Event Description

Late October is usually the best time for this hike, as temperatures have cooled, and the sandhill cranes should be back in force. We will visit the “Inkspot” – a large, collapsed sinkhole in gypsum. It is located in the Salt Creek Wilderness area in the north unit of the Bitter Lake NWR. It features a large variety of animal life and many interesting plants, some of which only grow in the high gypsum content soil.

As on other trips, we will document the occurrence of plants and animals we find and provide that information to the staff at the refuge headquarters. The hike should end by mid-afternoon, but for those who are interested, we will stay at the refuge until dark to watch the fly-in of up to 10,000 sandhill cranes.

Maximum participants: 15

Hike leader: Steve West, stevewest@nmwild.org, 505-302-6187

Hiking distance: 4 to 5 miles

Elevation range: 3500 to 3600 feet.

Difficulty: easy