West Fork of Mink Creek

This morning I hiked up, well, read the title. It's another hike found by going out on the Old Bannock Highway. Strangely, I see more of the math department when I go hiking than I do when I stop to pick up my paycheck from my mailbox. This was a nice, gentle trail. Mostly shaded. It does climb steadily, but it's rarely very steep, and the shade is VERY nice this time of year. A few bugs, but it never got bad enough for me to try out any bug repellants. It was still quite green, which seems to be unusual for this time of year based on what I overheard Tracy Payne's group discussing. Of course, this is the first year in a LONG time that Idaho hasn't been listed among the severe drought states. We actually exceeded our water quota in most regions. Our neighbors to the south and east, however, are still in major drought.

Speaking of water, much of Pocatello's water comes from Mink Creek. There were occasional old cisterns along the trail. I think that the visible structures are all old and out of use. You can see a few of them below:


And a few more shots from the trek:

Here is West Mink Creek as seen near the "second" bridge. The first "bridge" is really just a series of corrugated pipes with dirt and rocks thrown over them.


Butterflies! They look like more Fritillaries, likely the Callippe Fritillary, Speyaeria callippe. And, yay, I'm getting the hang of taking close shots with my new camera.


A chipmunk who scampered across the trail but obligingly paused long enough for me to get his picture.


Gorgeous, shiny butterfly. No clue what kind it is. My (very) limited research suggests it may be in the Brushfoot family. I wouldn't recommend taking my word for it, though.


A strangely patterned leaf. I did not notice the ants on it while I was taking the picture. I suppose the patterning could be something done by the ants, or some other bug, or maybe even a fungus. *shrugs* The patterns are pretty, nonetheless.


Lastly, a currant bush full of ripe currants. Quite, quite tasty. I picked a few and ate them on the way up. My dad says he prefers black currants, because "At least you can tell when they're ripe." Which didn't make much sense to me. When the orange ones are ripe, the inner veining is easily visible through the skin.