Category: Hiking (page 37 of 68)

Friday’s hike started from the Wagner Trailhead. We had a dozen hikers total, eight of whom hiked five miles with Amy.  The rest of us hiked up to Rock Knob for a nine mile hike.

Linda, Nancy, and I hiked an 8.4 mile loop starting from the Tom’s Thumb Trailhead. Amy joined us for the first part of the hike.

Boulders near the Sven Slab area:

Early morning cholla:

Amy spotted this hummingbird:

The bunnies were out too:

Desert Mistletoe:

Linda told me that this is Deer Vetch:

Chuparosa amidst the rocks:

A quartz outcropping:

Linda and Nancy:

A view from the East End Trail:

Linda is about to “crab walk” down a granite boulder on the way back.  (Nancy observes her technique.)

Pinnacle Peak and Troon in the background:

A view of the three Sven Towers – they don’t really look like towers – in the foreground with Four Peaks in the background:

Mike, Bob, Laura, Nancy, Linda, Denise, and I hiked 10.7 miles on Friday. We hiked: Dixie Mine, wash past mine and petroglyphs, Prospector, Bell Pass, Windmill, Coachwhip, Dixie Mine (back to trailhead).

This is the petroglyph panel near the mine:

There are also petroglyphs near the waterfall. Nancy climbs up the waterfall while the others look for petroglyphs.

Just a few of the petroglyphs near the waterfall:

I climbed a short ways up a slab to a ledge and took this photo of the group.

Saguaros on the Prospector Trail:

A view from the Bell Pass Trail:

Four Peaks:

Just after leaving the Bell Pass Trail, we encountered three cyclists making their way the windmill trail.  All three were very skilled cyclists as they had no problem with the rocks in this area.

A view of Weaver’s Needle and Flatiron through the saguaros just off of the Coachwhip Trail.

Nancy, Denise, Linda, Mike, Laura, and Bob on the Dixie Mine Trail.

A rocky area near the Dixie Mine Trail:

Making our way back on the Dixie Mine Trail…

Desert Mistletoe berries:

Friday’s hike started at the Trailhead Staging Area. Bob, Mike, and I hiked 9.9 miles through the northeast corner of the park. Amy, Jill, and George joined us for the first 1.3 miles (short hike).

A view of Four Peaks from the Escondido Trail:

A view of Lousley Hill from the Eagle Trail.  This was my first hike on the Eagle Trail.

A view of Youth Group Area from the Eagle Trail.  We also hiked the Scout Trail which is visible in the photo below.

These are signs near one of the picnic areas.  The lower “No Bottles” sign was painted on top of a “No Trespassing” sign, but the paint has faded enough to see both.

A view of the Flatiron in the distance:

Cyclists on the Pemberton:

We saw this hawk while on our way over to the Scout and Eagle Trails.

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: