Trail Difficulty – Easy
Trail Type – Road/off-trail
Distance – 9.2 miles
Elevation Gain – 170 Feet
Camera in hand we headed out for Hike 12 and the Weekly Photo Challenge; Sun on the Little Naches River.
Finding established trails with the length we need is still a challenge; we drove up to a mountain pass that is still closed and walked up trails as we found them. We only saw about ten cars the whole day.
The first time we went off trail we discovered something a little worrisome; footprints in the sand. A couple of miles later we saw a Coyote that dodged my camera, but to me it looked like Cougar tracks.
Worrisome footprints
The day became even more ominous when we looked up and saw Turkey Vultures circling the treeline. The wingspan on the second one in the trees was impressive. We started to get a little nervous.
Turkey Vultures Hunting
We came across a nice open stand of Ponderosa Pine that had been burned at some point – while taking a picture of the incredible bark, we saw the Mayfly. In this phase, he only had a few more hours to live and was spending time basking in the sun.
When the sun is gone, so is this Mayfly.
There was a lot of run-off from the snowpack melting creating mini-waterfalls everywhere.
I love water and sun combined
We saw the next waterfall it temporarily confused us – the water appeared to disappear and it drained into an underground channel.
The Disappearing Waterfall
We left the road and went off trail and were surprised to find an empty campground at the top – the sun was making quick work of the snow.
The sun at work
On the way home, we stopped at walked around a small lake when we discovered a pair of ducks enjoying some quality time – if anyone knows the breed I would love to find out – they were striking, especially their eyes.
The remains of the day
We hiked a little over 9 miles – in two weeks we will start working on elevation. It was an amazing day.
I can’t wait to see what happens next week.
My Hiking Journal 
Very cool that you saw a coyote!
I think it was anyways – it might have been a very thin wolf…I have never known of coyotes being in the woods.
RTCN, your comment on the duck’s eyes was brilliant. They must have been striking. You saw a mated pair of Barrow’s Goldeneye ducks. Enjoy your Monday!
Thank you! What a great name for them – I am still so surprised they let me get so close.
I knew my google ninja friends would have the answer 🙂
Those tracks definitely look more feline than canine to me. Looks like you’ve found a really cool place to hike!
I thought so as well – being cat people I felt it was too ironic to get mauled by one.
Mountain lion (cougar) tracks are generally 5 to 6 inches across, much larger than your hand. Bobcats are about half that. Coyotes outnumber wolves by the millions, but you never know. 😉 Sounds like a great hike.
Thank you Larkin – I don’t think we have Bobcats here – but now I am going to go and look it up 🙂
Not sure where you are, but here is a link to their range map. 🙂 http://informationsentinel.com/resources/Endangered_Animals%20Heather/Endangered%20Animals/Assets/Rangemap__Bobcat_550x400.jpg
Wow – they have quite a territory!
What a beautiful place; it sounds like you guys had an excellent hike! I miss living around places like this…one day, one day!
Also, I love your description of the mayfly. “….he only had a few more hours to live and was spending time basking in the sun.” If that’s not a good testament to go out and seize the day, I don’t know what is.
Thank you LS Engler – I wonder if their day is like our life – what does time feel like for them?
Thanks for taking me along on your hike, I really enjoyed it.. You captured a lot of “moments in the sun”
Thank you Maggie – it was a great challenge – I love how it adds a new layer to the hikes each week.
Sounds like you had fun, and maybe the vultures were waiting for tea 🙂
Maybe Blood Orange Tea – my favorite 🙂
Enjoyed the hike.
Thank you Diggingher – I wish I could do more during the week!
How are the numbers going?
Hi,
I planned to write you tonight so thanks for asking. I am going to withdraw from submitting at this point. I have definitely gotten the kick in the pants I needed to get a solid exercise program in place. I continue to wear my pedometer and go out of my way to climb stairs as well as getting a few other forms of exercise in place. For this I thank you! The challenge really did it for me.
I will be writing a post at the end of the month and linking back.
That is fantastic diggingher – I am so glad it helped – I will update 🙂
Coyotes are everywhere now, but rarely spotted. I’ve even seen one in Maryland. Those don’t look like canine tracks to me (dog tracks are usually more oval shaped) but I’m no expert. Have you seen Kim Cabrera’s (Beartracker) website? http://www.bear-tracker.com/caninevsfeline.html
What a great site Bill – I have looked at the photos again and I don’t see any nail impressions. I need this guide in my pocket – we see so many tracks when we go out.
Beautiful pics! Wisht I was there with you. Virginia Beach is so odiously flat and featureless, and I need substantial “bumps on the landscape,” not to mention ample tree cover, to feel at home.
Me too Michael – maybe a hike like this could burn up Jasper’s energy 🙂 We are very blessed to live so close to a mountain range – the only thing I miss is being close to water and the beach.
Yeah… That’s why I still think of myself as a Washingtonite – the ocean, Puget Sound, Cascades, Olympics, forests and glades, etc. etc. ad infinitum, but never ad nauseam. And I really haven’t been back since I joined the Navy in 1975, except for short visits here and there.
Maybe when my best beloved retires from teaching, which is only a few years away…
Where are you at again Michael?
Flat, boring, featureless Virginia Beach, which has nothing I like except the ocean. The highest “mountain” here is Mount Trashmore, an artificial mound that used to be a city dump and that was covered up and built up, and is now a public park and playground. Sigh…
Here’s a good piece of (tongue in cheek) advice: never fall in love with a woman just as you’re retiring from the Navy if she’s ensconced in some profession in the area where you’re retiring. If you HAVE to fall in love with her, don’t marry her unless she’s willing to relocate. Which is very hard for a teacher with almost 20 years in the local system. So I’m stuck for a few more years until she retires, and have to drive for hours to see real “bumps” on the landscape and real woods.
You made me laugh Michael – my husband and I met just as he was retiring from the Navy and he moved to my hometown – fortunately it is 60 miles away from his hometown 🙂
Ha! Laughter! And I didn’t even have to exaggerate! Damn, I’m good!
WOW ! 9 miles ??? Bet you thought you could never do it ! Congratulations to you. How long did it take? Check out http://www.everytrail.com and see if they have any hikes near your area for what you’re looking for. My guess is that there will be. So very proud of you – Inca Trail here you come !!
I’m not really sure what coyote tracks look like, but I know what a coyote looks like up close! My hubby and I have run into them a couple of time on our bike rides. Thank goodness we were on bikes and were able to turn around!! If we were hiking and ran into one I’m not really sure what we would do! Looks like a great hike 🙂 Very nice pics 🙂
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Beautiful photos!
Thank you Alica – I really need to learn more about the camera – I could get into this!
Well done and great read, very interesting.Cheers Callie
Thank you Callie – I think I could add 20 photos! I am just so grateful to be out of the house!
nice collection of pics
Thank you Amar!
Barrow’s Goldeneye pair. They are lovely. You are much braver than me! I would be scared to death to be anywhere a mountain lion or a grizzly might be. Lovely photos. Here are my two takes on Sun. Hope you can visit. http://annefreemanimages.wordpress.com
~Anne
Thank you AnneFreemanImages – aren’t they adorable? I was nervous, but they are likely more afraid of me 🙂
Thanks. I meant that you are braver than me to be hiding in the wilderness. I’d be scared to death of a mountain lion or grizzley.
~Anne
I get nervous annefreemanimages, but I would rather die being mauled by a bear that die on my couch watching the Simpsons 🙂 I just hope it’s quick!
Great collection of photograph,
Thank you Arindam.
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