And yet the stream still flows

Yesterday the large area that has been closed for nearly two months because of the thirty square mile Copper King fire was re-opened and all access restrictions have been removed. Today I was able to hike into the Spring Creek canyon and found that the stream is still flowing just five miles downstream from the fire area and the water is still clear and cold. It was so good to see the stream and its canyon again! In the next week or so I will hike into the burned area and see what it now looks like there.

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A new Fall wardrobe…

Even though Fall isn’t officially here yet, the south-facing hillsides of Baldy Mountain are beginning to show off the new season’s colors, making a hike on one of my favorite trails (USFS trail 340 in the Baldy Mountain Roadless Area) an especially pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

A few drops of sap from a Fir next to the trail.

Along the Sacajawea Peak trail

In the high country of the Coeur d’Alene Mountains the transition from Summer to Fall begins in layers. There was new snow on some of the peaks in the Cabinet Mountains this morning.