisting that we pack up and leave that night but I felt that since both our night vision is impaired, we should wait until the next day, especially since a mandatory evacuation order hadn't been issued yet. Our next door neighbors who are both in their 80's were helped by their son to evacuate to Espanola. We realized that inevitably we'd have to evacuate again, just like we did 11 years ago for the Cerro Grande fire so we started to pack. I stayed up until around 1 am and then went to bed but couldn't fall asleep until sometime after 3 pm.
The smoke wasn't any better the next day. It was now moving to the north and ash was falling. Our next door neighbors had returned to get some items they had forgotten. I asked if they needed any help carrying anything out but he reassured me that he didn't. Throughout the morning, I had packed more but didn't do the last minute packing (toiletries and some food from the refrigerator) until the mandatory evacuation order, which we heard on KRSN, was issued Monday, June 27, at 2 pm. (Residents were to be notified by reverse 911. From Albuquerque, we checked our phone messages to see if we received the reverse 911 phone call but we didn't. Must notify Phil Taylor, Emergency Management Coordinator, about this.)
We were to leave in stages, our neighborhood last, but since we were mostly packed and live at the most eastern edge of town, we left within a half hour, each driving our car. We stopped at a friend's house in Santa Fe to leave one of the cars and drove the other to a hotel in Albuquerque. It wasn't until that evening in the Fairfield Inn that we both realized we could have packed all our photos and slides in the trunk of the car to be parked in Santa Fe rather than leaving them at home to possibly burn up a lifetime of memories. I remember we packed all the memorabilia and my genealogy research when we evacuated for Cerro Grande. We were gone for 10 days and I got so anxious about all that being stored in the trunk of our car while we stayed in Albuquerque. I didn't really think anything would burn this time since it seemed they were evacuating us more because of the air quality and to keep us out of the way of the firefighters. Luckily, no houses burned in Los Alamos during the Las Conchas fire.
[I started this on July 1 while we were evacuated in Albuquerque but never finished it. I'm posting it unfinished. It's old news now. I haven't had any time recently to post anything. My sister's planned visit started on July 5, 2 days after we got back home on July 3, so I've been busy. She flew back home July 12 but since then, I've been busily catching up with my life.]
One of the librarians found the newly developed wildfire quite ominous because it reminded her of the 2000 Cerro Grande fire. She was very worried about having to evacuate 2 dogs by herself because her husband was out of town attending to his dying father. In my naivete, I thought that another evacuation would be highly unlikely. On the walk back home, I kept looking to the southwest. The smoke filled the southern half of the sky with blue skies to the north. The sunlight had an orange cast to it. I was surprised by how quickly the fire was growing but I shouldn't have been since our mountains are tinderbox dry. In the evening, we could smell the smoke so we closed our windows even though it was very hot outside.
When it was dark, we could see flames to the the southwest. (Later we learned we were looking at the area of Sawyer Hill and Ponderosa Campground burning.) Other neighbors were also out watching the flames. On KRSN, we heard that a voluntary evacuation was ordered. We could see a lot of traffic, including horse trailers, driving down the Main Hill Road (NM502), leaving town. Husband kept insisting that we pack up and leave that night but I felt that since both our night vision is impaired, we should wait until the next day, especially since a mandatory evacuation order hadn't been issued yet. Our next door neighbors who are both in their 80's were helped by their son to evacuate to Espanola. We realized that inevitably we'd have to evacuate again, just like we did 11 years ago for the Cerro Grande fire so we started to pack. I stayed up until around 1 am and then went to bed but couldn't fall asleep until sometime after 3 pm.
The smoke wasn't any better the next day. It was now moving to the north and ash was falling. Our next door neighbors had returned to get some items they had forgotten. I asked if they needed any help carrying anything out but he reassured me that he didn't. Throughout the morning, I had packed more but didn't do the last minute packing (toiletries and some food from the refrigerator) until the mandatory evacuation order, which we heard on KRSN, was issued Monday, June 27, at 2 pm. (Residents were to be notified by reverse 911. From Albuquerque, we checked our phone messages to see if we received the reverse 911 phone call but we didn't. Must notify Phil Taylor, Emergency Management Coordinator, about this.)
