Sagebrush personal hiking blog
On my walk out of Pine, a herd of elk are in front of the supermarket. Locals do not seem excited, so it must happen often.
The hike today mostly is just below the Mogollon Rim, a cliff many miles long. To the south of the Rim land is mountainous, and to the north a relatively flat high plateau.
A light snow last night is slow to melt in the cold morning, and patches of mud on the road stay frozen until mid-morning.
Getting close to the town of Pine, tall pine forest has been thinned, presumably for fire defense.
Red Hills Trail shows off mountains with exposed red rock outcroppings, and hillsides covered with small broken pieces of the same rocks.
After going down and up a couple of canyons the route plunges down to East Verde River on Brush Springs Trail, losing 3k altitude. Storms threaten all around, but other than a freakish snow flurry, no rain. When the sun is blocked by clouds, the temperature plunges to new daytime lows.
