Tag: Friday Fitness Hike (page 27 of 36)

April 1, 2014 / 4 Comments

Friday Hike – Black Mesa / Bull Pass Loops in the Superstitions

Linda, Bob, and I did a hike in the Superstitions last Friday.

We started off on the Dutchman Trail and then took the Second Water Trail. We hiked Second Water out to the Black Mesa Trail which took us back to the Dutchman Trail. Had we returned on the Dutchman Trail at this point – which is what we had planned – we would have hiked nine miles. But we were all feeling pretty good so we decided to see if we could find the Bull Pass Trail, which we had noticed on the map prior to starting our hike.

I couldn’t tell from the map if the Bull Pass Trail connected with the Dutchman Trail or the Boulder Canyon Trail, so we explored a bit of Boulder Canyon looking for the Bull Pass Trail. The Boulder Canyon Trail – at that point, anyway – crosses Boulder Creek many, many times. We limited ourselves to three crossings in our exploration. Neither Bob nor Linda had hiked this portion of the Boulder Canyon Trail. This gave them a chance to experience what it’s like.

We returned to the Dutchman Trail and located the Bull Pass a short ways further. The first part of the Bull Pass Trail provided us with much of our elevation gain for the day. Once we reached the pass, we saw a side trail which continued upwards. We went up some of the way, but turned back before reaching the summit. (I knew we had a lot of miles to hike still, and thought it best to conserve our energy.)

Returning to the Bull Pass Trail, we continued on until we reached the Dutchman Trail again. We hiked the Dutchman Trail back to the Trailhead.

Our total distance for the day was 16.1 miles, but with only 1,978 feet of total ascent. (I was hoping to reach at least 2,000.)

This is a view from the Second Water Trail early in the hike.

Linda and Bob enjoy the view from the Second Water Trail. There’s an interesting, arch-shaped cairn here too.

We saw these chain fruit cholla on the Black Mesa Trail.

I thought it was interesting that these saguaros made a “V”.
We noticed a large number of saguaros on the hillside to our left as we hiked the Black Mesa Trail, but there were almost no saguaros on the hillside to our right. I had to keep the camera low to avoid lens flare in this shot.

A short ways further, I decided to position the camera in this saguaro’s shadow as a different way of avoiding lens flare.

We came across this thistle flower with a bee wriggling around in the flower. Apparently, it was very happy there because it was there when I stopped for a sequence of photos and was still there when I left. I waited a bit too, to see if it would emerge and fly away, but did not have the patience to wait for very long.

This might be Desert Marigold.

I don’t know what these purple flowers are. They were somewhat paler than shown here in the harsh sunlight.

Linda hiking the Black Mesa Trail.

Bob found a side trail leading to a scenic overlook. I made a panorama our of a bunch of different shots taken from this overlook. A short ways further, we got a good look at Weaver’s Needle. These two photos are taken from roughly the same location. Two more views of Weaver’s Needle from a short ways further.
I think this is a feeder for Boulder Creek. The hike description mentions that the Black Mesa Trail descends into Boulder Canyon, but I’m not convinced that this is actually Boulder Canyon.
I think we might have reached the Dutchman Trail at this point.

There are several flowers here, but I don’t know what any of them are.

20140328-_DSC9926-Edit-medium We were either in or near Boulder Canyon when I took this photo of Weaver’s Needle. I think Battleship Mountain is to the right. We got to see this formation from the other side too (we think). There appeared to be a relatively easy ascent from the other side.

We finally locate the Bull Pass Trail!

More views of Weaver’s Needle, this time from the Bull Pass Trail.

At this point we had reached the high point of the Bull Pass Trail and had continued up the side trail for even better views.

This was one of the views.

We had lost sight of Weaver’s Needle for quite a while, but it reappeared again for a while.

The trail went right between some huge chain fruit cholla plants.

Back to the Dutchman Trail! (This is the other end of it.)

This large overhanging rock provided shade and was a cool spot to rest. But we spent almost no time resting though as we still had a long way to go.

Another nearby rock:

Linda, photographing some Globe Mallow flowers.

This might be Fleabane.

The Dutchman Trail climbed for a while, providing spectacular views.

