Seven of us met at the Trailhead Staging Area for Friday’s hike: me, Bill, Janet, Amy, Lynn, Bob, and Bob’s dog, Sarge. Sarge is appropriately named; he kept us moving at a brisk pace just as a drill sergeant would. We hiked Pemberton to the pond and then continued on past the pond where we took a large feeder wash over to Stoneman Wash. We continued on Stoneman Wash through the area of the competitive tracks. We crossed the main park road and continued our hike up Shallmo Wash, skirted the edge of the horse staging area, hiked the new trail to the Scenic Trail. We finished our hike on Scenic and a very short section of Pemberton.
In this group photo, below, from left to right, are Janet, Lynn, Bill, Amy, Sarge, and Bob. We were on the Pemberton at a wash crossing. Janet, Bob, Sarge, and I hiked that wash down to Stoneman Wash.
Stoneman Wash:
Sarge, on the move:
Sarge allowed me to stop just long enough to take a photo of this unusual saguaro. At some point in its development, the main trunk split into two parts.
Here’s a crop showing the split and the portions above the split. It appears that, above the split, the saguaro was even confused about which way to grow the ridges that are normally (roughly) parallel to each other.
Bob with Sarge:
Bob, Sarge, and Janet in Shallmo Wash, just after passing through a tunnel under the road for the horse staging area.
Shallmo Wash:
