HIKE OF THE MONTH

of the month bike An OLD RAILROAD BED in the WHITE MOUNTAINS Loops 7.5 miles Through PINE and ASPEN FORESTS

[RIGHT] Along Indian Springs Trail in eastern Arizona, water in the dugout log troughs at Spillman Spring looks refreshing, but hikers beware-it's untreated and not safe to drink. [BELOW] The most common bird of Arizona's pine forests, the pygmy nuthatch communicates with loud peeps. [OPPOSITE PAGE] Towering aspen trees carpet Indian Springs Trail with pale golden leaves.

IT WAS JUST NOON AS WE left the trailhead parking area, walking south through a quiet, shady forest of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, aspen and blue and Engelmann spruce trees. Bracken ferns lined an autumn pathway carpeted with pine needles and yellowand red-tinged aspen leaves. Anticipating a scenic, memorable White Mountains experience, two friends and I had decided to hike the Indian Springs Trail near Big Lake in eastern Arizona's high country. I hoped we would spot wildlife along the 7.5-mile loop,which winds through mature conifer forests and aspen-rimmed mountain parks. Designated for mountain biking as well as hiking, much of the well-maintained trail follows an abandoned railroad grade. A short connecting trail from Rainbow Campground provides convenient access from the Big Lake recreational area. After a half-mile, we reached the turnoff to the Big Lake lookout tower. This side trip, an easy walk for most of its half-mile length, ended with a short but steep scramble up a granite escarpment to the fire lookout. From the tower steps, the view of Big Lake and the surrounding area proved well worth the detour. Back on the main trail, after another half-mile, we reached Spillman Spring, where three hollowed-out logs channel water from the spring and serve as water troughs for cattle and wildlife. As the trail wound briefly downhill, we heard a soft twittering sound and found ourselves surrounded by a flock of pygmy nuthatches. The tiny birds, busily scouring bark for insects, hung upside-down and sideways from tree trunks as they called to one another. After crossing Forest Service Road 24, we discovered the first of what seemed to be several unusual aspen trees. Unlike typical tall aspens with long, slender trunks and high, thin branches, these had short, thick trunks and low branches forming a rounded crown of foliage. The trail followed a ribbon of green meadow to Indian Spring. Located at the confluence of two shallow drainages, the spring forms a tiny summer pond. From the spring we turned left, hiking a quarter-mile to an old railroad bed. From the 1940s into the 1970s, the Apache Railway Company's Maverick Line served the area's once-booming logging industry. The railway was dismantled in 1976, and its grade-turned-trail is elevated, wide and easygoing as it travels through forest and meadow. In late afternoon, a magnificent bull elk trotted across the trail in front of us and disappeared into the forest. Later we passed the West Fork Trail that leads 3 miles to the Black River. Our path left the old railroad bed and wandered through woodlands and meadows before crossing Forest Service Road 249E. Continuing north, we met two bicyclists coasting down the easy grade. This section of forest trail, about a mile, swings close to Rainbow Campground before looping back to the trailhead. Although the trip to the lookout added an additional mile, round-trip, to our trek, we returned to the trailhead feeling energized. From the tiny nuthatches to the grand, antlered elk, our 8.5-mile hike offered a classic White Mountains adventure. AH