A view of Weaver’s Needle from the Dutchman Trail. As I recall, there were great views from this location in all directions.

More views from the Dutchman Trail on our return trip…

Bob noticed an arch near the top of one of the walls. I think this might be Aylor’s Arch. This wall was immense; I got a wide angle to show more of the wall, but lens flare ruined the shot. (I worked on it for a long while, but am not happy enough with the result to post it.) We noticed a small rock formation that appeared to be blocks stacked atop each other.

A view of the end of one of the large walls off to our right.

A closer look at the small rock formation mentioned earlier. Sadly, someone had to carve his (or her) initials (and names) on some of the blocks of this formation.

This might be Blackfoot Daisy.

I was struck by the lichen covered rock as we passed this spot. I think the lichen was even brighter than I made it in this photo.

Another unusual rock formation along the Dutchman Trail.

As we neared the end of the Dutchman Trail, we had to cross a wash several times. Linda found a path that wasn’t too wet and didn’t involve much rock hopping.

March 23, 2014 / 2 Comments

Friday Hike – Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area

Bob, Venie, Linda, Nancy, and I did an eight mile hike at the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area. Our hike took us out into the Tonto National Forest briefly. Halfway through, we hiked up to the top of the fortress peak where we looked at the walls built by an ancient people, presumably for defense.

Our hike started on the Spur Cross Trail, where we encountered Cave Creek.

Fortunately, there is narrow bridge of sorts, so we didn’t have to get our feet wet crossing the creek.

Linda looking at some of the large Saguaros beside the trail:

An early morning view from the Spur Cross Trail:

A view of Elephant Mountain on the left with the fortress peak lower down to the right. The steep walls around most of the fortress peak make it fairly inaccessible via any route except for a steep, but relatively easy trail accessible from the saddle between these two formations.

We saw at least two signs along the way about the trail being a “primitive route” that is “not maintained”. These trails are significantly better than some of the trails we’ve hike elsewhere.

Another early morning view:

Part of the trail followed an old road full of rocks.

Yet another early morning view:

Another view of Elephant Mountain and the Fortress Peak. Note that Elephant Mountain is still to the left of the Fortress Peak in this photo.

By the time that I took this photo, we had worked our way far enough around these formations for the positions to have reversed.

We saw this very elaborate cairn at the junction with Trail 252. We took the fork leading westward.

Trail 252 lead us even further around Elephant Mountain and the Fortress Peak.

We saw this yellow flower along the way.

We encountered a fork on Trail 252 and took the left fork. This lead us back to a fork of the Elephant Mountain Trail that we had bypassed earlier in the hike. I think this view, below, is a view of Elephant Mountain from that trail.

A view from the wash that the trail dumped us into.

Linda says that this is “fountain grass”. She says that it’s a non-native grass. Some of her work with the McDowell Sonoran preserve involves eliminating some of this grass from the preserve. It’s pretty in this photo, but it prevents native plants from growing. When dry, it is very combustible and presents more of a fire danger than do native plants.

A view of some high walls of the wash as we made our way over to another wash, through which the Elephant Mountain Trail passes.

We’re so far below Elephant Mountain now that we can only see the Fortress Peak.

At this point, we had been going uphill for quite a while on our way up to the pass between Elephant Mountain and the Fortress Peak.

A view from the northwest side of the Fortress Peak. Elephant Mountain is not visible in this photo, but is to the camera’s right.

We saw many flowers on the way.

This is a view of Elephant Mountain from part way up the ascent to the top of the Fortress Peak.

A view from below of one of several stone walls on the Fortress Peak.

Several more views of some of the stone Walls near the top of the fortress peak.

Even though it’s quite rocky, the fortress peak has a variety of vegetation.

A view from the near the top of the fortress peak.

I took this photo from some boulders that form the high point of the Fortress Peak. As seen below, there’s quite a lot of space atop this peak.

A view of Elephant Mountain from the fortress peak.

Yet another view from the Fortress Peak.

We continued hiking the Elephant Mountain Trail after leaving the Fortress Peak. The trail crossed a large wash along the way. Below is a close up view looking down the wash.

Here is a wider angle view:

Looking back up at the prominent wall on Elephant Mountain.

