Friday, November 4/2016

Trail marker

There was heavy frost on the ground this morning when I woke up and that is not really all that surprising since there was quite a chill in the air last evening.  It is definitely Fall!!  Once the sun rose above the hills, the frost disappeared and it warmed up to "bunny hug" weather.

Black Rock Canyon trails

We studied the map at the staging area and then headed "for the hills".  The terrain was quite deceptive as the trails rose far above the staging area and were actually quite steep in some areas.  They were all well travelled trails and the traction under the tires certainly helped with the ascents.

Looking down at the City of Pocatello, Idaho

Climbing up the tower hill was by far the steepest but once you were up there, the views were incredible.  The City of Pocatello lies in the valley between all these massive hills.  I-15 travels the length of the valley and, like all interstate highways, is very busy.  The amount of commerce that is seen moving along this road is really quite amazing.

Towers on the top of the hills

Miles and miles of hills

The land is quite barren when you first look at it but once you travel the trails you realize that it is quite an ecosystem unto itself.  There are several stands of what I call scrub trees which actually turned out to be maple trees!!  There is a ton of sagebrush and there is also huge evergreens in the area.  I saw no real huge bodies of water and suspect that this area is quite "dry" in the summer.

Beverage at the top of the tower hill

Trails traveling up the hills.  They were steep!!

We saw very little in the way of wildlife today and that was rather disappointing.   A few ravens, a crow and a hawk was all we saw so hopefully tomorrow will be better in that aspect.  These trails were totally different from what we are used to travelling and I found myself missing the forest.

Our campsite from WAY up on the surrounding hills

I - 15 Southbound

It was a good day however,  despite the rather bland views.  It seemed like we travelled up one spine of a hill only to be lead up another.  Up and down......all darn day!!  Tomorrow we will tackle the other side of the camping area and see what that has to offer.  Vastness......that is the word I would use to describe this area.  The hills seem to go on for miles and miles......