It was my neighbor Barbara's birthday today and, being an avid hiker, she opted for a little trek into the Chiricahua wilderness along the Crest Trail to Round Park. This hike started and stayed way up, at more than 8,000 feet, all of which was negotiated by car before we got to the trailhead.
The Crest Trail is just that: it follows the top of the mountains and switches from east to west side and back again, with spectacular views across our valley (west) and into New Mexico (east). The Chiricahuas have endured many a forest fire and today our view was hampered by a good-sized fire on the east side. The wind was thankfully from the west, so there was no danger, but it is upsetting to see so much wilderness burning. Nonetheless, it is a natural phenomenon, although very often human-caused, but nature does repair itself.
The wind was fierce today, even at home where the patio furniture had disappeared into the yard and bird feeders had been blown off their hooks. At the end of our hike we had lunch at the picnic ground, but needed all hands to hang on to our food.
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