Today we have a limited of time to explore the area as we thread a needle between monsoon rains, work and phone calls that cannot be avoided. So we decide to just drive to Pine for a few hours of exploration and maybe visit also the farmer’s market while there. We start however with the coffee shop that we found previously, always fun to get some coffee here as the flavors can be quite different. We also visit the nearby clothing store but we don’t buy anything today.
As we look around we notice a big surprise, there is a herd of elk right behind the clothing store. As we watch them we observe that besides adult elk there are also a few juveniles which funnily enough are separated by a fence and have a hard time getting back together.
Then it is time to start our hike, we use the Pine Trailhead that we used multiple times before. As it is quite hot outside, even with the higher elevation, we are planning a shorter hike just to get out in the mountain air and find a few caches.
The trail starts through the rarefied ponderosa forest passing a waterhole close to the trailhead and climbing slowly towards the multiple trail intersections that we need to navigate to find the right trail.
Along the way we stop multiple times to examine the vegetation, we really like the spinystars which are small and very well named.
With the help of GPS we navigate all the intersections correctly and find the correct trail which is to our delight also the trail less taken by the multitude of other hikers.
Soon we start going off trail to find a few caches on top of a hill the parallels the trail. It is a short climb and after finding the cache we continue on the top for a bit to find a good picnic spot for our lunch.
As we eat we keep an eye out for birds and there quite a few that come to visit us. But all seem to taunt us as they sit towards the sun making them hard to see and identify, bad birds!!
After our lunch we start descending back towards the trail while keeping an eye out for snakes in the dense underbrush. We don’t see any but we see a lot of Plateau Striped Whiptail lizards which are quite beautiful and also very noisy when moving around, making them sound bigger than they are.
At the last major intersection, with the Highline Trail that we plan to take there is a large sign that talks about the restoration effort for this section of the trail. That is likely the reason that the trail feels twice as long as it is drawn on the GPS but it is less steep and probably less susceptible to erosion.
Our turnaround point is about one mile into the trail where we can find a cache and then decide to return instead of continuing on as the sun and heat is getting to us.
At least there are multiple birds along the trail from woodpeckers to a very curious blue-gray gnatcatcher. Looking at them allows us to catch our breath and also enjoy their antics as they fly all around us.
We also have to be careful to not accidentally step on any beautiful Snakeweed Grasshoppers, which are common, especially when the Mexican Jays start flying around us and making alert sounds and then perching nearby just to keep an eye on us.
As we return on a slightly different trail we have multiple encounters with elk with one encounter involving not one, not two…
…but three elk all of them near the trail and in no hurry to get to safety. As it is difficult for us to avoid this stretch of trail we go very slowly with no sudden moves and make it safely without any elk attacks – that would be a story to tell if you survive.
As we pass by the waterhole we are surprised by the number of birds in the are now, mostly bluebirds and acorn woodpeckers. They are quite vocal and fun and are an enjoyable end to a nice hike through the area. If only it would have been cooler it would have been perfect.
