Month: January 2016 (page 1 of 1)

Nancy, Linda, Mike, and I hiked 12.1 miles on Friday.  The highlight of our hike was the South Wash between the Dixie Mine Trail and the Long Loop (in the competitive track area).

An early morning view from the Horse Staging Area:

A view of the McDowells from above Stoneman Wash:

Kevin, Nancy, George, Jill, Janet, Allen, Linda, Mike, and Amy:

The group in one of Stoneman’s feeder washes.

This formation can be seen from the Pemberton Trail just after passing the pond / former ranch homestead:

A view of the clay pit just off of the Pemberton:

Looking west from the intersection of the Dixie Mine Trail and the South Wash:

Looking east just shortly after leaving the Dixie Mine Trail:

More views from the wash…

Linda, Mike, and Nancy:

Four Peaks framed by tree branches:

Saguaros on the latter part of the Long Loop:

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:

On Friday, the 15th, several of us hiked a bit over 12 miles on the following trails: Wagner, Granite, Bluff, Pemberton, Rock Knob, Gooseneck, Delsie, Granite, Stoneman Wash, Bluff, Granite, and Wagner.

(We also hiked 12 miles on Friday, the 8th, but it was raining that day, so I don’t have any photos.)

This is a shot from the Granite Trail, prior to the hike:

Nancy, Nick, Bill, Mike, Linda, and Amy:

I think this is a view from the Bluff Trail:

A view of the McDowells from the Pemberton Trail:

Chain fruit cholla on the Rock Knob Trail: