Bob, Linda, Michael, and JoAnne hiked the North and Verde Trails on June 6. Bob tells me that they hiked somewhat over five miles that day.
Michael Mandracchia took all of the photos below. (Michael’s captions can be viewed by hovering the mouse cursor over each photo. I don’t know if these captions will show up for tablet users.)
Linda, Marilyn (from Canada), Michael, Joanne, and I met at the Horse Staging Area where we hiked the Escondido Trail. We threw in Lousley Hill and a the hilly portion of the Scenic Trail to make it even more of a fitness hike. Total distance was 9.34 miles.
A view of Four Peaks from the Escondido Trail:
A group of four saguaros on the Escondido Trail:
More saguaros in Lousley Wash. (This might not be the official name of that wash.)
Marilyn suggested these two shots looking up a saguaro (or perhaps a pair of saguaros) along the Escondido Trail.
She also suggested this shot where the sun was hidden behind one of the saguaro’s arms.
As we made our way over to the Scenic Trail, we saw this hawk sitting atop a saguaro.
A view of Red Mountain from the Scenic Trail.
Blooms on a barrel cactus near the end of our hike.
Venie, Bob, Sarge, and I were the only ones who showed up for Friday’s hike. We started at the Wagner Trailhead, and hiked a nine mile loop using the Tortoise, Pembertone, Stoneman Wash, Bluff, Granite, and Wagner trails.
Friday’s hike started from the Trailhead Staging Area. We hiked out on the Pemberton and took Stoneman wash to one of its feeders, where we hiked up that wash back to Pemberton. From there we hiked through a small and twisty canyon. We returned via the Tonto Tank Trail and the Pemberton. Total distance was only six miles.
Bob and Sarge descend a small hill towards Stoneman Wash.
This section of Stoneman Wash is amazingly firm, probably due to the hardened clay beneath a thin layer of sand and stone.
We took this photo by a large dead tree in the Stoneman feeder wash. From left to right are Nancy, Michael, Joanne, Linda, Kim, Jim, Bob, Sarge, Venie, Carrie, and Hailey. (I’ve probably misspelled some names.)
Joanne spotted this antler in the wash.
A view of the clay pit from the Pemberton. It’s my understanding that this was the site of a test dig for a clay mine at one point in the past.
A view from another wash accessed from the Pemberton.
The terrain became more interesting as we went.
Bob and Sarge passing an undercut section of the wall.
The wash narrowed as we went. We eventually got to a point where we has to push the branches of a small palo verde tree aside to get through.
Michael, who is much taller than I am, took this photo of the top of a blooming saguaro while I pulled down the branch of palo verde tree blocking the view.
Four Peaks:
Another view of Four Peaks:
Red Mountain:
The remains of an uprooted saguaro:
Weaver’s Needle is visible in the distance in this photo. The Flat Iron, which is also in the Superstitions, can also be seen at the far right. (It’s so far right, that it’s almost out of the picture.)
Friday’s Hike was fairly short. We hiked the loop on Lousley Hill and then hiked part of the Escondido to Pemberton. Bob, Nancy, and I continued on to hike part of the Scenic Trail, while Michael, Joanne, and Wiley returned via the Escondido Trail.
Friday was Ranger Amy’s last day as ranger at McDowell Mountain Park. We will miss her, but wish her well at her new job with Arizona Fish and Game.
Michael had brought along a small tripod which we used for this shot. From left to right are Kevin, Bob, Amy, Wiley, Nancy, Joanne, and Michael.
Hiking down Lousley Hill…
We saw a young rattlesnake, approximately 15″ long, on the Escondido Trail, near the intersection with the Lousley Hill Trail. Amy decided against picking this snake up.
This is the large, many-armed saguaro on the Escondido Trail.
A blooming Palo Verde:
Another saguaro on the Lousley Hill Trail.