We were to leave in stages, our neighborhood last, but since we were mostly packed and live at the most eastern edge of town, we left within a half hour, each driving our car. We stopped at a friend's house in Santa Fe to leave one of the cars and drove the other to a hotel in Albuquerque. It wasn't until that evening in the Fairfield Inn that we both realized we could have packed all our photos and slides in the trunk of the car to be parked in Santa Fe rather than leaving them at home to possibly burn up a lifetime of memories. I remember we packed all the memorabilia and my genealogy research when we evacuated for Cerro Grande. We were gone for 10 days and I got so anxious about all that being stored in the trunk of our car while we stayed in Albuquerque. I didn't really think anything would burn this time since it seemed they were evacuating us more because of the air quality and to keep us out of the way of the firefighters. Luckily, no houses burned in Los Alamos during the Las Conchas fire.
[I started this on July 1 while we were evacuated in Albuquerque but never finished it. I'm posting it unfinished. It's old news now. I haven't had any time recently to post anything. My sister's planned visit started on July 5, 2 days after we got back home on July 3, so I've been busy. She flew back home July 12 but since then, I've been busily catching up with my life.]
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Del Norte to Medio Dia to Bland Canyons
Yesterday's WI hike was especially interesting because we went to an area in the Jemez Mountains I've long wanted to explore but couldn't because I didn't want to drive my sedan in on the gravel roads. Our driver drove her SUV about 12 miles total on gravel roads starting from NM4 and FR289 to FR36 to FR286 to FR268 to Del Norte Canyon. The .8 mile from the junction of FR286 and 268 (why'd they make it so confusing?) was the roughest part of the road.
Where we parked in Del Norte Canyon, it is wide, stunning and emerald green, even during our horrible drought. Most wouldn't think it stunning because it's not on the order of the Grand Canyon but it was so peaceful and inviting with its grassy meadow and the surrounding heavily treed ridges. Canyons like that make me swoon!
From Del Norte Canyon's meadow, we walked uphill on a very eroded trail (more like a shallow ditch) through the forest to a wide, dirt road. We walked the briefest distance in the talcum powder dust of that road and then turned left onto a grassy road through the woods. We turned right off that at a tree that has the remains of a 1" thick twisted metal cable attached to it. Then, along a contour line, we followed a very nondescript trail to a Santa Fe National Forest boundary sign nailed to a tree where we picked up a trail going downhill into Medio Dia Canyon. We had been walking on private land but there were no fences and no signs prohibiting our walking there.
At one point on our downhill trek, we encountered a large fallen log and the group split with a few of us following a trail on one side of the log and the majority following a trail on the other. It turns out that both trails go to Medio Dia Canyon but the one the majority took was the better one (and was the one we took on the way back). Even though the other fork started out looking like a very good trail, it deteriorated into a terribly steep, narrow, eroded ramp at the bottom. Guess who took that one in her road running shoes because she has no real hiking boots now!
This part of Medio Dia Canyon also entranced me with its wide, grassy expanse. At the start of the hike, there were 20 of us and 3 dogs. At Medio Dia Canyon, the group split into two with 5 of us continuing up Horn Mesa, into Bland Canyon and over to Bruce Place where we had lunch. Bruce Place is the site of a former homestead. Where we sat in the shade, we saw some kind of metal debris left from the homestead era. Before we left, I stood at the edge of the meadow where the homestead was and imagined the vitality of the people who had lived here.
When we got back to Medio Dia Canyon and checked on the other hikers who had gone up to the pond and the Smith cabin (another homestead site and where the group saw a mallard duck at lunch!), we found a note saying that they had all gone back. All told, we 5 had done nearly 5 miles and a little over 1,300' elevation gain.
But, back at our driver's car, we found all but one hiker had gone back. She is a tiny woman about the size and weight of a ten year old. Now we had one more person than we had car seats but, no problem! This diminutive powerhouse of a woman, who weighs 89 pounds, sat on her husband's lap for the drive back to our cars. Yes, they both were seat-belted together! It was so cute!! Ha - the day I sit on my husband's lap is the day he dies since I weigh a tad more than that woman and chances are I'd crush him!!
