Badger Flats
Walt and Monica left the rest of the group behind and crossed the pavement from Tappan Mountain to do Badger Flats. The eastern end is a bit odd, with an open spot in the fence just wide enough for our vehicles. Larger rigs definitely wouldn't fit, so that cuts out the big campers and fifth wheel trailers. The trail was a big washed out from the start, so it isn't a good trail for bigger vehicles, anyway.
Our GPS units called the trail Beryllium, and we soon got to the intersection with Gilley. We had to check it out, so we went out to Gilley first. The spur was fairly uneventful, though the cows we went by seemed mildly interested.
We were hoping that the next spur was called Rock Climb because it had a good hill of rocks for us to play on, but it turned out it was named for a hill of rocks made for rock climbing on foot. We didn't get out to check things out as the light was fading a bit. It looked like it might rain, so we kept moving.
Once we got back to the main trail, the name changed from Beryllium to Sixteener. We headed west until we came to the big intersection with the Round Mountain trail and other spurs. After a bit of discussion we decided to keep heading west and then circle back to do Round Mountain.
We saw a few people camping at a big spot, and then we came to the fence. The sign said to keep the gate closed, so we went through and closed it behind us. Then the trail followed the fence on the other side for a while.
We were hoping to get closer to Round Mountain, but it wasn't possible. It was a nice sight, though, as we traveled the short distance out to County Road 31. The trail came out at a kiosk for Badger Flats that we read, and then we decided to go around the corner to Round Mountain.
