An Autumn Hike


01 Golden Aspen, originally uploaded by ivoryblushroses.

This afternoon, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a hike off of the Snowbowl Road. In spots the aspen trees were already golden ~ always a stunning sight against the clear blue skies this time of year.

02 Trail
The trail meandered through the woods, delightful at every turn. Many aspen are still changing, their translucent leaves filtering light onto the forest floor below.

03 View to cinder cones
As the trail left the woods, a stunning vista of distant cinder cones came into view. I love landscapes like this where it stretches out to the horizon in myriad layers of color and depth!

06 Barbed Wire
I hiked across the meadow and came upon this old fence post with a tangle of barbed wire around it, the wire aged to a beautiful patina.

04 White Aspen trunks
As I made the return journey, I took a bit of a side trip down a portion of the Arizona Trail. Here, the trail is still being constructed and is just a small path through the woods. Here I watched a deer spring through the woods, squirrels run along fallen trees and birds flitting through the branches above. So peaceful, especially among this grove of white aspen trunks.

05 Bracken
On this small trail it was easier to focus on the small sights in the woods, like the changing bracken underneath the trees.

07 Spruce
And the way the light caught on the branches of a spruce tree.

08 Sunset
After finishing the hike, I drove up to another trailhead, almost at the Snowbowl Ski area and was rewarded with a magnificent sunset. A beautiful end to a lovely afternoon!

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