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Saturday, May 20, 2017

Clinging to the Rim

Haynes Canyon early morning
This morning Dr. K, Becca and I drove up to Cloudcroft to dump a bag of garbage before driving over to the first section of the Rim Trail to do a nearly two-hour trek.  Not surprisingly, on a beautiful day in the high country, we ran into other outdoor enthusiasts, including five dirt bikers whose machines were making a racket in the mountains.  They were nice guys, though; we bumped into them at the trailhead when we finished our hike.  We ran into a woman hiking with a bulldog, and then, later, a small group of people with a heeler-type dog.  All dogs got along just fine.  After our trek we went back to Cloudcroft to pick up some supplies at the Family Dollar store.  The village was packed.  It looked to be graduation day for Cloudcroft High School.  It was a good outing for us--excellent exercise above 9,000 feet.
Sacramento Mountains near High Rolls/Mountain Park

Commanding view of the Commander

Our pumphouse and water tank

Waiting for her buddies

Sign at the trailhead of the Rim Trail's first section

Large meadow beyond the group campground

Just getting going

Groundcone (Conopholis alpina var. mexicana)

Two happy hikers

Long shadows across the Rim Trail

?

Down a slope on the Rim Trail

White Sands in the distance

Dr. K taking a shot of Becca

A real sense of the rim

About to bend back into the forest

Old-timey marker

Becca leading the way

View of White Sands from the Rim Trail

Huge pine

A real logjam

A Flicker, but which type?

Northern Flicker, adult female

Same Northern Flicker

Venturing ahead

Black-headed Grosbeak

Black-headed Grosbeak from the rear

Mountain Short-horned Lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi)

Sierra Blanca Peak (11,982 feet)

Sierra Blanca Peak

Sierra Blanca Peak

White Sands from 9,000 feet

White Sands again

Becca on the Rim Trail

Mountain Parsley

Mothra

Chokecherry

Way ahead of the pack

1 comment:

Dr. K said...

We always see those small horned lizards on this part of the Rim Trail. In addition to the people you mentioned, we also saw a large group of campers at the campground adjacent to this part of the trail. They were a quiet bunch, fortunately.

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