Where we parked in Del Norte Canyon, it is wide, stunning and emerald green, even during our horrible drought. Most wouldn't think it stunning because it's not on the order of the Grand Canyon but it was so peaceful and inviting with its grassy meadow and the surrounding heavily treed ridges. Canyons like that make me swoon!
From Del Norte Canyon's meadow, we walked uphill on a very eroded trail (more like a shallow ditch) through the forest to a wide, dirt road. We walked the briefest distance in the talcum powder dust of that road and then turned left onto a grassy road through the woods. We turned right off that at a tree that has the remains of a 1" thick twisted metal cable attached to it. Then, along a contour line, we followed a very nondescript trail to a Santa Fe National Forest boundary sign nailed to a tree where we picked up a trail going downhill into Medio Dia Canyon. We had been walking on private land but there were no fences and no signs prohibiting our walking there.
At one point on our downhill trek, we encountered a large fallen log and the group split with a few of us following a trail on one side of the log and the majority following a trail on the other. It turns out that both trails go to Medio Dia Canyon but the one the majority took was the better one (and was the one we took on the way back). Even though the other fork started out looking like a very good trail, it deteriorated into a terribly steep, narrow, eroded ramp at the bottom. Guess who took that one in her road running shoes because she has no real hiking boots now!
This part of Medio Dia Canyon also entranced me with its wide, grassy expanse. At the start of the hike, there were 20 of us and 3 dogs. At Medio Dia Canyon, the group split into two with 5 of us continuing up Horn Mesa, into Bland Canyon and over to Bruce Place where we had lunch. Bruce Place is the site of a former homestead. Where we sat in the shade, we saw some kind of metal debris left from the homestead era. Before we left, I stood at the edge of the meadow where the homestead was and imagined the vitality of the people who had lived here.
When we got back to Medio Dia Canyon and checked on the other hikers who had gone up to the pond and the Smith cabin (another homestead site and where the group saw a mallard duck at lunch!), we found a note saying that they had all gone back. All told, we 5 had done nearly 5 miles and a little over 1,300' elevation gain.
But, back at our driver's car, we found all but one hiker had gone back. She is a tiny woman about the size and weight of a ten year old. Now we had one more person than we had car seats but, no problem! This diminutive powerhouse of a woman, who weighs 89 pounds, sat on her husband's lap for the drive back to our cars. Yes, they both were seat-belted together! It was so cute!! Ha - the day I sit on my husband's lap is the day he dies since I weigh a tad more than that woman and chances are I'd crush him!!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Bear Was a Blur!
So you think you can outrun a bear? Please don't ever try it! Today while I walked on the Cañada Bonita Trail, I suddenly heard noises ahead of me and looked up just in time to see what I'm sure was a bear running across the trail. I write "what I'm sure" because it was going so fast that it was more a blur than a bear but it was lower than a deer and bigger in the butt and didn't bound like a deer. It tore across the trail and crashed through the forest, hastily going downhill to the lower trail. I missed a real opportunity because I didn't think to check for its tracks until on the way back; then, I didn't really know the exact spot to look and, besides, there were shadows across the trail. I'm sure, though, that it was a bear and I'm definitely happy that its only interest in me was getting out of Dodge as fast as possible!
The breezes in Cañada Bonita meadow were refreshing. Wild irises are blooming in the meadow. Lots of huge, yellow and black swallowtail butterflies were enjoying the irises.
The breezes in Cañada Bonita meadow were refreshing. Wild irises are blooming in the meadow. Lots of huge, yellow and black swallowtail butterflies were enjoying the irises.
Perimeter Trail-Rendija Trail
This weekend, whilst spouse slaved away on the course he's teaching, I walked the Perimeter Trail starting from the Mitchell trailhead and going over to Rendija Narrows where the Rendija Trail begins.
I felt like Superman on the way out since it's mostly downhill. I congratulated myself for being inured to the heat. But...on the way back...the 4 hills...ground me down...I felt ready to be interred.