Linda told us that this is a Mammillaria, a small type of cactus that often grows between rocks. A look up another steep wash / canyon.

And a look at where it continues downwards:

The ocotillo are in bloom and the desert is still green.

Hedgehog cactus blossoms:

Ocotillo blossom:

Another blooming ocotillo that’s growing around a smallish saguaro.

We encountered this woman riding her horse near the end of the trail. We also saw another large group of riders in the distance, but they’re route did not cross ours.

Linda peers out of a window from the remains (?) of a stone structure near the parking area.

March 16, 2014 / 5 Comments

Friday Hike – Boulder Canyon Trail

Bob, Sarge, Venie, Linda, Nancy, Marilyn, and I hiked the Boulder Canyon Trail in the Superstition Mountains on Friday. We hiked out to the intersection with the Second Water Trail #236 and then returned via the same route. My GPS showed just over 9 miles with over 2,000 feet of total ascent when we finished.

The hike starts from the parking lot of the Canyon Lake Marina. There are parking places designated for hikers near the road. As you cross the road, you walk by the one lane bridge that you probably crossed on your way to the Marina. This bridge crosses Boulder Creek which, I think, is fed by the waterway of Boulder Canyon. A view of Boulder Creek shortly after we started hiking up the Boulder Canyon Trail.

Canyon Lake:

A view looking east. The road visible in this photo is Arizona 88, also known as the Apache Trail.

Another view of Canyon Lake.

Yet another view of Canyon Lake. The Boulder Creek Bridge is visible in this photo.

The Boulder Canyon Trail has a longish uphill section that starts pretty much after crossing the road. Midway up, we got our first views of Battleship Mountain and Weaver’s Needle. At this point, the Boulder Canyon Trail overlooks Boulder canyon at the right in this photo.

I used a 16-70mm zoom lens on my camera for this hike. I used it at the long end to get this photo of Battleship Mountain and Weaver’s Needle.

Linda posed for this photo with Battleship Mountain and Weaver’s Needle in the background.

This photo shows the Boulder Canyon Trail, Boulder Canyon, with the walls of La Barge Canyon, Battleship Mountain, and Weaver’s Needle in the Distance.

I think this is my favorite photo (from this set) of Boulder Canyon.

Linda told me that this is a Chicory Flower.

Another view of this flower. We hiked through a light rain shower early on in the hike, hence the water droplets on the flower.

A yellow flower that I haven’t been able to identify.

I think this is a view looking back along Boulder Canyon.

A rain shower off in the distance. Also, a look back at the trail.

Marilyn and Nancy descend a portion of the trail.

A look forward before beginning our descent to La Barge Canyon. Another view of Boulder Canyon.

Bob with Sarge.

I think the prow of the Flatiron can be seen in this photo near the right of the mountain range in the distance.

Canyon Lake had disappeared from view for a long while, but became visible again for a short while.

Another view of Battleship Mountain and Weaver’s Needle together. This was close to the our last view of Weaver’s Needle until we made the return trip.

At this point, Weaver’s Needle is hidden behind Battleship Mountain.

An interesting rock formation that we passed on the way.

I think this is La Barge Canyon. Our trail lead us across LaBarge Canyon.

There are some old mining ruins along the way.

A Buckhorn Cholla? (Most of the ones I see branch out a lot more.)

Brittlebush with a wall of La Barge Canyon in the background.

We stopped to eat lunch on this large rock next to a creek.

A variety of flora a this location.

A view of Boulder Creek / Boulder Canyon. There were pools of water in the creek, but I didn’t see any flowing water at this point.

At this point the Boulder Canyon Trail crosses the creek a (large) number of times. Having hiked over four miles at this point, we turned back instead.

Another view of our lunch location.

This was actually composed from two exposures. In the first one, Venie, Linda, and Bob were looking my way, and in the second, Marilyn and Nancy were looking towards the camera, but the rest were not.

This is a panorama composed from ten exposures. Even though I had a 16mm lens (at its widest), I could only see small sections of this scene through my viewfinder.

Another view of Battleship Mountain. I climbed a small hill just off the main trail to get this shot. I don’t think it was visible from the trail down where the rest of the group are.

