November 10 -- The Greenhouse Trail To Winn Fall Overlook

I was originally going to take a rest day; after all, I'd just done a tiring hike on Sunday and "chased" fall colors in Cave Creek Canyon the day after. But with the spectacular autumn display here in Cave Creek Canyon -- and who knows how long it will last -- the siren song of the trails called once again... This time I'd planned on doing an easy one -- a walk up the unpaved South Fork road, past the Forest Service cabins, and a bit of the trail beyond the old picnic area, which due to the flooding of Hurricane Odile was now closed to motor vehicles. But I knew the the Forest Service was working on the road; the dump trucks loaded with rocks and road material are parked right across from Faranuf, on "Trash Corner", so I planned on going there before they did, around 7am. Well, I heard them leaving for working on the road at 6am...but I chanced it anyway. I parked the truck at the gated to South Fork Road, part of the gate being open to let the big trucks through, and after walking about a quarter of a mile I heard down the road the "beep, beep, beep" of a large vehicle backing up. So -- alternate plan #1...the Greenhouse Trail, on Cave Creek Road to Herb Martyr. At least I won't hear any "beep, beep, beep" there...The wire fence at the trail's entrance, put there to keep out vehicles and horses, had been pushed aside. And I saw a few horseshoe prints, hmmm.... But I encountered nothing. The trail was as I'd remembered it; the last time I hiked it was in April 2014, during spring migration. I saw Grace's and Black-throated Gray Warblers, Bridled Titmice, American Robin, Mexican Chickadee, Williamson's Sapsucker, Brown Creeper.. Not much this time, except the ubiquitous Mexican Jay, and flocks of Yellow-eyed Junco. The trail starts out going through oak woodlands dotted with yucca, then goes alongside a creek with Arizona sycamore in various shades of color --

Most of the trees' leaves still seemed to be green for the most part, quite a difference from the display in Cave Creek Canyon. But the creek was still flowing -- 

And at the creek crossing there was a nice cascade; I lowered the shutter speed to about 3 seconds to slow the flow -- 

There was some flora that was in full autumn color; I believe this to be bigtooth maple, as it somewhat matches the photos I checked online at Wikipedia, but it's not conclusive  -- (and I've since been informed that it is actually a type of sumac, not maple, possibly rhus trilobita (skunk bush) -- thanks Gordon and Larry... )

The old signs marking the trail intersections are still there -- 

There were pockets of intense color, but not as much as I'd expected considering it's higher, and much colder, than Cave Creek Canyon -- 

The trail, though longer than the other 3 I've hiked since moving to Portal, isn't as steep. I entered the meadow, where before I'd seen Mexican Chickadee, and the sign saying "Crest Trail 4 miles". I didn't plan to go that far, though since I got an early start it was still only around 10:30. I'd previously gone only a little past the white "Chiricahua Wilderness" sign, about 2/3rds of the way through the meadow, as the trail beyond that was obscured by high grass. But someone had left cairns this time, and the trail was easier to see. The trail crossed the creek and began to switch back up the mountain, where the views were increasingly expansive --

This is looking in the direction of the day's destination. Flocks of Yellow-eyed Junco were flying ahead of me as I pushed on; I've always liked them as they're constant companions areas of the Chiricahuas. I came across what looked like small patches of snow on the trail, not enough to be slippery (thank goodness); this part of the trail doesn't get much sun, if any at all, during this time of the year. The trail zigzags up, eventually coming to a ridge, and the day's destination -- 

Winn Fall Overlook was to the left. It drops a little less than 400 feet, and can have quite a flow, and I've also seen it frozen in place -- but the cascade had shrunk to a small stream dropping over the lip -- 

Still, a neat sight, and now that I know how "easy" the hike to the overlook is, I'll do it again when I know there is more of a flow. The tops of the nearby mountains are quite rugged and picturesque --

There wasn't much wind -- surprisingly, as it had been forecast to be a windy day, and I'd encountered some breezy moments on the way up. (I found out later, when back at Faranuf, that it had been blowing like the devil at Portal and the canyon. I never knew it until I got back.) I had lunch and relaced my boots, then headed back down the trail. The view to the east reached over the nearby mountain ranges in New Mexico, and into the canyon that I had just hiked --

There were remnants of charred trees starting from the meadow. From the Rattlesnake Fire in the late 90's? The disastrous Horseshoe 2 Fire of 2011? Just random lightning strikes? Who knows... I reached the creek crossing and saw a scaly friend -- 

It was the first lizard I'd seen all day... The mountain meadow showed signs for fire, and the direction of the wind -- 

About a quarter of a mile from the start of the trail, there's a spur that leads to Ash Spring. I went down it a bit as I knew there was an unobscured vista of Cave Creek Canyon, looking south -- 

I'd hiked from around 8am to 3pm...

I got back to Faranuf just in time for some memorable clouds and sunset -- 

I don't believe I've ever had a day here I can call "dull". Whether it's social gatherings, a solo hike,  or magnificent sunrises and sunsets -- and of course landscapes --  this place seems to have it all...