Section 1 Rim Trail

Blooming now on our property

Dr. K, Becca and I headed up to Cloudcroft to dump garbage and do an early morning hike on the first section of the Rim Trail, T-105.  We ran into one mountain biker on the outward leg, but on the way in the trail was more crowded.  We crossed paths with ten hikers and three mountain bikers.  After our trek we stopped at Family Dollar in the village to buy some supplies.  On the way down the mountain I smelled a pungent odor, saw the temperature gauge on the Jeep climb higher than usual, and worried about the coolant system.  Sure enough, when I checked the fluid level in the antifreeze reservoir it was down drastically.  We've developed a leak in the system, something we'll need to rectify quickly.  Won't be able to get anything done until Monday, though, when we can take the vehicle down to Alamogordo.  As you might imagine auto repair shops in the High Rolls/Mountain Park area are nonexistent.

American Robin

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Same Northern Flicker

Northern Flicker left and a Scrub Jay took its place

Just past the Slide Picnic area on the Rim Trail

Old Quaking Aspens

White Sands National Monument from the Rim Trail, T-105

Clinging to the Rim Trail

Spectacular views from the first section of the Rim Trail

Becca loving the high country

In the tall pines

One of many observatories in the Sacramento Mountains

Not a flake of snow on Sierra Blanca (elevation 11,981 feet)

Heading back

New signage on the Rim Trail

Leafy Aster (Symphyotrichum Foliaceum) at 9,000 feet

Old blaze on an elderly pine tree

Sign at the start of Section 1

View down Haynes Canyon from 9,000 feet