A look at Battleship Mountain midway back up one of the long hills on the way back. It was afternoon at this point; it had become quite sunny (and warm) along this stretch, but the clouds reasserted themselves later on.

Another interesting rock formation that we saw on the way back.

We came across this lizard who had trouble getting out of its hole. It thrashed around for quite a while in an attempt to get out, though it stayed still when I took this and several other photos. Bob cleared some of the rocks and dirt around the hole to help it get out. The ground was incredibly hard.

Canyon Lake in the afternoon.

Brittlebush flowers:

Buckhorn Cholla flower:

March 9, 2014 / 2 Comments

Friday Hike – Ballantine Cabin & Corral

Nancy, Bob, Janet, Allen, Savannah, and I did the Ballantine Cabin & Corral hike on Friday. When we were done, my GPS showed a distance of eleven miles with over 2300 feet of total ascent.

For many of my hikes, I simply use the GPS as a trip computer, however, for this one, we used it to find our way for several miles of the hike. If you do this hike, I recommend using one of the GPS tracks for this hike as it is easy to miss a turn past Ballantine Cabin.

We started just after 7:00am; we got to see the sun rise as we drove to the trailhead. This was one of the views as we hiked up the Pine Creek Loop. Another view from the Pine Creek Loop. We went up the steep way so that we’d have an easier descent on the way back.

Another view from the Pine Creek Loop.

The Pine Creek Loop is about 2.5 miles long. The Ballantine Trail intersects the Pine Creek Loop halfway around the loop. We took the Ballantine Trail out toward Boulder Flat.

More areas of sun and shade.

One of many interesting rock formations along the hike:

This rock formation can be seen at the 2.5 mile point in the hike.

Nancy, Savannah, Allen, Janet, and Bob:

Bob, Janet, Allen, and Nancy. (I’m sure Savannah is in there somewhere too.)

This prominent rock formation is just on the other side of Camp Creek.

A fence can occasionally be seen while hiking. I always marvel at the fact that there are fences out here. This hike is quite strenuous. The ranchers who constructed these fences must have been in excellent physical condition.

Savannah hiking with Janet:

A view of that same reddish rock formation from high on the hill that we had to climb to get to Ballantine Cabin.We got our first view of the cabin shortly after reaching the top of the hill. From there, we had to descend a steep(ish) trail with occasional loose rock.

A view of Ballantine Cabin. I didn’t take many photos of it this time and I had gotten more than a few from last year’s hike out to the cabin.

We continued on our way to the corral crossing through an opening in the fence in the process. There was probably a barbed wire gate here at one time. We saw a lot of black caterpillars on a short (1/2 mile to 1 mile) of the trail. The caterpillars looked much darker than this; I used the +2 EV exposure for this photo in order to get a better look at it.

We saw this large flattish slab of rock along the way.

I think this is Fleabane:

Savannah waits for the rest of the group to ascend the steep, thorny path on our way to the corral.

An interesting rock formation somewhat past the corral.

I took this photo from a large granite slab.

This is the start of another steep, loose, and rocky descent.

But the views are great from this location! I took several photos here…

I think this is the same reddish rock formation that we has passed earlier on the way out.

A view of Red Mountain off in the distance. Fountain Hills is off to the right.

I saw this dead tree as I was making my descent.

Poppies:

A look back at where we had come from:

Looking ahead again as I try to catch up with the rest of the group.

Globemallow: Nancy waits by the prominent rock formation at the intersection with the trail leading over to the cabin (which we had hiked earlier in the day).

We had some big puffy clouds for a while, which made the sky more interesting.

A saguaro at the top of a small rise on the way back.

A look back as Bob, Allen, Savannah, Janet, and Nancy make their way along the Ballantine.

We had some great views on the way back too…

Brittlebush (and a great view):

Another great view…

A saguaro with lots of arms crowded together. It has even more on the other side. This saguaro is on the Pine Creek Loop with less than half a mile to go to the parking area.

