Friday’s hike this week started at the Trailhead Staging Area. A few of us met early to show Jim Burns, a bird photographer, the approximate location where we had seen the long-eared owl in early January.
We hiked out Pemberton towards Tonto Tank in the dark. The sky became colorful somewhat before sunrise.
We hiked a bit further and saw the sunrise:
This is where we stopped to let Jim continue on his own to look for the owl:
Jim, with his camera and tripod. He has a 600mm f/4 lens on his Canon camera. He says it weighs around 20lbs.
On the way back to the Trailhead Staging Area, we saw this raven on a saguaro:
Nancy, Linda, and I joined several others for a hike on the Scenic Trail. From left to right are Richard, Larry, George, Jill, Bill, Linda, and Nancy. Amy had started the hike with us but went back for some other hikers who showed up late.
Linda, Nancy, and I split off to explore the trail between the Scenic Trail and the Horse Staging area. The rest of the group continued on the Scenic Trail. Below is a photo of them hiking up the first hill encountered when hiking the Scenic Trail in a counterclockwise direction:
Nancy and Linda:
A skull, which we think once belonged to a Javelina:
A view from the Pemberton. Parts of the scenic trail snake along the high ridge line in the foreground. In the far distance, the Flat Iron in the Superstitions can be seen.
When we got back to the parking area, we were just shy of twelve miles. I walked over to and part way up the Hilltop Trail and then back to my truck to put me at twelve miles exactly. Below is a view of Red Mountain from the Hilltop Trail.
