Long, Leisurely Hike

Just getting started on the Bridal Veil Falls Trail

Dr. K, Becca and I took a two-hour-twenty-minute hike on the Bridal Veil Falls Trail this morning and we saw absolutely no one else going or coming.  We had the entire place to ourselves, and we made the most of it.  I stopped to take numerous photographs (107) while Dr. K and Becca enjoyed the surroundings.  At the falls I did some exploring, climbing down a steep embankment and over and around small boulders to get to the base of the waterfall, which was running fairly forcefully despite the lack of rain over the past week or so.  The nice thing about the Bridal Veil Falls Trail and the Grand View Trail is that both trailheads--essentially across Fresnal Canyon Road from each other--are about a ten-minute drive from our place in the mountains.

A look into the Tularosa Basin

Old railroad trestle over Fresnal Creek

Fresnal Creek

Three-quarters of a mile in

Remember that red-dirt canyon in the center of this pic

Verbena

Virga over the basin

Sacramento Mountains Prickly Poppy

Closeup of the poppy's center

Getting ever nearer the falls

Cottonwoods going yellow on the banks of the creek

Rocky Mountains Zinnia

Apache Plume

Apache Plume

Ramada near Bridal Veil Falls

One of several pools below the falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Dr. K and Becca in the ramada

Indian Paintbrush growing alongside Soaptree Yucca

Barberry bollocks

Just starting back from the falls

Turpentine Bush flowering everywhere

The trail back leads through here

Big Juniper on a hill

Red-dirt canyon from  just above

Here we begin steeling ourselves for the climb back up the mountain

Headed up there

Just after the first steep ascent

A break to photograph the daisies

Even higher still

White Sands from the Bridal Veil Falls Trail

Cliff should see a dentist

Finally the CRV is in sight