7 September 2020
Riggs Spring Loop
(9 miles, +1,900/-1,900 feet).

The weather was *really* spooky today.  It was extremely windy, and we got an early start because it was supposed to be very hot.  We could barely see the sunrise through the morning haze of smoke from the California fires that followed us here from two states away!

We decided to hike the loop clockwise since the eastern part of the loop goes through a recent burn zone.  We wanted to save shade for later in the day.

It was fun to drop down into the hoodoos and the forest below where we hiked right below the beautiful cliffs.

Riggs Spring was muddy and gross (good thing we brought all the water we needed!) but the surrounding forest was quite nice, including a deer family that kept an eye on us for a bit.

We saw no one until we were almost back up to Yovimpa Pass, where we caught up with some backpackers who were heading home and we found an old telephone box that Half Cookie mistook for a Little Free Library.

When we were almost back to the car we decided to tack on the little Bristlecone Loop Trail.  The old tree that the trail loops around is apparently dead, but the views of the cliffs were lovely.