Portal, AZ - Rodeo, NM

Six hikers drove the bumpy, jarring, potholed, pitted, stony and rutted road to Long Park. Our excellent driver, Rolf, was not fazed. Once at Long Park we began our lovely raspberry/wildflower journey. Walking the Crest Trail we traveled to Fly Saddle (Five Points), Round Park, Cima Saddle and Cima Cabin. Several of us returned the same way while others detoured from Round Park up around Fly Peak to Centella RIdge and then down to Fly Saddle where we all met up again. In the end we all walked a little less or more than six miles.

Long Park was in fine form; clearly there has been some rain up high. Along the Crest Trail we were astonished by the height of some of the aspens that came up after the Horseshoe II Fire in 2011. 

Some of these trees are now more than 20 feet high and provide shady corridors in many places that were totally fried in 2011. It is really good to see this recovery and to experience some respite from the summer sun. If there is no shade, it can get warm even at 9000 feet.

At lunch time we arrived at Cima Cabin, built by the CCC in the 1930s and wrapped in foil so it didn’t burn in 2011. Here we found the camp of a Wild Arizona crew, led by our own Jonathan Patt. We did not see this group but we enjoyed our lunch at their very comfortable campsite. We got a few raindrops (very few) and we were skirted by a bear that seemed to pretend it didn’t know we were there, but we knew better. Wild Arizona, wherever you were, we are all very grateful for the work you do.

Elaine was often busy taking pictures of flowers and here are some of our favorites. The red star is Cardinal Catchfly (Silene laciniata), the yellow is Golden Coumbine (Aquilegia chrysantha), the blood red flower is my favorite, Thurber’s Cinquefoil (Potentilla thurberi), which is in the rose family, and the Hairstreak Butterfly is sitting on Western Sneezeweed (Hymenoxys hoopseii) 

We had a lot of overcast and the hiking temperature was just about perfect. Crest trail hikes are always favorites.

Next week we will meet at the Silver Peak Trailhead at 8:00 a.m. to carpool to Onion Saddle. Here we will start our hike out towards Shaw Peak, turning to walk down the Pinery-Horsefall Trail at the saddle, ending up in Pinery Canyon, where we will have a vehicle waiting for us. This six-mile hike has an uphill component at first, and then it is mostly downhill. It is at moderate elevation and we have gotten very wet at the end of this hike before. Bring the usual — hat, lunch, water, rain gear, sunscreen.

Happy Trails!

Report by Carol

Photos by Elaine, Carol and Mike