Marie took this photo of the Park Avenue Trailhead at sunset during our first night at Moab last month.
Author: Kevin (page 90 of 115)
Friday’s hike was 6.25 miles, starting from the Trailhead Staging Area. We hiked out on the Pemberton Trail and then explored some of the washes near the former site of the Pemberton Ranch homestead. We returned via Stoneman Wash and Pemberton.
Linda showed up with a new pair of gaiters. We needed our gaiters today – they kept stuff out of our shoes as we hiked though sandy and vegetated washes.
Two views of one of the washes we explored:
A photo of Amy as she was…
…taking this photo of us:
The small canyons we hiked started out fairly open, but gradually narrowed with lots of twists and turns. We encountered several forks along the way too. If you choose incorrectly, you end up in a box canyon. Today, however, we guessed at the right route; some of our past explorations of this area required us to retrace our steps.
Bob and Sarge pose beneath an undercut section of wall:
Linda and Amy hike past a steep wall.
Amy tells us about this Verdin nest:
As noted earlier, our way narrowed down. At this point, we had to hike single file.
Taking a water break…
Sarge!
More views on our way back to the Pemberton:
We came across this rusted piece of metal. None of us could figure out to what it might have once been attached.
A short while later, Amy found this spoon in the wash:
We followed our wash across the Pemberton on its way to feeding into Stoneman Wash. Bob stopped to give Sarge some more water. I used the time to hike to the top of a small hill to see if we were already in Stoneman wash or if we still had further to go. (We still had a ways to go.) While atop the hill, I took this picture of the group with the McDowells in the background:
While still on the hill, I turned around and took this photo looking across Stoneman Wash towards Four Peaks.
It was starting to get warm as we hiked up Stoneman Wash and Sarge was panting a lot. Bob stopped to give Sarge some more water.
Bob, Marilyn, and I went out early to ride the Competitive Tracks at McDowell Mountain Park.
Just before sunrise:
Marilyn and Bob ride to the top of the first big hill on the Sport Loop:
Bob, near the end of the Sport Loop:
Marilyn, on the Technical Loop:
This snake was lying across the trail on the technical loop. I got three shots of it prior to turning around and slithering off.
Friday’s hike started at the Wagner Trailhead. Bob, Teresa, Linda, Janet, and I hiked 7.25 miles. The highlight of the hike was the wash paralleling the Bluff Trail. Most of the photos below are from that area.
The morning was cloudy, which is kind of unusual for Arizona, though not too unusual for hikes in July and August. We heard thunder off in the distance and were able to see rain in the distance too. Occasional gaps in the clouds allowed the sun to light up mountains in the distance.
This is a view of the wash, just after leaving the Granite Trail. We climb the boulders near the left edge of the photo in order to continue on up the wash.
Teresa and Linda make their way up the rocky part of the wash.
Teresa found this antler in the wash.
Anyone know what kind of plant this is?
We saw many holes as we hiked up the wash. This one was quite large, but shallow. We were able to easily see the bottom of the hole. We wondered what kind of animal made this hole.
Spooky looking tree branches:
Here’s a spider hole. But what kind of spider lives here?
Part of a burnt tree…
Teresa and Bob hike through another rocky section of the wash.
Rain showers in the distance…
Teresa, Janet, Bob, and Linda at the top of the Bluff Trail. Janet, Bob, and Linda are wearing colorful gaiters purchased from Dirty Girl Gaiters.
Another view of rain showers from the Bluff Trail:
Another view of the Bluff Trail, with Four Peaks just visible behind some rain showers.