March 1, 2014 / 5 Comments

Friday Fitness Hike

Friday’s Hike started from the Wagner Trailhead. We hiked Wagner to Granite, and went right on Granite. The group split up in the large wash just past Stoneman Wash (which feeds back into Stoneman Wash). Amy finished the hike with most of the group, continuing on to Bluff, then down Bluff back to Granite and Wagner. The short hike was about five miles long. Those of us who did the long hike made our way up to Pemberton at which point we returned via the Delsie, Wagner, and Granite trails, for a total distance of ten miles.

I took this photo on Granite Trail just before the group split up. The red flowers are chuparosa. I don’t recall what the white ones are.

From left to right are Nick, Lena, Venie, Bob, Norm, Hiungi, Alan, Jill, George, Amy, Ellen, and Nancy.

A view of the McDowells in the distance.

A look back up from within a rock strewn wash.

A view of Weaver’s Needle in the distance.

Blooming Chuparosa bushes add color to the desert at this time of year.

A flat panel of varnished granite:

A panorama showing the area we visited.

The same quartz outcropping that we visited two weeks ago:

Lena:

The McDowells in the distance with quartz in the foreground.

A view of Morrell’s Wall and Tom’s Thumb in the distance.

Nick and Lena hiking down the Pemberton Trail towards Granite Tank:

Dead wood on the Delsie Trail.

We saw a lot of cyclists riding up the Delsie Trail.

February 15, 2014 / 4 Comments

Friday Fitness Hike

Fourteen hikers showed up for the February 14 Fitness Hike. Starting at the Wagner Trailhead, we crossed the road and took the Tortoise Trail to the Pemberton. From there, we hiked Pemberton to Stoneman Wash, and Stoneman Wash to the Bluff Trail. At that point the group split up with Amy leading the majority of the group back to the Wagner Trailhead. Bill, Janet, Nick, Linda, and I went the other way on the Bluff Trail, eventually returning on the Wagner Trail as well.

A buckhorn cholla on the Tortoise Trail:

A dead tree on the Pemberton:

Anders said that this is a 1960 Chevy. There had been speculation in the past that it was a ’59, but Anders said that the 1959 Chevy had bigger fins.

From left to right are Amy, Jill, George, Linda, Mary Ann, Christina, Venie, Nick, Janet, Mary Lou, Per, Anders, and Bill. We had such a big group today that not much of the car is visible in this photo! (And they made them really big back then!)
Even though it’s a fitness hike, Amy tells us about desert mistletoe during one of our water breaks.

A view of Stoneman Wash. The green plant at the lower left is called Bebbia, but is also known as Sweet Bush or Chuckwalla’s Delight. (Thanks to Amy for researching this and sending me this information after the hike was over.)

A chuparosa bush in bloom:

Janet, Nick, and Bill wait for me on some rocks. Linda took this photo of me next to a chuparosa bush. An ocotillo is behind it. A fairy duster in bloom: The McDowells with a bunch of boulders in the foreground.

A similar view, but this time with a saguaro in the foreground too.

A boulder strewn wash: A view from the wash:

We encountered many large boulders on our hike. Another dead tree:

Making our way towards a quartz outcropping:

A field of small quartz rocks:

Two views of the quartz outcropping atop a hill:

Another rock formation beside a wash:

An unusual saguaro:

A dead saguaro; it seems to have fallen recently.

Janet examines the roots of the fallen saguaro.

A poppy:

The remains of a burnt tree on the Delsie Trail:

Christmas Cholla:

February 8, 2014 / 3 Comments

Friday Fitness Hike

Friday’s hike was on the North Trail in McDowell Mountain Park. Some of us hiked out to Cedar Tank via Chuparosa, Pemberton, and other trails in the that area.

When we got to the Chuparosa Trail, Mary Lou and Virginia hiked back with Amy. We took this photo at that intersection. From left to right are Per, Virginia, Nick, Christina, Mary Lou, Janet, Amy (in front), Bill, and Nancy.

There are some nice looking saguaros in the area…

I tried a different treatment for this photo. It’s the same saguaro shown in the photo above, but the shot was taken from a different angle.

Nick, Nancy, Janet, and Bill chat while I take photos. Per and Christina had turned back at this point.

