| |
| Hikers: |
Amanda Bosco, Bruce Bosco, Paula Cheslik, Chuck Parsons, Ted Tenny |
| Leader: | Beth Baumert |
| Length: | 9 miles |
South Spruce Ridge, here we come!
|
We climbed up to the watchtower.
We were blessed with a beautiful, sunny day for this hike, with a
deep blue sky and warm temperatures. After Chuck and Ted took group
photographs, we started up the trail, heading clockwise, into the
lovely green forest. We proceeded past granite boulders covered with
lichen and breathed in the scent of pine trees. It was heavenly to
walk in the shade of those trees and to catch occasional glimpses of
Granite Mountain and the Prescott Valley to the left and the
surrounding peaks to the right. The scenery was breathtaking, and
the ascent up the switchbacks also tends to take one’s breath away.
Unfortunately, more areas than usual were cleared due to trees that
had succumbed to the pine bark and engraver beetles. Nevertheless,
we were still surrounded by a great proliferation of juniper,
spruce, and Ponderosa pine trees. There are quite a few deciduous
trees as well, and this hike is very pretty when the leaves are
changing color. They had just started to do so for this hike, with
some great splashes of bright yellow on the trail.
|
A large profusion of ladybugs.
When we reached the top of the mountain, at 7693 feet, we met
several troops of Boy Scouts who were using heliograph mirrors to
signal other troops located on Mt. Humphreys, Four Peaks, and other
locations in Arizona. We settled at a picnic table for lunch, and
then we climbed up to the watchtower for a spectacular view of the
valley below. One could see Sedona and the San Francisco Peaks from
there.
The rocks were covered with bright orange, yellow, and green
lichen, as well as a large profusion of ladybugs.
Ted took some excellent pictures of them.
As we started our descent on the other side of the mountain, we
saw a deer chomping away, undisturbed by our passing. Some of the
trees were covered with moss. We proceeded back down the mountain,
past the helicopter landing area, and saw water in the creek,
sparkling in the sunshine. The breeze kept us cool as we traversed
the trail back to the cars. It was hard to leave that beautiful
area.
|
|
Top of Page