High Altitude Hike

These beauties were blooming all over at the head of the Osha Trail

We did the Osha Trail this morning despite knowing it would probably be pretty muddy from recent storms.  It wasn't as bad as we'd imagined, though, and we did the entire loop with only a modest amount of mud clinging to our boots.  Becca's paws got quite filthy, however, as she's a dog and quite non-discriminating about where she plants her feet.  Hers were the only paws that had to be washed off when we got home after stopping at Family Dollar in Cloudcroft to pick up supplies; I also made a brief foray into the Western Bar package store to buy a six-pack of Bud Platinum to help slake my mountain-man thirst.

The first leg is a steep incline

The much-maligned Mullein

I'm sick of trying to ID yellow flowers :)

Leader of the pack

The village of Cloudcroft, New Mexico

High up in the Sacramento Mountains

White Sands from an elevated overlook

From here the trail curves right into the shaded side of the mountain

Down this-a-way

Through here

Trees bowed by heavy snow (I'm guessing)

Becca knows the way

The path is more overgrown

Is there a trail through here?

Breaking into a clearing

Small stand of young Aspens

Aspens

Skyrocket Gilia

Evening Primrose

Large meadow off the Osha Trail

Nodding Onion

Which way do we go?

Enjoying the high country

In the final stretch

Not far from the trailhead now