Mid-May Autumn

Looking back at the way we just came on the Osha Trail

Dr. K, Becca and I did one of our favorite high-mountain hikes this morning, spending nearly an hour and a half above 9,000 feet on the Osha Trail.  Unfortunately it felt like late autumn up there with the temperature in the mid-forties and really heavy winds.  However, we made it through without feeling overly battered by the gusts.  We saw two other outdoor enthusiasts on the trail, a hiker and a runner.  After our trek we headed up to Cloudcroft to dump some garbage and to stop at Family Dollar for some supplies.  A very satisfactory morning outing.

Dr. K is properly dressed for high wind and morning cold

View across Mexican Canyon to the Tularosa Basin

I believe this is a female Black-headed Grosbeak

B&W experiment

Becca's not cold, but Dr. K is

Leading the way

Mexican cancer-root (Conopholis alpina var. mexicana)

Somebody lost their ball cap

Believe it or not we found this ball cap on the Osha Trail

Headed clockwise on the Osha Trail

Plenty of sunlight through green leaves

Caterpillar tent

Closer look at the tent and some inhabitants

Looks like a wormy sock

Mature tent caterpillars exiting their tent

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)

Western Tanager

Dead-branch moon

Chokecherry

White Sands National Monument from 9,000 feet

Leading the way around the mountain

Probably bowed young under heavy snow

This is the snowiest side of the mountain

Bow down in obeisance

Dr. K making her way around the bend

Bark Beetle scrimshaw on a dead tree

Happy to lead the pack

Becca loves the Osha Trail

About to make a sharp right turn

Becca in a meadow

Leisurely trek through a meadow

Small meadow in the Sacramento Mountains

Large meadow opposite a trail maker

Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi)

What is this?

Carried away on cairn-making

Virginia Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

Steep section of the Osha Trail