I witnessed the forces of Mother Nature as I hiked up to Santiago Peak.  Tge Santiago Truck Trail was eroded.  I had to hike around the erosion.  I witnessed run-off of the trail.  But with alertness, I had no problem on tge Santiago Truck Trail.  My second favorite part of the Santiago Peak hike is on the Joplin trail.  I saw many beautiful various wildflowers, fern,, mushrooms and mosses.  Due to the recent storms, the creek had alot of running water.  The water current was very powerful.  During these creek crossings, I made sure my trekking poles were dug deep into the ground and my foot were planted firmly not to have the strong current pulling me downstream.  I had to do eight water crossings.  My boots and socks were completely wet.  This made me hiked very slowly.  As I approached the main divide, I saw snow on Santiago Peak.  I used the hiking to continue my hike up to Santiago Peak to avoid the car on the service road.  I later found out that the Rangers weren't allowing any vehicles up to Santiago Peak today.  My decision to use the hiking trail was a bad decision.  There were alot of snow and hard ice on the trail.  I hiked it with care and this 1 mile took me forever.  I finally reached the antennas and radio drums.  I saw a couple of hikers and mountain bikers who were there.  I took my summit photos.  Then I saw the fog rolled in.  I hurried scrambled down to my car.

This was a memorable experience for me.  I done this hike solely.  I gained knowledge and how to solve it when Mother Nature throws obstacles at me.