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Aspen Creek Wilderness II

9/21/2018

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Just a few more pics of our backcountry camping trip near the Mt. Baldy wilderness.  The following photos were taken during a 4 mile circular hike I took during our 2nd week.
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     Poor Cricket! During this hike I left her back at camp, and Don called me on the walkie-talkie to tell me she was throwing a fit since she saw me cross the meadow.....without her.  After an hour, Don called me again and said she still hadn't settled down and was actually chewing on her cable.  I was a good 1.5 miles away from camp, and Don was teasing me that I was inflicting "emotional distress" on HIS dog because I left her behind.  LOL!  So I gave in and I told him to cut her loose and let her fly. 

     Now we had been working with her since she was a puppy to track me, by playing little games of hide and seek with her.  Since I don't follow established trails, I knew this was going to be a real test of her tracking skills. After 5 minutes, I still hadn't seen her, so I called out several times, hoping she would focus in on my location.  Then I spotted her, pronking in the air like an antelope, trying to get a better view of things over the tall grass.  She always gets so excited when she finds me!  After that, I took a long break and sat down on a log, and shared my jerky with her. We sat there for quite awhile listening to the sounds of the forest and the gentle quaking of the Aspens!

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Cricket had been up and down this slope 20 times, as I tried to follow an elk path to the top of the ridge! Come on mom! What's taking you so long to get to the top?!
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Absolutely one of the more colorful birds we saw, a Western Tanager!  The bright beautiful colors of this bird just blew me away!
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     The following is a video of Don doing an exploratory hike with little Cricket at his side.  He likes to scout out potential campsites during his hikes.  We were thinking about moving to another area for a different view during our 2nd week, but decided against it during this trip.  So glad we didn't move, because we probably would have missed the antelopes we spotted during week 2!
    
The following video shows one of several antelopes we spotted during this trip. He was the last one up the hill, and it looks like he stopped to rub his horns on a bush! 


     One morning I got up kinda early, just before dawn because I wanted to see if any elk were using the small hidden meadow to the north of camp as a place to bed down for the night.  I had explored this meadow on previous trips and had found patches of crushed grass, so I knew it was used by the elk in the area.

    As I walked along the trail near the top of the ridge, I rounded a rocky outcropping and surprised a small bobcat, who was chewing on what looked to be the remains of a chipmunk.  As soon as she spotted me, she took on off up the slope.  The whole encounter lasted just a few seconds, but still it was so exciting!  I absolutely live for these rare glimpses of wildlife in the wilderness! I went back to the area later in the day when the lighting was better, to see if I could find any tracks the bobcat might have left, but the terrain was too rocky.

The following is a pic of the slope where I interrupted the bobcat having breakfast!

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     Aspen Creek is such an awesome place to experience nature in its full glory, and its remoteness is what really appeals to me!  Its one of those special places that takes your breath away upon discovery!  Something about the rugged wildness of the terrain that makes me feel like I have ventured into the lost lands of Middle Earth as depicted in the Lord of the Rings!  I am  already  really looking forward to next year's trip!
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Aspen Creek Wilderness I

9/18/2018

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     Just got back from an awesome camping trip to our favorite backcountry campsite near the Mt. Baldy Wilderness.  After spending 2 weeks in paradise it was hard to come back home.  We found the secluded little alpine meadow several years ago, and fell in love with the area.  Since then we try to make it back every year. This is the one camping trip I really look forward to because there is so much to see and explore!  

     For those who love to watch for wildlife, you will not find a better place in the White mountains of Arizona.  We have spotted large herds of elk, pronghorn antelope, whitetail, coyote, bobcat, foxes, turkey, redtail hawks, great horned owls, and lots of cute little chipmunks.  One of the best things about this spot is its remoteness, and the awesome feelings of peace and tranquility one gets from being in total isolation from civilization. Nothing is better for the soul, than exploring the Wilderness!


View from camp overlooking the meadow!  Didn't spot a single soul during our stay!
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Part of the cliffs just below camp, where we have seen bats emerging from deep cracks between the rocks at dusk.
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I love this shot, if only because I waited for the better part of 2 hours for a chipmunk to appear!  Unfortunately the chipmunks weren't cooperating at the time. Sometimes you get the shot and sometimes you don't!  Got to love it, though! LOL!
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Finally! Not a perfect shot, but it will do!
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     Don was complaining that I don't post enough pics of our dogs, so I will try to do better in the future.  Anyway, Breezy and Cricket had just treed a squirrel when these pics were taken. Being schnauzers, they are absolutely obsessed with hunting small rodents, lizards, and just about anything that moves. They would have stayed there all day looking up at that tree if we had let them, so after a couple of minutes, we tied both of them to trees on the opposite side of camp to allow the squirrel a safe escape route!  After about 15 minutes of chattering and tail flicking, the little fella climbed down and ran up the hill towards the back of camp!
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Beautiful thick grove of Aspens at the back of our camp was a great windbreak! Loved listening to the gentle quaking of the leaves when soft breezes blew through! So magical, almost as if the trees were talking to one another.
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I couldn't get over how thick the trunk was on this perfect Aspen specimen, compared to its neighbors! 
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The following is a short video of small herd of elk we spotted in the early morning hours on day 4 as we were enjoying our first cup of coffee!  That's little Breezy barking in the background!  Every couple of days, we were lucky enough to spot elk grazing in this pristine meadow! Such an awesome place!

The following video, taken from a couple of years ago will give you an idea of the sheer numbers of elk we have seen in the area.

Another view from the top of the cliffs near camp!

