Warm, almost hot, sunny day in the low 70s. So where to go but back up the mountain! We headed to a trail that would link us to the Round the Mountain Trail where we were yesterday. We figured we could keep adding to the trail segments and eventually see how much of it we could do.
Up the road to where the map indicated there would be a connector trail. We saw a pull off but no signs for a trail. We tried a quarter mile farther up and got out to see. No trail. Back to the first place. Hey, in the back of the one parking spot there was a trail! A mile up we connected with yesterdays trail. It didn’t take too long to reach our turn around place from yesterday. Back the other way we continued on the trail up farther and higher. Eventually the trail petered out and became hard to follow. Not from lack of seeing the footpath but no room to move amongst the trees! We’re only talking about 6’ trees, but plenty to mess with walking around. So called that good enough and came back down.
Back at the first place we parked to find a trail I looked up in the brush and realized something was looking at us, watching. I thought deer at first but then it wasn’t quite right. No big ears, not a big animal, but then there’s a big long tail! Mountain Lion? They exist out here but are very very scarce and elusive. Coatimundi? Yes! Two Coati were observing us. You’ll see what I got for photos, not very good, but sighting these guys, it doesn’t happen all the time. They are the first ones we’ve ever seen.
And then up at the highest elevation of the day Carlene finds a dried Earthstar mushroom, then another and another. I have never heard of them. She says we have a form of them at home, but I never heard of them.
Back at camp for the usual chair sitting while the sun sets over the mountain. With some homemade guacamole.
Do you have an App that you can make wave points on so you know where you have been each time you go there ? We use one here for the boys for their blinds and stands.
ReplyDeleteThat thing looks like it should be in the Amazon.
We got into the mid 20’s yesterday.
Our favorite hike map app is Topo+. I put waypoints on it to show where I parked, where we turn around, various points of interest and then run the track program to show the actual route we used. Hiking a trail is straight forward but at times we go out cross country and having the route and origin is good. That also works best for hunting in new woods back home. Especially when I was in the big woods in Maine.
DeleteWay cool sighting the Coati.
ReplyDelete