At 8:15 Andy, Chris, and Bill started hiking. We followed forest road 360. Tall ponderosa pines reached upward to the blue sky above. However, for the most part we hiked among junipers and pinion pines. We stayed left at “RX1”. In the dip near “T3” we again experienced ponderosa pines.

At “RX3”, on Andy’s impeccable incorrect recommendation, we went to the left. It resulted in a slight detour to a tank where we took a group photo. A slight breeze over came the minimal tree coverage making for pleasant hiking.

From “T6” toward “T7” the road was near the edge, giving us great views of the expansive valley to the south. We stopped several times to observe and photograph the fires burning in the Pinal Mountains south of Globe.

At 10:50 we headed back. We stopped to take a few more photos of the fire. It appeared to grow in intensity.

Bill suggested we try to bag peak 6107. We had time and the weather was good. Took another group photo to document the event. Problem: how can three hikers represents four digits? See photo.

Before returning to the car, Chis stopped to retrieve his hiking stick. A quad riding camper found it were he had accidentally left it. Soon after changing shoes and a cold beer, we were in the car headed home.

The winds had shifted and dumped smoke down the hillside into Miami, where we stopped for some grub before returning to the valley.