Pine Cone Canyon / No Name Loop - 9/16/12

                             Aspen on the Bristlecone Trail

                                Wild Horses in the Early Morning

 Six hikers enjoyed the cool morning in the mountains at the end of Lee Canyon Road today. We drove to the end of the road and parked at the Upper Bristlecone Trailhead. As we got out of the cars, we noticed that the herd of wild horses that frequent this area were scattered around the parking area in the woods. We made our way past them down the small trail that led to the road below and hiked along the road to the Lower Bristlecone Trailhead. Hiking up the road, we saw that the aspens were, indeed, beginning to change colors.

                             South Sister Framed by Aspens

 A little over a mile up the service road, we turned to the right on a little used trail that leads up through a steep wash. We climbed and climbed knowing that this was to be the hardest part of the hike. We weren't sure where we would end up but we knew it would be somewhere on the Bonanza Trail above.

                                Climbing the Steep Wash to Bonanza Trail

 Choosing an intermittent ridge, we finished climbing to the blue sky and, there it was, the Bonanza Trail. We had appeared on this ridge trail at a point around half a mile north of the No Name Trail junction. Happy to be on the nice flat trail, we turned left and hiked on down to the junction for our snack break.

                                Hiking Down the Bonanza Trail

 After our break, we took the right turn onto the No Name Trail that travels through the old bristlecone forest on this ridge. We reached the saddle and began our descent on the steep trail that takes the hiker to the Upper Bristlecone Trail. Nearing the more popular trail, we began seeing more aspens. The yellows and oranges were magnificent! Ah, autumn in the Spring Mountains!

                                What a Beautiful Day!

                                Aspens on the Bristlecone Trail