6/6/15, Day 43, McCarty Canyon Road M1445.4 to M1466.6 , 9362′
Tent – Nights Spent Alone: 7
21.2, 807.4 Trip Miles
Mostly Cloudy – Breezy
Day’s of Snow: 7 – Day’s of Rain: 13
# of Zero days: 5
7 am to 5:20 pm
Gila Crossings Final Total: 221
Tick Count: 4 (3 more crawling on me)
Critter Count
37 Pronghorn
6 Deer
3 Jack Rabbit
3 Chipmunks
1 Squirrel
1 Weasel
Totals
516 Pronghorn*
119 Lizards
116 Wild Horses
56 Elk
50 Deer**
37 Cotton Tail Rabbits
35 Chipmunks
22 Horny Roads
21 Squirrels
19 Prairie Dogs
17 Jack Rabbit***
12 Ground Squirrels
7 Snakes
4 Moles
3 Coyotes
2 Rattle Snakes
2 Toads
1 Mouse
1 Skunk
1 Marmot****
1 Weasel
*174 from car, **3 from car, ***1 from car, ****1 from car
We made it to the trees!
When we entered the first stand of Furs I stopped and took a big breath. It smelled so good. To walk amongst them put an ear to ear smile on my face for over an hour.
Wild Flowers for as far as the eye could see.
Before the trees while still in the open sage area we descended to the North Fork Savery Creek. As we approached the creek Rafiki asked if I saw the squirrel cross the bridge. I hadn’t.
As we sat on the bridge taking a break with angry cliff swallows flying around us I looked past Rafiki to see the “squirrel”. Turns out this squirrel was a weasel! He was no more than 5′ from us. He popped up out of the grass, poking his head out. He looked left and right then dropped back down into the grass. He did this a few more times as he headed to the other side of the of the double of track. As he did he leap out into the open and we got a great look at him.
This and the trees made my day great. We didn’t do many miles but I feel complete. We even had a fire after dinner. The fire wasn’t that great but it was nice to have some warmth as we are surrounded by snow and are at 9300′.
We finally made it back into trees after a week of none.
We also saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes. Their funny looking birds and the sound even weirded. We also found a Green-Tailed Towhee nest. It’s the fourth nest we’ve found in the last week.
I didn’t expect to see this guy way up north.
Hiking with Rafiki is great. He knows his birds so well. I’ve seen so many new bird due to him. Our birding does slow us down but it’s worth it.
The next 12 miles will be mostly on snow so tomorrow will be wet and cold.
Wind and clouds rolled it late in the day
As I mentioned today’s two highlights were finally hiking in trees after over a week and seeing my first and only Long Tail Weasel ever. I also mentioned our fire but even know it wasn’t great it was still a nice touch to the day. I think just being back in trees gave me the idea of having a fire.
My tent location appeared to be sub par but in the end it turned out pretty good. I’m a HUGE stickler for the perfect flat spot. There’s two things I want at the end of a long day of hiking: #1 is a hot meal and #2 is a good flat spot to sleep. I’ve been known to hike many extra miles in search of such a spot.
Back to Day 42, Forward to Day 44
Scatman
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