Home»All Photographs»2015 Hikes»Mesa Butte - 9999Trail 10-31-15

Clayton and I met at the Corner House Cafe for breakfast (we seem to feel the need to reward ourselves this close to the end of the season when hiking is cold and we have a summer of accomplishments to look back on - or maybe it's me...you can't just meet at a cafe parking lot and not go in for coffee and carrot cake, right?). After some great eats and friendly service, we were on our way.
We started by hiking up Mesa Butte, but not the way with a path - that would be too straightforward and boring. We hiked down a gravel service road, around some gas wellheads, and through some lovely aspen forest to route-find our way to he top. The late fall hiking here was still pleasantly free of snow.
From the top of Mesa Butte, we spied a moose - who made the wise decision to head for the forest after a few minutes. There were many gunshots heard throughout the day - this is an active hunting area and Saturday is a popular day to hunt.
After descending from the butte, we hiked an oddly-named trail called 9999 trail. It provided a scenic return to the vehicle and a closed campground where we walked in for lunch at a picnic table before driving home.