I hiked 5.5 miles in the Tom’s Thumb area, doing a combination of the Hog Heaven Loop and the Lost Wall Loop. Towards the end of the hike, I added on the Feldspar and Marcus Landslide trails turning the route into more of a figure-8. Along the way, I visited Hog Heaven, the Thumbnail Pinnacle, the East End (highest point in the McDowells), and Tom’s Thumb.
Marilyn, Linda, and I did a hike in the Dixie Mine area on Friday. Linda and I hiked 10.4 miles. Marilyn joined us for the first two and a half.
We think this is a red-tailed hawk.
Wolfberries:
A view from the Prospector Trail:
A view from the Bell Pass Trail:
Looking toward the Superstitions from the Coachwhip Trail:
Arizona Poppy (I think):
Bob, Marilyn, and I hiked 7.8 miles starting from the Wagner Trailhead.
Sunrise from the trailhead:
A mushroom in the desert? Apparently so…
Sacred Datura:
Look for the Javelina near the bottom of this photo, just left of center. The McDowell Mountains are in the background.
The yellow flowers in this photo are Senna:
It took us a while to spot this snake. We heard it rattling, but we thought it was on top of the bank of the channel that we were in. When we finally looked down, below an overhanging tree, we saw it.
Linda and I hiked a 10.4 mile loop starting from Tom’s Thumb Trailhead. We hiked Marcus Landslide, Boulder, Pemberton, Coachwhip, Windmill, East End, and Tom’s Thumb.
Linda and I hiked 10.5 miles starting from the Four Peaks Trailhead.
Colorful, pre-hike clouds.
A view of Red Mountain from the Technical Loop:
Linda and I were both surprised at how green the ocotillos are.
We looked for a descent into this small canyon, but the two nearby drainages were too steep.
Senna:
There was once a shooting range in the park?
I hiked 10.6 miles on Friday: Dixie Mine, Coachwhip, Windmill, Bell Pass, Prospector, and back on Dixie Mine.
Sunrise from the approach through Eagles Nest:
A view from the Dixie Mine Trail:
A view from the Coachwhip Trail.
Arizona Poppies – I saw these in a wash running across the Windmill Trail.
A view of Four Peaks from the Bell Pass Trail:
A view from the Prospector Trail:
Barrel Cactus blooms on the Dixie Mine Trail:
Starting from the Wagner Trailhead, I hiked 13.4 miles on Friday morning. I did Wagner, left on Granite, right on Bluff, left on Pemberton, right on Rock Knob (and slightly past the intersection with Gooseneck before returning to Gooseneck), Gooseneck, connector trail leading to Saguaro Nest, a short ways on Saguaro Nest, right onto another connector leading back to the park, left on Pemberton, right on Lariat, left on Granite, and left on Wagner.
Sunrise from the Wagner Trail:
Desert Senna:
Looking toward the McDowells from the Bluff Trail:
Looking toward Four Peaks from the Bluff Trail:
A view of Sven Slab (left) and Tom’s Thumb (right) from the Rock Knob Trail. I had hiked a short ways past the intersection with Gooseneck to get this photo.
A view from the Gooseneck Trail:
I think this is the most water that I’ve ever seen in Granite Tank!
White Thorn Acacia:
Barrel Cactus:
Starting from the Trailhead Staging Area, I did a 12.4 mile loop: Shallmo, Escondido, Pemberton, Scenic, and Pemberton.
A view of Red Mountain from the Shallmo Wash Trail:
This is perhaps one of the better views from the Escondido Trail.
Another view from the Escondido Trail:
Looking toward Red Mountain from the Scenic Trail:
I hiked a little over five miles doing the Hog Heaven Loop, which is in the Tom’s Thumb area.
From this vantage point, I eventually hiked up past Hog Heaven, which is the climbing area just below the ridge in the center. I then made my way up to the Thumbnail Pinnacle which is on the ridge, just right of center. After that, I went to the highest point in the McDowells, the East End at the far right.
This is one of the interesting rock formations along the way. It is not the Thumbnail Pinnacle.
I saw this Gila Monster along the way. A got a photo of it when it turned around to hiss at me.
I took this shot while standing atop the boulders that form the highest point in the McDowells.
I saw a number of these yellow caterpillars as I made my descent to Tom’s Thumb Trail. Joe Bartels has identified it as a White-lined Sphinx Caterpillar.
When I got to Tom’s Thumb Trail, I started seeing what I thought were Mariposa Lilies. Joe Bartels at hikearizona.com identified it as an Arizona Caltrop, also known as an Arizona Poppy.
Bob and I hiked 10.3 miles on our Friday Hike. We hiked: Wagner, right on Granite, right on Delsie, left on Pemberton, left down Stoneman Wash, right on Granite, left on Bluff, left on Granite, and back (right) on Wagner.
We saw an owl towards the beginning of our hike on Delsie, but not many other critters.
A view of the McDowells from the Delsie Trail:
A happy skeleton!
A view from (and of) the Pemberton.
Stoneman Wash:
