Friday Fitness Hike

Linda and I hiked a little over 12 miles on Friday. We began at the Horse Staging Area and made our way over to the Pemberton. We hiked to the Dixie Mine Trail, went perhaps half a mile, and then hiked many miles in a wash that lead back to the competitive track area. We crossed the Long Loop just before that trail climbs up to the South Ridge.  We continued following the wash until it again intersected the Long Loop. We returned via a combination of the Long Loop and one of the service roads.

Sunrise from the Horse Staging Area:

A view from T-Bone Ridge on the Technical Loop:

This is one of the clay pits near the Pemberton Trail:

This is where we entered the wash, just off of Dixie Mine Trail.

More views of the wash…

Linda noticed an unusual saguaro. It sort of looked like a crested saguaro at the top of one of the arms, but we couldn’t decide if it would turn into a crest or if separate arms would eventually form.

Here’s a closer look at the top of the saguaro. The left arm sort of looks like a crest, but it also has distinct humps.

Other nearby saguaros:

Linda also found this bird’s nest in a chain fruit cholla: