Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. It was a really nice area to explore, even if it was just for a short time.

@@WanderingMonkHikes One of the best local hikes in the Franklin Mountains! Great views, and ridgeline walks are always fun!

@@WanderingMonkHikes Kevin’s a good dude! Thanks for checking out the channel 🙏🙏🙏 It’s cool to connect with others with similar interests!

@@WanderingMonkHikes I like your content, you got my sub too :)

Thank you! I am an early riser by nature, but waking up at 3 am is pretty rough for me heh-heh. But like you said, it was totally worth getting up that early 🙂

Thank you!

Thank you! It was neat experimenting with showing the passage of time in a single photo. I had a lot of fun editing this shot, and I am glad you enjoyed it too 🙏🙏🙏 🙂🙂🙂

Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it 🙏🙏🙏

@@ChucoHiker you're welcome

Thanks man! I tried some new methods in this photo, I feel it came together pretty well!

@@ChucoHiker It sure did.

This area is definitely dog friendly, my dogs love it out here.

@@ChucoHiker thank you for the reply! Is there a certain trail you’d recommend? I have never been there. My dog usually walks a good mile and a half to 2 miles.

@@shawngaillardet4478 In that area I’ve done the Rim trail, Willie White trail complex, and Benson canyon. All are good trails, but the Rim trail has a special place in my heart. Having said that, Willie White is right at Bluff Springs, and I’d recommend doing that just for the waterfall if you’ve never been. All these are longer trails, but they can be as short as you want them. Closer to Cloudcroft is the Trestle trail, which has cool views of abandoned historic train tracks, and the Osha trail. I haven’t done the Osha trail yet, but it’s a very popular loop and only 2.5 miles.

@@ChucoHiker thank you so much for this!

@@shawngaillardet4478 You’re welcome! Hike safe out there, hope you enjoy it 🙂

Thanks Zachary! I appreciate the guidance on peak bagging, and those rules totally make sense. If I recall, didn’t you hit up both North and South Franklin on the same day?? You’re a beast heh-heh! I do enjoy it out here, we are lucky to have these mountains nearby. Although I’ve been itching to do an AZ trip. Y’all got some cool stuff too, and I really want to do some saguaro cactus photography.

@@ChucoHiker you're welcome. Those are just my own rules, but I think they fit. Yes, I did North and South Franklin, then drove up to the Organ Mts. and did Baylor Peak. Those were the days, especially after I finished up with some clients in Austin at 8pm the night before and then drove all night to El Paso. I wish I could still do that, but it's nice not to have to anyway. It shouldn't be too far for you to get here. You have to drive almost into Tucson to start seeing saguaros. There are so many mountains around here, and so much variety in terrain in only a few hours. Hopefully you can make it soon.

@@ZacharyTeich-HikingTrainer I’ve done all those peaks, but one at a time and with plenty of sleep. Your feat is impressive work indeed! Saguaro National Park and the Chiricahuas are on my list for outdoor photography. I should revisit the Grand Canyon too. AZ is pretty awesome.

Thanks dude! I’m glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you make it out there one day! It’s one of my favorite places to be 🙂!

Thank you, it’s one of my favorite trails in the park 🙂. It’s cool in the winter, but scorching in the summer heh-heh. I’m trying to improve my scrambling. This trail doesn’t bother me in terms of climbing, but there are others here that scare the heck out of me….and they taunt me so lol.

Thank you! And thank you for watching 🙂

Thank you, and thank you so much for sharing 🙏🙏🙏!!!

@@ChucoHiker you're welcome, and Happy Hiking

Thanks man, I really appreciate it. I always try to improve the editing bit by bit, it’s cool your whole family enjoyed it! There’s good front country camping at the Franklins, that would be a cool trip and y’all could explore all the cool mountain trails. I’d be happy to show you! No backcountry camping in the park yet, but it’s possible to do a route with an overnight on BLM land that starts and ends in the park.

And they are always calling! Thanks for watching my friend 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you! This is the first video I ever did for KZbin, and there are so many things I’d do differently with all the lessons learned if I were to make this video today. However there is something special about it being the first, and knowing people still enjoy it is always nice to hear 🙂 Thanks so much for watching! 🙏🙏🙏

Much appreciated dude! Blue hour photos can be pretty sweet, and it’s always nice hearing when others enjoy the shots too! Thanks for watching my friend :)

¡Muchos gracias! Es un lugar muy especial. Buena suerte con sus aventuras!

