Friday Fitness Hike

Friday’s hike started from the Tom’s Thumb Trailhead.  Mike, Denise, and I hiked to the highest point in the McDowells. Amy, Linda, and Jon hiked the Mesquite Canyon and the Feldspar trails with us, and then continued on to the Marcus Landslide Trail. Linda told me that her group hiked 6.4 miles.  Mike and I hiked about the same distance; we added a few extra miles to our hike when we hiked down the Rock Knob Trail into McDowell Mountain Park. (Denise went on ahead after reaching the summit.)

Linda sent me this photo of a white goat on a boulder. She told me that she called to it and that it started coming down, but then disappeared behind a boulder.

I took this photo from the parking area just after I arrived.  This is well after sunrise, but some color was present in the sky from the sun being partially behind a dense bank of clouds.

Looking back down Mesquite Canyon during an early part of our hike:

A view of the Thumbnail Pinnacle on the ridge line.  Our route took us below and the left of the large rock formation below and to the left of the Thumbnail Pinnacle.  This is the Hog Heaven climbing area.

Denise spotted Linda, Jon, and Amy stopped at one of the many signs on the Marcus Landslide Trail:

Denise looks to see what’s ahead of us:

Mike on a steep section of our route up to the Thumbnail Pinnacle:

Denise and Mike, next to the Thumbnail Pinnacle:

A view of Thompson Peak:

Another view of the Thumbnail Pinnacle; when viewed from where I took this photo, it appears to be a slender and dramatic pinnacle.

Approaching the East End…

Densie, sitting atop the summit at the East End.  This is the highest point in the McDowells.  Tom’s Thumb is visible below us at the far right in this photo.

Glass Dome and Tom’s Thumb – and a lot of other boulders too!

Gardener’s Wall and Tom’s Thumb:

A view of the Rock Knob area as seen from the Rock Knob Trail just inside of McDowell Mountain Park: