A few weeks ago I posted "Wrong canyon, right idea" after I biffed my attempt to find Silver Creek Canyon, which enters the familiar-to-me Gallinas Canyon pictured here. I didn't locate it yesterday either, but I was on a mission to move a trail camera, not to mount an exploration; now that I know where it is (after rescrutinizing the map and realizing my error) I can get to know Silver Creek another day.

The Spanish word "Gallinas" (gah YEE nas) refers to wild turkey hens, but there is all manner of wildlife in the Black Range, and of course cattle, the evidence of which is pretty much everywhere, yuck. So I know who some of the critters on my trail cam will be.

This area saw a large and intense wildfire in 2013 which incinerated the forests on the higher and very steep mountain slopes, resulting in widespread flooding that still occurs after significant precipitation. There are downed trees and logjams everywhere which makes hiking a bit dicey in spots. The good part is that very few hikers wander down there.

Here are a few scenes from yesterday's ramble, which I hope you enjoy.