Much appreciated and thank you for watching! If only it wasn’t so heavy though. Maybe one day I won’t have the heaviest pack at one our group gatherings lol

Thank you! Hopefully it wasn’t too disappointing haha 😂

@@ChucoHiker Not disappointing at all.

Thank you! I’m curious to see how it evolves by the end of the year. I’m pretty happy with this setup for now though 🙂🙂🙂

Thanks! I’m glad my friends were brave enough to do the scramble so I could share it here 😂😂😂!!!

@@ChucoHiker I'm not sure I would brave enough myself.

I definitely appreciate the Franklin Mountains! They’re great for a quick getaway or conditioning/preparing for a multi day trip. We definitely need to do a trip, hopefully it’s not until November heh-heh.

Haha! It definitely took guts, and I didn’t have the guts to climb it…yet. 😬😬😬 Rocks were definitely a concern, I kept away from the bottom for that reason.

Thank you for the encouraging words, and good job overcoming the fear my friend. Where were you when you gained the confidence to do it? Hopefully I’ll be posting a follow up video where I’m on top of mammoth rock in the not too distant future 🙂

@@ChucoHiker Kitchen Mesa was the location. I’m looking forward to seeing your follow up video.✌️

Thank you so much, this really warms the heart to read! I always wonder if people will like the photography part of the videos, and I’m still trying to figure out the best way to incorporate outdoor photography into my videos. I have scrapped so many ideas that I started just because they weren’t coming together well, but reading comments like these really help me know that I’m doing something right :) Thank you 🙏🙏🙏

Heh-heh, it was three friends actually! I waited at the bottom and snapped some photos lol. It’s actually not too bad in terms of handholds and footholds. There were plenty of them, but when I looked down it triggered some vertigo that unnerved me so I descended. I’m going to try this route again though 😬😬😬

@@ChucoHiker In the wise words of Sylvester Stallone, Ace Ventura and Donkey from Shrek..."don't look down". But seriously, stay safe and have fun conquering the beast!

@@jetgirlhikes9155 Ha! Who can go wrong following the advice of these three wise men 😜 Thank you, staying safe is always the priority. 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you for watching! We are really lucky to have such easy access to these mountains :)

@@ChucoHiker for sure

Thank you!

Thank you! I tried new editing software and a new voice recorder for the audio. I like how it all turned out, glad you liked it as well!

Thank you! Hard to believe it’s already a month into 2024, I need to take more pictures!

Thank you, Chuco. I'm looking forward to your adventures and photography.

@@hikingwithjackieboy It’s the least I could do 🙂 Hopefully my 2024 photos don’t disappoint heh-heh.

Thanks for watching, glad you liked it! That Durston has been awesome :)

Thanks man! I really appreciate it, it’s been a fun journey 🙏🙏🙏

You're welcome @@ChucoHiker

Thank you. I was lucky and got some good ones this year :) Gotta love our southwestern views!

Thanks man! You’ll be seeing some of these views in person in a couple of weeks!

Thanks so much for watching, and I’m glad the videos helped! I need to explore the Tucson area. Between your local mountains and nearby national parks, there’s a lot of beauty out there!

Thank you and happy new year to you and yours as well! Here’s to living it up in 2024!

Thanks! I had some great ones this year, but also a lot of lackluster ones heh-heh. It’s been a good year of learning 🙂 Happy New Year to yall!

Happy new year my friend! Best wishes to to and yours as well 🙂

Thanks! I’m glad you like them! I go back and forth with watermarking. I used to do it, then I stopped doing it, then I think about doing it again. You’re right though, there are bad actors out there that will steal work without permission. It’s something worth thinking about.

Thank you 🙏🙏 Sugarloaf definitely came out real nice :). It was a great way to start the year!

I’m glad you like them, and thank you for watching! 🙏🙏🙏

Thanks man! It’s been a fun year of learning!

Hi! I’m not sure if you meant to reach out to Cameron on his channel instead, and unfortunately I’m not an expert on wildflowers. Here’s an article from the GUMO website that may be helpful, and park rangers are usually good sources of information for local plants. www.nps.gov/gumo/learn/nature/wildflowers.htm That article mentions some things will typically be in bloom in April, but it is affected by rainfall conditions.

@@ChucoHiker Thanks!