Friday’s hike started at the Wagner Trailhead. We hiked Wagner to Delsie, where I realized perhaps three quarters of a mile later that we had inadvertently turned onto the Delsie Trail instead of staying on the Granite Trail as was our intent. But that was okay, because we had a nice hike back to the Granite via Stoneman Wash. Once we got back to the Granite, we hiked a short ways further until we reached the wash which parallels the Bluff Trail. Some of us hiked up the wash, while the rest continued on with Amy to finish the hike via the Bluff, Granite, and Wagner trails. Those of us who hiked the wash, hiked all the way up to the Pemberton, and returned via the Bluff, Granite, and Wagner Trails.
Amy held the brush aside so that I could get a photo of this kangaroo rat:
From left to right are Ernie, Michael, Venie, Nancy, Wiley, Amy, Joanne, and Jonathon.
There aren’t many good looking wildflowers left, but we did see some Sandwash Groundsel:
A large rock with a small cardinal on top:
Soap Tree Yucca:
Amy identified this flower for me. She says that it’s White Ratany. Ernie is in the background.
A view from the Bluff Trail. It’s not obviously visible in the photo, but the wash we had been hiking is amid the rocks in this photo.
A very healthy saguaro on the Bluff Trail.
A hedgehog cactus next to a small barrel cactus. Four Peaks is in the background.
Amy sent me this photo of the Gila Monster that the other group saw on their way back:
Amy, Bob, Venie, Linda, and I met at the Dixie Mine Trailhead on Friday. We hiked the Dixie Mine Trail to the intersection with the Sonoran Trail, at which point Amy turned back. The rest of us continued on, hiking the Sonoran, Promenade, and Western Loop Trails. The Western Loop Trail lead us back to the Promenade which took us back to the Sonoran Trail where we retraced our steps back to the trailhead. Midway along the Western Loop Trail, we hiked a section of the new (but not yet complete) trail which will connect with the Sunrise Trail. Total distance was 11.8 miles with 2,333 feet of total ascent.
From left to right are Amy, Linda, Venie, Bob, and Kevin:
A hedgehog cactus on the Sonoran Trail.
Views from the Sonoran Trail:
Views from the Western Loop Overlook:
Views as we were descending the Western Loop Trail:
At this point, we had hiked out as far as (currently) possible on the trail that will eventually connect the Western Loop Trail to the Sunrise Trail.
A backhoe can be seen in the upper-right of this photo.
We had returned to the Western Loop Trail at this point and took the right fork (which I hadn’t seen yet). Both forks lead back to the Promenade Trail, but the right fork is less steep.
A barrel cactus on the Sonoran Trail.
Another view from the Sonoran Trail.
An ocotillo on the Sonoran Trail:
We saw this saguaro in bloom as we were walking back through the gated community to the parking area.
We also saw these flowers on our way back. I think that they were just across the street from the trailhead parking.
Last Friday’s hike started at the Tom’s Thumb Trailhead. Seven of us hiked up to Tom’s Thumb and back. On the way back, we visited the Sven Slab climbing area where we saw a Gila monster.
A Goldeneye bush with Gardener’s Wall in the background.
This is a cholla flower:
We encountered this rock formation on the way up.
California Buckwheat:
A view to the west as we made our way up to the ridge leading over to Tom’s Thumb:
Amy is instructing her iPhone to take a panoramic shot.
Someone on the hike identified this purple flower, but I don’t remember its name. I can’t find it in my flower identification book either.
A view of Pinnacle Peak and Troon:
A view of Scottsdale and perhaps other nearby cities as well.
A small rock formation on the ridge line. (I’ve photographed these rocks several times before.)
Another view of Scottsdale.
Linda and Amy hike up a steep trail on their way to Tom’s Thumb.
A view of the west side of Tom’s Thumb:
Bob, Marilyn, Amy, Linda, Cynthia, and Bill pose in front of Tom’s Thumb.
A view of the East End. Glass Dome is visible near the center of the photo.
A view of the southeast side of Tom’s Thumb.
I think it was Bob who pointed out the numerous Globemallow flowers as we started our descent.
A better view of Glass Dome as we continue back on the Tom’s Thumb Trail.
This is a view of Fountain Hills from the intersection of the East End Trail and the Tom’s Thumb Trail.