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The little stream running below camp was dry when we first arrived, but was running full after a storm blew through on day 3.  With the exception of one rather wet 24 hour period, we enjoyed beautiful weather for the remainder of our stay!
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The following is a pan from the southern end of the meadow looking north.

It can get a little nippy at night, but you can't beat the sunsets!  Will be posting more about this amazing wilderness area in the near future!
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Elk Country Reopens!

7/20/2018

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      I am so excited!  It looks like our Arizona camping trip is back on!  We had planned to visit Elk Country in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in late summer, but large portions of the forest was closed this spring due to wildfire restrictions that were in effect until December 2018. 

      With the arrival of the monsoons, Tonto National Forest had opened back up on July 11, and I had been checking to see if Apache-Sitgreaves would do the same. So glad to hear they have finally lifted the Fire Closure Orders this past week!  Can't wait to see the majestic herds  of elk we have spotted on past trips to the area!


The monsoons have arrived in Arizona, and the National Forests that were closed are now back open!
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Prime Elk habitat -Tonto National Forest as seen from the top of the Mogollon Rim and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest!
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Two large bulls we spotted in the early morning hours near our favorite camping spot in the backcountry.

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The following is a short video I took of a super herd of elk.  It was such a joy to watch the calves frolic in the isolated meadow below camp!  This is one of the major reasons Don and I hike several miles into remote wilderness areas far from civilization.  - glimpses of wildlife in their natural habitat!  You're not going to see this at established campgrounds!

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Colorado Backcountry

6/15/2018

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    The following pics are from a recent 10 day camping trip to the beautiful backcountry of the San Juan National Forest in Colorado.  Our timing could not have been better, because not long after our trip, the whole forest was closed because of a wildfire just north of Durango!

     Don had been telling me about this area for years, as it was always one of his favorite spots to go camping because it is so isolated, and still has that pristine wilderness feel to it. Don knew I would love the area because I absolutely live for exploring places that are no where near established hiking trails.

     Took us nearly a day and a half of hiking off-trail to get to our campsite. I am such a slow hiker, and Don is so patient to put up with my frequent rest breaks!   Don estimated  it was a little over 4.5 miles as the crow flies from the trail head near Kennebec Pass.  Once we started cutting cross country, we saw no one for the rest of our trip, as most thru hikers stick to the Junction Creek loop portion of the Colorado Trail. 

     At a little over 13,000 feet, I would rate the route we took as moderately difficult as we climbed over 2 fairly steep ridges to get to the secluded little mountain meadow.  We let Rocket and Cricket off leash after about ½ mile in because there was a zero chance we would run across other hikers.


Last view of the La Plata mountain range and Kennebec Pass before heading over the first ridge into the back country.
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The following is a picture of the area where we pitched our tent on the first night before hiking further into the back country.

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Lots of wildflowers were in full bloom, including this delicate looking specimen of Love-in-a-Mist (nigella). Absolutely  love the fennel-like foliage!
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Although not as big as Scottish Thistle,  there is just something majestic about Bull Thistle with its purple crown!
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Little Breezy totally tuckered out after our first day of hiking!
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     On our 2nd day, it didn't take us long to pack up camp, before heading out on the final stretch to our destination, which we have given the nickname of Bear Meadow, for reasons explained below. We finally reached the meadow at just past 1:30, and Don’s description of the area did not disappoint.

     It was one of those rare places that takes your breath away upon discovery.  There was a perfect ledge to pitch camp just above a stream, with awesome views of the meadow below.  It reminded me a little bit of our camping spot at Aspen Creek, except more bears and not so many chipmunks! 

     As we prepared to cross the first riverbed, I had sat down  on the bank to put on my webbed deck slippers to keep my boots and socks from getting soaked. Suddenly Don  grabs my shoulder and says, “Honey, you might want to wait before you take your boots off…..look! ”

     I had to stand up before I saw what he was pointing at - a fairly large Black Bear grazing in the meadow.  Suddenly Rocket’s big booming bark broke the silence as she finally spotted the bear, alerting the other dogs to it’s presence. Total chaos was averted as Don immediately grabbed Cricket and Rocket and put them on the leash splitter to keep them from running off after the bear.  With both of them pulling it took all of Don's strength to hold onto the leash. 

     The bear looked in our direction, sniffed the air, and then slowly made his way up over the pass just left of the ledge where we set up camp.  We watched and waited several minutes before crossing the meadow just to make sure the bear didn’t come back! Very exciting! 

     We had another bear sighting the 2nd week during a short day hike exploring the area to the east of camp.  Just a  fleeting glimpse of it disappearing into a thick grove of pines.  I don't think it was the same one we had spotted in the meadow, because it looked smaller - probably a 2 year old cub. Also, at different times during our stay, Rocket would alert to something uphill from camp, and we figured that it may have been a bear scoping us out, as I did find some fresh bear scat near the top of the hill.


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     We set up our tent on the ledge just above the meadow, which was perfectly protected from the winds. During our stay, we had great weather, with just a couple of  days of a very light drizzle. 

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     Don bet me a steak dinner that he had spotted a yellow bellied sapsucker going up and down the trunk of a pine tree near camp, and I didn’t agree with him because the head coloration was wrong.  I wasn’t sure what it was, as I had never seen one before, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t a yellow bellied sapsucker, because they normally have more red on the top of their head. 

     So Don got out one of his bird guides, and before he told me what it was, he smiled and asked me if I would settle for a chicken dinner.  Turned out it was a rare Williamson's sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus) which is on the endangered species list.


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One of the best things about hiking in the backcountry is that blissful feeling, knowing you are miles away from civilization.  No other place I would rather be than exploring the wilderness!  Life is good!

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    Avid Hiker and Backpacker who loves to explore the wilderness!!

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