I was getting restless, not having been on a hike for about a month. Now that I have both a house AND trailer to take care of, it's hard to get free time -- even now that I'm retired, and theoretically have all the time in the world to do what I want. The thing is, I have to maintain Faranuf and get Discovery ready for the upcoming trips to High Island, Texas and Alaska, and as it's just me, if I don't do them, they won't get done. And now that spring has sprung,, everything is turning green -- and growing, so that requires pruning, weed-whacking, and lopping. But I'm ahead of "the curve", at least for the moment, so I went out for a hike. I'd hiked the Ash Springs trail a few times, but I was mainly interested in birds this time -- so I took my 500mm f/4 lens with me for the first time in a long time. Though it's heavy as it's a prime lens (prime being only 500mm, with a minimum focusing distance of 15 feet) the image quality is so superior to, say, my 100-400, that it's worth lugging around the extra weight. And size --
That's me in a self-portrait, back when I was visiting my old hometown of San Pedro. Though I was handholding it for the moment, I usually carry it in the light blue mountaineer's strap, with the large tripod collar stuck in the strap. The collar is large enough that it stays in the strap and doesn't come out. I used to have the camera and lens on a BushHawk shoulder mount, but the company closed so now I have this new, much simpler carrying system. And to be honest, it actually works better, as I had to carry the camera and lens mounted on the BushHawk on a strap and placed on my back. With the mountaineer strap, I have faster access when I come across a photo-op. So I'm slowly working back into carrying my "Big Boy" lens with me when I go out on hikes here. On the Herb Martyr Road up to the Ash Springs trailhead, I took a photo of Winn Falls with the 500, also a great closeup landscape lens --
Though most of it is still in shadow, and pretty much remains that way throughout the year, to me it's still reminiscent of a waterfall cascading down to Yosemite Valley. Once I started up the trail, I immediately got a chance to use my 500 when I saw this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, who apparently forgot it's a Gnatcatcher when it snagged this large insect --
The scenery from the trail as it winds along the sides of the mountain is spectacular. Here's Spencer Peak, though you can't see Winn Falls from this angle as it's hidden behind the other side of the rocky canyon --
The trail winds in and out of the mountainsides, and there is plenty of shade. Here's my 500 lens during a rest stop --
I arrived at the location of the homestead that was there before the house burned down and the Forest Service evicted the miner who was living there. All that remains are the remnants of the chicken coop, The springs in Ash Springs is now encased in a concrete trough, as are most of the springs here in the Chiricahuas. The trail then comes to an old gate, and the shady forested area begins; it's a microclimate here, cooler than the surrounding area, so there are trees that you would see 3,000 feet up on the crest. It's still too early for the birds like Painted Redstart, Red-faced Warbler, and Flammuated Owl to be here, but the resident Yellow-eyed Junco are always a delight to see, and provide welcome companionship along the trail --
The wind was beginning to pick up, so I headed back and got to Faranuf around noon. I had a dinner date with Bill, Anne, Dave and Mary, friends from Canada who were staying at Rusty's RV Park on Hwy 80 on the New Mexico side, so I met them at 5pm (6pm NM time; a bit confusing when you're crossing the state line a few times within a span of a few hours). We met at the Rodeo Tavern, a 100 year-old landmark in the dusty town of Rodeo, which bills itself as "the most western town in New Mexico". It's been owned for the past 20 years by my friends Rob and Deb; Rob is the one who's the dealer for the canopy outfit, and to thank him and Deb for helping me get it the canopy they'll be borrowing Discovery II for a long-needed vacation shortly before I leave on my Alaska jaunt. At the bar area, along with Deb I see Dan, the owner of Mountain View RV Park, where I stayed at the Cowboy Room during the process of buying Faranuf back in December 2014, and Laura, who if you remember dressed up as Carrie at last year's Halloween party, from the (in)famous scene where she was drenched in blood at the high school prom. (She won for best costume.) I also met a young fellow in a cowboy hat who asked me if my truck got repaired; it was Spencer, the state trooper who came by when Tundra I was smooshed when the deer got in front of me way back in November 2014. I'm surprised he remembered me, but that's the way it is out here -- nearly everyone in the area heard about it. The back dining area filled with local folks as, besides the Portal cafe, this is the only eatery around. My Canadian friends and I planned at visit to Willow Tank tomorrow, before the predicted (again) wind...
Here's another critter cam video, this one being the followup to the one of the skunk chasing off the gray fox from the water feature. The gray fox returned, and the result was --
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