hiking

Appalachian Trail Angel – Ponytail Paul

Jeff

 

Ponytail Paul Trail Angel

Picture courtesy of a screen capture from REI’s video linked below

REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.), as part of the ->->Every-Trail-Connects<-<- series presents the video below about the Appalachian Trail and Ponytail Paul (Paul Stiffler) known to those he meets hiking through the woods as the Trail Angel. We all know how special the trail is, but his efforts make it that much more of a gift. Watch the video to find out why!

Quoted from the YouTube video website:

“Many people look to the outdoors to find peace of mind. For Paul Stiffler, better known as Ponytail Paul, the Appalachian Trail and its thru-hikers have been the therapeutic force needed to turn his life around. Paul has taken on a role as “Trail Angel” to help thru-hikers on their 2,186-mile journey and help himself find a new sense of purpose in the process.”

Fall Hike – West Fork of the Oak Creek, AZ – Pt. 3

Jeff

While hiking along the West Fork of the Oak Creek just outside of Sedona, AZ we came across this wall and cliff of fractured red rock highlighted by light and dark colors most likely from minerals in the rock and the effects of running water.

 

red rock cliff

Here’s a closer look. Trees grow along the overhanging shallow shelf above the cliff.

trees growing on the shallow shelf

Other walls along the trail had interesting colors and markings as well. This nearly black patch was highlighted by a stream of white reminiscent of a plume of smoke from a cigarette.

black patch on wall with smoke-like markings

We weren’t the only life form enjoying this brisk autumn stroll. A orange and black beetle was weaving in and out of the leaves and appears to be of the Nicrophorus defodiens species which enjoys eating fungus.

fungus eating beetle

A colorful leaf waiting for its close up and I obliged.

pretty red and gold leaf

On the return trip back to the trailhead, we revisited some of the previous sites this time lit with the afternoon sun.

red and white rocks in the afternoon sun

There were moments when the contrast of the dark and the light was stunning as with the golden-green leaves against the dark browns and grays of the trees

beautiful contrast of dark trees and light leaves

A bit disheartening are scenes like this where someone decided a tree branch needed to be adorned with and old sneaker or shoe.

old sneaker hanging over a tree branch

At the beginning of the trail, not too far from the trailhead, are the remnants of Mayhew Lodge that was opened in 1926. The lodge remained an active retreat until 1968 and is noted for attracting a number of celebrities such as President Herbert Hoover, Walt Disney, Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable.

Only a few partial walls remain standing, but with a bit of imagination, one can envision the raw beauty and solace that this retreat once promised.

Mayhew Lodge corner wall

Perhaps President Hoover or Clark Gable gazed out this window to watch native wildlife.

Mayhew Lodge round window

Which celebrities or notables warmed themselves at this hearth?

Mayhew Lodge hearth

The short video shows the outbuildings and a few shots of the lodge.

Even more information and pictures HERE:

We had a good day along the West Fork of the Oak Creek. We were damp, cold and tired and welcomed the heated seats and warm air provided by our Subaru Forester as we made our way back to the Valley of the Sun.

If you missed the previous posts about our hike along the West Fork of the Oak Creek, you can find them here:

Fall Hike – West Fork of the Oak Creek, AZ – Pt. 1

Fall Hike – West Fork of the Oak Creek, AZ – Pt. 2

Fall Hike – West Fork of the Oak Creek, AZ – Pt. 1

Jeff

Much of our lives were spent in the northeast and although we now live in the southwest and we are fond of the desert, once in a while we get the urge to experience a true change of seasons like those we experienced during the fall in our rural New Jersey home.

When this happens, we look to northern Arizona to satisfy our yearning. Recently we decided to take a November foray to an area just north of Sedona, AZ and hike the trail of the West Fork of the Oak Creek.

 

West Fork Trail #108 Sign

The trail is located off of highway 89A between mileposts 385 and 384. As always, dress appropriately, be sure to have waterproof/resistant footwear and perhaps bring an extra pair of socks. One other hint…many will find hiking sticks useful especially during the stream crossings. If you don’t have hiking sticks, a dead branch can usually be found along the way and often they are left at the trailhead sign.

Soon after we began, we were treated to this beautiful, red rock fall scene. It was a very crisp, clear fall day at the Oak Creek.

Beautiful Colors at the Trailhead Approach

Snow remnants

We were aware that it had snowed a week or so before our planned excursion, but we did not realize remnants would still be found. Mary picked up a handful; something we can’t do in the Valley of the Sun.

Mary grabs a handful of snow

As you may note, there are no officially maintained crossings of the stream which number thirteen each way for a total of twenty six. All hikers are left to decide the best route to attempt. Rocks are not always steady, logs are sometimes slippery and the dry footholds may be far apart. This provides some excitement and challenges. Many hikers brought their four-legged companions along for a frolic.

Mary at stream crossing; dog waiting

Gymnastics training could come in handy.

Gymnastic creek crossing

The creek widens and narrows along the route providing interesting and contrasting vistas among the red sand and rocks.

Contrast of stream and red rocks

Of course we need to mention the leaves; yes the leaves. In the desert, we don’t have fall leaf colors and shapes like these.

fall leaf colors

The contrast of reds, yellows and bronze against the dark bark and red cliffs was very pretty.

gold bronze leaves amid the gray of fall

Change was definitely in the air. Leaves were donning their seasonal finery as they fell to the ground or attempted to cling to the branches just a bit longer.

