Mesa (Square) Butte 720280 - Curley Sand loop Trail hike on 21-Oct-20

It was a bit chilly at -2C at the trailhead but shortly thereafter at the top of Curley Sands it was de-layering time as it was more like +10C. On this section we noticed a rather odd looking fungus on one of the trees:

The rough trail along the ridge after leaving the main trail was somewhat indistinct and the first descent off-trail through the trees had a fair number of blowdowns which necessitated at zigzag route. About halfway down the blowdowns relented and the boggy spot at the bottom was easy to cross, keeping our footware dry. It was warm and sunny for the climb up the next grassy slope and uneventful to the peak lunch spot:

It was an excellent location for leisurely dining. We then continued along the mesa-top trail, which had low and high hurdle logs to deal with and is getting overgrown in a number of places. After descent from the northeast end it was an easy going return along the pipeline r.o.w., generally dry except for a couple of cow churned mudholes. We had the whole area to ourselves as no other hikers were seen all day.

Participants: Philip, Ron C/S/P, Barbara