Another view of Glass Dome:
Tom’s Thumb is still visible, though you do have to kind of look for it among all the other boulders in the area. The side of Gardener’s Wall can also be seen at the far right in this photo.
Cynthia, Linda, Marilyn, Bill, and Amy do some scrambling on their way back.
This large boulder reminded us of Barney (from the children’s television series) head. It’s in the sun in this photo, but often looks more purplish when it’s in the shade.
Another view of Gardener’s Wall:
The mushroom rock with the saguaro cuddled up next to it is another favorite on this part of the hike.
Four Peaks is visible in the distance as well as the back sides of the Sven Towers. They don’t look much like towers here; they’re more impressive looking from the other side.
Morrell’s Wall:
I think this is Sandwash Groundsel:
Sven’s Slab:
A prominent mushroom rock near Sven Slab:
We saw this Gila monster as we were leaving the Sven Slab area.
Desert Marigold. If you look closely, you can see an insect at the center of the lower-right flower.
Friday’s hike started at the Wagner Trailhead. We hiked Wagner to Granite; right on Granite, crossing Stoneman Wash. Later on, somewhat before the Granite Trail intersects the Bluff Trail, we stopped at an unnamed wash which feeds into Stoneman Wash. Amy lead part of the group back to the trailhead via the Bluff Trail. The rest of us hiked up the wash, eventually coming to the Pemberton Trail. We continued on, up to the base of Rock Knob. We returned via the shortest path utilizing the Rock Knob, Pemberton, Bluff, Granite, and Wagner Trails. Total distance for those of us doing the long hike was nine miles with a total ascent of only a bit over 400 feet.
I took this photo from the trailhead as we were waiting for the hike to start:
This photo was taken at the trailhead before the hike even started. From left to right are Jon, Nancy (in back), Venie (in front), Linda, Mary Lou, Kevin, Merilee, Pauline, Bob (with Sarge in front), Allen, and Janet (with Savannah in front). Sarge was happy to see another dog on the hike.
A view looking along a small wash towards Four Peaks.
Jon and Venie hiking on the Wagner Trail:
According to Ranger Amy (who verified her identification with Ranger Kevin at Spur Cross), this is a Sandwash Groundsel.
Palo Verde flower:
Linda took this photo of the group just before splitting up. Those of us who did the long hike continued up the wash shown in this photo.
Two photos from the wash…
On their way back, the group that went with Ranger Amy found a kingsnake. (Amy sent me this photo.)
I think the white flowers in the photo below are Blackfoot Daisy.
Approaching Rock Knob:
One of the rock formations at Rock Knob:
Red Mountain and the Fountain off in the distance:
A largish boulder in the vicinity of Rock Knob:
Horses on the Bluff Trail:
Christmas Cholla:
An ocotillo blossom:
More palo verde flowers:
Eight of us (counting Sarge) hiked the Scenic Trail in McDowell Mountain Park last Friday. When Nancy, Venie, Bob, Sarge, and I got to the Cinch Trail, we split off from the rest of the group and continued on. We made our way across the road, eventually ending up in Stoneman Wash and some of its feeder washes. Our hike was ten miles long with around 650 feet of total ascent.
On the Scenic Trail…
Sarge looks at me as if to say, “What are you doing with that camera?”
A group photo at the bottom of the Scenic Trail. It was at this point, that Bob, Sarge, Venie, Nancy, and I continued our adventure starting on the Cinch Trail.
Sarge leads the way on the Tech Loop.
Looking back at “The Leoge” on the Technical Loop. Fortunately for us, there are now some nice bypasses that go around these drops on this trail.
A Mexican Poppy. Many of the wildflowers have dried up or are in the process of wilting.
A view of Stoneman Wash in the foreground with the McDowells in the background.
A Hedgehog Cactus blossom.
This is a teddy bear cholla flower:
Some saguaros.
This might be another buckhorn cholla flower.
A look at some of the small canyons west of the homestead site.
I think this one is Spiny Goldenweed:
Another hedgehog flower.
