HIKE OF THE MONTH

hike of the month A Fall Trek below the Mogollon Rim Leads to Splashes of Color and a Mountain Spring

Fall is feast season in the mountains - a time when gardeners savor fresh-picked vegetables, and mule deer stuff themselves with acorns and berries. But fall also provides a visual feast. Inconspicuous trees suddenly decorate themselves in crimson or gold, and normally drab shrubbery turns cranberry red as if basking in the radiance of brightly colored spotlights.

One surefire way to feast on some rich fall color is to hike up the popular Horton Creek Trail northeast of Payson in late October to early November. This four-mile trek (one-way) begins at the end of the creek, just a short distance below the foot of the Mogollon Rim at the point where Horton Creek empties into Tonto Creek.

The first half-mile of trail offers a display of purplish sumac and other colorful leaves. What it doesn't offer is water because rocks bury the creek here. Only after crossing a fenceline do you find the stream running - complete with darting trout and gurgling sounds. Trail and creek then parallel each other the rest of the way.

Walking this trail, which follows an old wagon road toward the base of the Rim, looks fairly easy. But the route is deceptively uphill, gaining more than a thousand feet without ever appearing to climb. So while your mind doesn't notice any major slope, your legs feel as though they're plodding through deep sand. Luckily, constant flashes of color along the trail provide distractions from gravity's inconveniences.

On the right, a Virginia creeper stitches scarlet spirals around a dead gray tree trunk. Overhead, thick grapevines drape their golden leaves from Douglas fir branches. Even the lowly poison ivy plant looks pretty with its ruby red leaves and stems. But the most serious color begins about two miles up from the trailhead. Here stand the first good groves of maples, swaying like bright party streamers against the backdrop of a dark forest.

For most autumn hikers, maples represent the color standard against which all other trees must be measured. While the trees are not physically imposing, their leaves contain a variety of pigments that can range from pale flamingo to intense rose. They reveal it in their own time, too. One tree in midOctober might flush entirely pink, as if burning with embarrassment. Another might (ABOVE) Lisa Villa enjoys the falls at Horton Spring. (RIGHT) A hundred yards below the maple and fir grove where it emerges as a spring, Horton Creek spills over a log at the Highline Trail crossing.Four miles from the trailhead, Horton Creek Trail meets the Highline Trail, a long-distance thoroughfare. Just beyond, a shady hollow holds the headwaters of Horton Creek.

wait until early November, then light up like a 40-foot torch - green on the bottom, yellow in the middle, flame red on top. Trying to predict fall's moment of peak color becomes a gambler's proposition.

Listen and you will locate the source of all you have seen: Horton Spring. This little gem, tucked into the rocks 20 or 30 feet above the stream, splashes out from the base of the Mogollon Rim like a miniature white-water rapid.Take a moment to imagine the course that water has taken to find you in this quiet place. Then follow it back downstream and enjoy fall's feast all over again.

WHEN YOU GO

Horton Creek Trail can be reached entirely by pavement. Drive 17 miles east of Payson on State Route 260. Turn left just past Kohl's Ranch onto Forest Service Road 289. Go one mile, cross a small bridge over Tonto Creek, and find the Horton Creek Picnic Site immediately on your left. Park and walk back across the bridge into the Upper Tonto Creek Campground. The trail starts there, dropping down to Horton Creek in the first few yards. For more information, contact the Payson Ranger District, 1009 E. Highway 260, Payson, AZ 85541; (520) 474-7900.