A hedgehog cacti:

Bill told us that this is the nest / web of a Wolf Spider:

Cedar Tank:

Another view of Cedar Tank. There’s an old, rusty, bullet riddled metal tank at the right of the photo. But that’s not Cedar Tank. Cedar Tank is actually the depression where water collects.We saw a Fairy Duster in bloom:

But the very top of the plant was not quite in bloom:

A close up of a chuparosa blossom: Bill, Janet, and Nick examine the chuparosa plant. We came across this survey marker on the way back. It’s perhaps 10 yards off the Chuparosa Trail. $250 back in 1919 was quite a lot of money. It’s equivalent to $3,500 in 2014.

February 2, 2014 / 3 Comments

Friday Fitness Hike

Friday’s hike lead some of us all the way up and then down the Western Loop Trail via the Dixie Mine, Sonoran, and Promenade trails. Those of us who made it that far hiked a total of ten miles with over two thousand feet of total ascent.

We were happy to have Amy with us again. She hiked out to the intersection of Dixie Mine and Sonoran with us. She says her back is feeling better now, though I don’t think she’s totally recovered yet.

We took this photo, below, just after entering the park proper. From left to right are Richard, Bill, Amy, Janet, Venie, Doug, Linda, Alex, and Ellen. A view of the McDowells from the Dixie Mine Trail: Amy leads the way up one of the short hills on the Dixie Mine Trail. Dead branches and boulders along the Dixie Mine Trail. I think this is a view from the Sonoran, though still within McDowell Mountain Park.

Hedgehog cacti (I think):A view of the Sonoran Trail.

I think we were on the Western Loop Trail when I took this photo. Tom’s Thumb is barely visible on the far right.
Venie, Ellen, and Alex enjoy the view from the Western Loop Trail.

Yet another view from the Western Loop Trail.

A view from the Western Loop Overlook: Weaver’s Needle and Red Mountain are visible in the haze in the distance.

Another view from the overlook: A view while descending the Western Loop Trail:We saw the Fountain several times during our hike.
I tried to get both the saguaro and the background in focus in this shot below. I combined two exposures to do this. Unfortunately, there’s some blurred areas around the needles lower down which could not be blended very well.

We passed this rock outcropping on our way down the Western Loop Trail.

There were several points where we passed beneath ocotillos, many of which are hanging lower than I remember from past hikes. Alex and Ellen pose on the Sonoran Trail. Several panoramas… Back in the park at this point…

This is a wash near the Dixie Mine Trail. This photo was constructed from six different exposures. I only had a 35mm lens with me, so I took six photos of the scene and stitched them together. Some of the panoramas, above, were constructed from as many as ten or more exposures. (I lost count while doing some of them.)

January 26, 2014 / 3 Comments

Friday Fitness Hike

We hiked the Scenic Trail last Friday. When we returned to the parking area, most of us continued on to explore a twisty canyon near the old homestead. We saw a hummingbird and a pair of owls along the way.

We hiked out about a mile on Pemberton and then turned onto the Scenic Trail. This was the view just as we turned onto the Scenic Trail.

A view of Red Mountain from the Scenic Trail:

A panoramic view from the Scenic Trail.

Another view of Red Mountain:

Time for a water break. From left to right are Sarg, Janet, Bob, Richard, Linda, Bill, Doug, Ellen, and Venie. Another view from the ridge.

Sarge shows off his new haircut.

A view of Red Mountain just before dipping into Stoneman Wash:

The Pemberton Trail passes several clay mining sites. These areas were not heavily mined due to the invention of PVC pipe.
A hummingbird at rest in a bush. Several of us, including me, were surprised to see it resting.
Approaching the canyon area:

A wash flows through the area, eventually feeding into Stoneman Wash.
Sarge takes a break while Bob and I discussed which way to go. There are many choices, some of which lead to dead ends. Bob and Sarge pose by a steep wall.

Venie, Ellen, Janet, and Linda:

Erosive processes undercut a section of one of the walls in several places. This is the most prominent one that we passed on our hike.

Venie, Ellen, Janet, and Linda hike beside another steep wall.

A dead tree beside the wash:

We startled a pair of owls along the way. They would fly a short way and land, only to be roused again as we continued our way up the canyon. We saw them take off and land perhaps half a dozen times. Unfortunately, this photo isn’t in focus, but I’m more than a little surprised that I managed to get a photo of an owl in flight at all.