Tag: McDowell Mountain Park (page 30 of 46)

Friday’s hike started at the Dixie Mine Trailhead. We hiked out to the mine, past the petroglyphs, up the wash, and then turned left onto the Prospector Trail. That took us to the road where we bade goodbye to Steve and Laurie. Most of the rest of us hiked up the road to the summit of Thompson Peak. We returned via the road and the Dixie Mine Trail. Total distance was 10.8 miles with 2400 feet of total ascent.

A view from the Dixie Mine Trail:

Taking a break on the Dixie Mine Trail.

A view of the mine tailings.

A view of the entrance to the mine. I blended three exposures to see as far into the mine as I could.

Jerry, Linda, Bob, Laurie, Denise, Steve, and Kevin:

The waterfall (when there’s water) from the bottom:

Hiking up the waterfall…

A fun slab for practicing smearing technique.

This peak with the towers is Thompson’s Peak. That’s where we’re going.

Linda and Denise on the lower section of road.

A view of Four Peaks.

Denise continues up the road.

There’s a brief plateau after the first steep, paved section. But there’s still a good ways to go and it gets even steeper later on. (I had forgotten this.)

Up at the towers.

Bob, Linda, Jerry, and Kevin at the summit of Thompson Peak.

An interesting view that I noticed as we were descending:

This is one of three vehicles that we encountered as we walked back down the road.

A view which helps to show how high and steep the road is.

Linda descends a fairly steep section of road near the top.

A cyclist on the Dixie Mine trail.

A view of Thompson’s peak from the Eagle’s Nest gated community. We had less than half a mile left to hike to get back to our vehicles at this point.

Linda and I hiked ten miles on Friday…

One nice thing about starting early is seeing the sun rise.

We started off on the Tortoise Trail. When we got to this point on the Pemberton, I remembered that the Shallmo Wash Trail had been rerouted and is now out of the wash. We decided to check out the new trail.

These are views from the Shallmo Wash Trail.

I think we were on a the Long Loop when I got this shot of the bird on the saguaro.

We hiked a long way in Stoneman Wash. Shortly after crossing the Pemberton, we came upon the car.

Linda in Stoneman Wash.

Senna.

Sandwash Groundsel.

Teddy Bear Cholla.

Desert Cottontail.

Palo verde blossom.

We hiked 11.7 miles on Friday, starting from the Wagner Trailhead. In order, we hiked the following trails: Wagner, Granite, Delsie, Gooseneck, Rock Knob, Pemberton, Bluff, Granite, Wagner.

Jon, Savannah, Janet, Ben, Bella, Eva, and Allen:

Buckhorn Cholla:

Bill Craig tells me that these yellow flowers are likely Trixis (Trixis Californica).

Jon, Eva, Allen, Janet, and Ben, with dogs Bella and Savannah in front:

Desert Marigold:

I think this might be Threadleaf Ragwort / Sandwash Groundsel:

New Mexico Thistle:

I think this is some more of the Sandwash Groundsel. We saw this small rock formation with the saguaro on the Gooseneck Trail.

A view of the McDowells from the Gooseneck Trail:

The Goosneck Trail went between some rocks.

Eva and Ben standing next to the lichen and moss covered rock.

A closer look at both the lichen and the moss.

I think these are wolfberries. I ate one earlier in the hike.

A good view of Sven Slab with Tom’s Thumb in the background:

Chain fruit cholla, along the Rock Knob Trail:

A view of Rock Knob:

This small rock formation can be seen from the Rock Knob Trail:

I think this is White Ratany:

Friday’s hike started from the Horse Staging Area. We made a loop utilizing a service road, Stoneman Wash, and the Pemberton, Scenic, Cinch, and Escondido trails. We hiked nearly nine miles with minimal elevation gain.

Marilyn and I arrived at the trailhead just in time to see the sunrise:

A view from the service road going through the competitive track area:

Views from Stoneman Wash:

Midway through our trek up Stoneman Wash, we hiked a short ways up to another service road which overlooks the wash. This provided us with a good view of the wash in the foreground and the McDowells in the background.

Bill, Gary, Eva, Mike, Patty, Marilyn, and Linda:

California Buckwheat:

Cholla blossom:

A view from the Scenic Trail:

A double saguaro on the Cinch Trail:

For Friday’s hike, we hiked the loop on Lousley Hill in addition to the portions of the Escondido Trail and portions of the wash below Lousley Hill. Total distance was around 6.7 miles.

Bob, Keena, and Sarge:

Views from the top of Lousley Hill:

Keena, Bob, and Sarge:

Janet, Gene, Bob, Heather, and Allen:

The dogs needed to have some cholla removed from their paw during this hike. I got this photo of Gene, Allen, and Heather while waiting for Bob, Janet, and the dogs to catch up.

A view of Lousley Hill from the Escondido Trail.

Another view from the Escondido Trail: