 Hiked 6.59 miles roundtrip at the west fork of Oak Creek. Went as far as the subway, where their was a bush of flowers covered in butterflies.
Also saw a Narrow-Headed Garter Snake, which are endangered and quite rare. it took off before I could snap a picture, but one from the web above. These aren't like normal garter snakes that stalk their prey from land. These anchor themselves to the bottom of the stream and wait for a fish to swim by while underwater. Baby Narrow-heads are quite small and when they anchor themselves to feed they get eaten by crawdads. Oak Creek doesn't have crawdads, which is why it is one of only a couple places left in Arizona they can be found. The west fork of Oak Creek has a sandstone bottom without any mud/dirt. Perhaps crawdads need mud to live in, or perhaps no fisherman have released them as bait there. Other parts of Oak Creek have crawdads, so I think it must be the mud thing. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. One of the premier hikes in Arizona and judging by the number of people there, that isn't a secret. I counted 50 people on my way up and then quit counting, but I crossed paths with something over 100. There were lots of maple trees which turn red in the fall, I will have to make another trip mid Octoberish. Got home and went and saw Harry Potter with a friend. It has been a long day and I am bushed.
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