Apple Tree Canyon Trails( FT 5601,5601A) Fall Hike- Lincoln National Forest

 I visited Apple Tree Canyon in the the spring of  2015, and decided then it would a wonderful place to revisit in the fall because of the big tooth maple trees. Well, I went back this past Saturday, and hit it right at the peak of color. I don't know why, but I get positively giddy when this happens, perhaps due to a nostalgia for my Connecticut upbringing that is less consciously cultivated but  rather something more primal. But who knows?
 The maples (at least the big tooths) seem to be more prevalent on the west side of Sacramentos in west flowing canyons and ravines as far as  I can tell, but I've seen a few here and there all over the range. Another great canyon that is loaded with them is San Andres Canyon which I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.  Funny thing is many people don't know the maples are there in the forest in great numbers, even in fall, because they are only rarely seen along roads, and don't grow in solid stands like aspens so the tall evergreens block them from view.
Anyway, it was a perfect fall day that gladdened my heart and sent all the bad things away to hide as my dogs and  I marched through this forest that is nothing if not a precious gift for all who enter it.