I took photos of the powerful man's construction yard from the trail - unsightly - and also of the concrete barriers that he's thrown up alongside FR442 - what is that man up to? I took a long shot of the Ponderosa Estates mansions - over half a million each! They should have made that beautiful, wooded area into a county park.
I also took photos of Brad's grave, marked by rather a rustic cross with various memorabilia strewn at the base, at the east end of Guaje Pine Cemetery. I have no idea who Brad is.
It was windy and hot. The grass is still in its golden raiment of winter because we haven't had enough rain to make it green. I have to waste a lot of water on our spruce tree in our front yard (dumb idea to plant a spruce tree in the dry ponderosa forest biome) to stave off the impending invasion of tussock moths that want to eat the tree.
I felt like Superman on the way out since it's mostly downhill. I congratulated myself for being inured to the heat. But...on the way back...the 4 hills...ground me down...I felt ready to be interred.
I took photos of the powerful man's construction yard from the trail - unsightly - and also of the concrete barriers that he's thrown up alongside FR442 - what is that man up to? I took a long shot of the Ponderosa Estates mansions - over half a million each! They should have made that beautiful, wooded area into a county park.
I also took photos of Brad's grave, marked by rather a rustic cross with various memorabilia strewn at the base, at the east end of Guaje Pine Cemetery. I have no idea who Brad is.
It was windy and hot. The grass is still in its golden raiment of winter because we haven't had enough rain to make it green. I have to waste a lot of water on our spruce tree in our front yard (dumb idea to plant a spruce tree in the dry ponderosa forest biome) to stave off the impending invasion of tussock moths that want to eat the tree.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Unfollowed Trail of the Gangling Fawn
Walking up FR181, from the twin water tanks off West Jemez Road (NM501), to where the road finally tops out, I spotted a tall rock cairn on the left that marked an obvious trail. I didn't remember ever following that trail so I did. It follows the rim of upper Water Canyon and the views from into the 3 branches of upper Water Canyon are fabulous! I could look over to Red-Tailed Hawk Point which is above the meadow where Water Canyon splits in two - one branch going up to FR181 and the other going to the Water Canyon Gallery where there is a spring that the laboratory once used to supply water to S-Site.
Suddenly ahead of me on the trail was a gangly-legged fawn. It looked so fragile to be alone out there and I was moved by its vulnerability. I watched as it toddled off the trail over to some dead logs and grass clumps in a slight depression. It laid itself down and I saw it no more. I wanted to walk over to see it again because it was such a fascinating, tiny creature but that would have only frightened it once more and forced it to move further exposing it to predation.
The trail dead-ended at an old logging road that someone had marked with rock cairns on either side. I followed that road back to FR181 and continued walking for a while.
On the way back down, I met the Mountain Canine Corps search and rescue woman walking uphill with her big hound dog Clancy. I asked if he would be gentle if he saw the fawn and she assured me he would. They planned to walk up to the Perimeter Trail and then back down to the twin water tanks on a rough, steep trail. That woman loves to wander just as much as I do but she at least has a companion. Some of her hikes provide training for Clancy. She hides and its Clancy's job to find her. She most likely enlists the help of another person to pull this off.
Suddenly ahead of me on the trail was a gangly-legged fawn. It looked so fragile to be alone out there and I was moved by its vulnerability. I watched as it toddled off the trail over to some dead logs and grass clumps in a slight depression. It laid itself down and I saw it no more. I wanted to walk over to see it again because it was such a fascinating, tiny creature but that would have only frightened it once more and forced it to move further exposing it to predation.
The trail dead-ended at an old logging road that someone had marked with rock cairns on either side. I followed that road back to FR181 and continued walking for a while.
On the way back down, I met the Mountain Canine Corps search and rescue woman walking uphill with her big hound dog Clancy. I asked if he would be gentle if he saw the fawn and she assured me he would. They planned to walk up to the Perimeter Trail and then back down to the twin water tanks on a rough, steep trail. That woman loves to wander just as much as I do but she at least has a companion. Some of her hikes provide training for Clancy. She hides and its Clancy's job to find her. She most likely enlists the help of another person to pull this off.
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