Friday Fitness Hike

We hiked the Scenic Trail last Friday.  When we returned to the parking area, most of us continued on to explore a twisty canyon near the old homestead.  We saw a hummingbird and a pair of owls along the way.

We hiked out about a mile on Pemberton and then turned onto the Scenic Trail.  This was the view just as we turned onto the Scenic Trail.

A view of Red Mountain from the Scenic Trail:

A panoramic view from the Scenic Trail.

Another view of Red Mountain:

Time for a water break.  From left to right are Sarg, Janet, Bob, Richard, Linda, Bill, Doug, Ellen, and Venie. Another view from the ridge.

Sarge shows off his new haircut.

A view of Red Mountain just before dipping into Stoneman Wash:

The Pemberton Trail passes several clay mining sites.  These areas were not heavily mined due to the invention of PVC pipe.
A hummingbird at rest in a bush.  Several of us, including me, were surprised to see it resting.
Approaching the canyon area:

A wash flows through the area, eventually feeding into Stoneman Wash.
Sarge takes a break while Bob and I discussed which way to go.  There are many choices, some of which lead to dead ends. Bob and Sarge pose by a steep wall.

Venie, Ellen, Janet, and Linda:

Erosive processes undercut a section of one of the walls in several places.  This is the most prominent one that we passed on our hike.

Venie, Ellen, Janet, and Linda hike beside another steep wall.

A dead tree beside the wash:

We startled a pair of owls along the way.  They would fly a short way and land, only to be roused again as we continued our way up the canyon.  We saw them take off and land perhaps half a dozen times.  Unfortunately, this photo isn’t in focus, but I’m more than a little surprised that I managed to get a photo of an owl in flight at all.

Look for the owl in the lit up area of the photo below.  (I artificially darkened the rest of the photo.)
Another view of one of the owls in flight:

Another small wall with interesting holes.  By the time we got to this point, the owls had flown well away from us; we didn’t see them again.

Once we exited the canyon, we were able to see the McDowells again: