We drove up to the Sacramento Mountains on Oct. 2. It was a drastic change from the desert and white sand dunes we had seen the day before! As we gained elevation, the plant life changed a great deal. The plants went from yuccas, cholla cactus, and ocotillos to aspens, firs, and pines. This was a view of a canyon in the lower elevation of the mountain.
We stopped in by the Forest Service office in Cloudcroft to get a map for the Osha trail. The trail is named for a wildflower, not the government branch of OSHA! :) The trail is an easy 2.5 mile loop (the little dotted trail in the middle of this map). Many of the trails in the area used to be an old railroad bed, so once you get up to them they are nice, level trails.
Cloudcroft, NM Oct. 3, 2008 I found this flower blooming along the beginning of the Osha Trail at ~8000' elevation. It was in fairly heavy shade in the woods. When we came back by it a couple of hours later, the flowers had begun to wilt.
