Friday, April 9, 2021

Vista Viewpoint and Basin Trail - North Fork of Cave Creek - April 6, 2021

Vista Viewpoint and Basin Trail - North Fork of Cave Creek - April 6, 2021


Our last day of hiking, as we leave tomorrow to return to Tucson.  


We started with a short hike up to the Vista Viewpoint for Cathedral Rock.  We parked in the parking lot only to be reprimanded for scaring away a flock of wild turkeys that a couple was trying to photograph.  Birders can be a bit irritating (and rude) ...









The hike was short and the view of Cathedral Rock was sweet.  Paul got a fantastic panoramic shot of the Cave Creek Canyon ... and a sweet picture of his “girls” ...



Next up was a return to Herb Martyr Campground to head out on the Basin Trail up the north fork of Cave Creek and deeper into the Chiricahua Mountains.  The first half mile of the trail was under cover of oaks and ambled along the North Fork, crossing in a few locations, giving Coco an opportunity to play in the water, chasing leaves and twigs, cooling herself off.  



The next half mile was increasingly steep and rocky through an area that had been burned out in a past fire.  We got up high enough to start entering the pine forest, but decided to turn around as Coco was getting hot (her black coat heats up quickly) and the trail was a bit steeper and rockier than she had experienced.  So, back down the trail we went ... we met no one on the trail.


We got back to Fritz as the wind was picking up ... now it is blowing with what feels like moderate or near gale force wind on the Beaufort Scale (7).  Bambi is rocking a bit with the force of the wind and we’re glad to have time in the protection of Bambi to read and collect our thoughts.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale



Tomorrow we are off in the morning ... back to Tucson. 



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