Leaves change color

The patches of dried, brown foliage also provided a pretty foil for the remaining snow which provided the background for the patterns of fall.

patterns of dead ferns against the snow

To be continued…

For more information about the West Fork of Oak Creek, Sedona including hours of operation, fees and restrictions, see the links below:

West Fork Oak Creek #108

Hiking the West Fork of Oak Creek

Trail Map of West Fork Oak Creek

Dripping Springs Trail – OMDP NM, Las Cruces, NM

Jeff

Dripping Springs National Rec. Area Sign

In early May my wife and I visited Las Cruces, New Mexico to hike in the surrounding mountains. One area of focus was the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument which received this new federal designation about one year ago.

View of the surrounding mountains

This (pictured above) was one of the first views after leaving the visitor center. Las Cruces is to the left of the picture from this vantage point. We had no idea how well we would come to know these particular hills over the next several days.

Livery and other buildings date back to the late 1800s

As we made our way toward the springs, wooden buildings that were erected in the late 1800s became visible. The fact that anything remains of them today considering weather, potential vandalism and the ravages of nature is remarkable enough.

I couldn’t help myself in rendering this section of fence in what I hope is an appropriate black and white setting to pay homage to the past.

The structures were part of Van Patten’s Mountain Camp which included a historic hotel. These wooden buildings served as the stables, chicken coop, etc. for the resort. The hotel operated until the 1920’s. This area is now under the care of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The buildings have been stabilized, but remain fragile on site exploration by the public is not permitted.

The Mountain Camp hotel was a two-story, 14-room facility with dining and recreation facilities. The rock was harvested from the canyon and used to build the hotel. The resort was popular enough that in 1906, 18 more rooms were added.

Ruins of the hotel as seen from the porch of the main building

This is a view from the porch of what was most likely the main building.

Ruins of the hotel as seen from the porch of the main building

This is a closer view of the stabilized, but still precarious rock and mud walls of the hotel.

The resort was sold in 1915 to Dr. Nathan Boyd, a native of Illinois, who used it as a tuberculosis sanatorium. The property underwent a series of sales subsequently and in 1988 came under the jurisdiction of the BLM.

Time and nature have had their way with the ruins

ABOVE – Looking through the frame of what once was a window, we can see how time and nature are reclaiming the land as grass and weeds are now growing in a former interior space.

A series of old wall and window frames remain

These relics of the past stand as sentinels of yesteryear while they sadly greet modern hikers and nature lovers.

Below is a picture of the “dripping spring” which was running this day and threw off a fine mist as we approached the man-made rock wall which I suspect served as a type of dam.

The dripping spring from which the trail gets its name

As we retraced our steps down the mountain trail towards the visitor center, we passed the stables again and I was drawn to this old fence post with rusted, yet quite functional bolts. If only it could talk!

Close up of fence post and hardware

We were treated to this vista of Las Cruces from near the junction of the Dripping Springs trail and the connecting path to Fillmore Canyon.

A final view as we descend from the Dripping Springs Trail

More of the New Mexico adventure will follow…

Learn more on your own:

Dripping Springs Natural Area – BLM

Las Cruces Off The Beaten Path

Lightroom 6 First Panorama – Las Cruces, NM

Jeff

Readers of my blog may have noticed that I enjoy the outdoors, hiking, birding, etc. My wife and I were recently hiking in the recently created Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks National Monument in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

There were many excellent sightings that I hope to write about in the future, but for now I want to tell you about my very first attempt at creating a Panorama using Lightroom 6.

I have only been using LR for less than a year and I have been making progress in learning about the various tools. When LR 6 arrived with “built-in” panorama creation tools, I couldn’t wait to try it.

The Organ Mountains are very large and cannot be captured easily in one shot so I decided to create a Panorama.

I took the following seven pictures with hopes of being able to “stitch” them together using LR.

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM - Panorama Picture 1

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM - Panorama Picture 2

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM - Panorama Picture 3

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM - Panorama Picture 4

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM - Panorama Picture 5

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM - Panorama Picture 6

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM - Panorama Picture 7

I wasn’t sure exactly how to accomplish this task so I searched online and found Julieanne Kost’s blog post about it. She is an excellent and gifted instructor. I have used several of her videos before. If you are interested, you can watch her video below:

I heard that when doing a panorama, one should have about a 30% overlap and although I wasn’t too exact about this, I took a guestimation as I captured the various pictures while moving my camera as level as I could across the distant view.

Here is the final result via a thumbnail-ish rendering.

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM - Panorama

You can see a large-sized image here at the link below:

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM

The image needs a bit more editing, perhaps reducing the “noise” in the sky, etc., but I am pleased with my first attempt. Are you encouraged to try creating a panorama?

Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days*

Jeff

My wife and I are classified as “senior citizens,” but in spite of that title we still like to hike. We do have our aches and pains so several years ago we decided to hike in as many places on our bucket list that our knees, hips and other joints would allow.

Last summer we chose to hike along parts of the northern California coast. It was such a beautiful trip along route 1. Nearly every turn provided a post card-like scene. We stopped many times to take pictures.

The Timber Cove Inn located in Jenner, CA is one of the nicest places to stay in the area. The two pictures below show a scene from the rear of the inn. One was a sunset and the other a sunrise of approximately the same area. It was beautiful indeed!

Timber Cove Sunset, Jenner, CA

Timber Cove Sunrise, Jenner, CA

* Title of this post from the song, Sunrise, Sunset – Fiddler on the Roof