Tag: Friday Fitness Hike (page 8 of 36)

Linda and I hiked 10.6 miles in McDowell Mountain Park, staying mostly in washes.  We finished up with about two miles in Shallmo Wash, eschewing the nearby trail for the loose and sandy goodness of the wash.

Any early morning view from the parking area:

Looking toward the McDowells from the top of T-Bone Ridge:

Stoneman Wash:

This is one of Stoneman’s feeder washes:

After crossing the Pemberton, we continued up this wash and came upon this snake.

Further on, we found this shed from a mule deer:

This is Shallmo Wash:

Some critter, probably a pack rat, seems to have piled up sticks and twigs on two levels in this dead tree.

Jill and I hiked out to Dixie Mine, visiting both the top of the tailings and the horizontal entrance. After looking at the petroglyphs, we continued onto the Prospector Trail where we hiked to the scenic overlook. Total distance for the day’s hike was nearly 8 miles with just over 1,000 feet of total ascent.

Linda and I hiked 10 miles starting from the Tom’s Thumb Trailhead.  We started off hiking the Lost Wall Loop which took us up to the ridge on which Tom’s Thumb is located. We hiked past Tom’s Thumb, returned to Tom’s Thumb Trail and then hiked East End, Windmill, Coachwhip, Pemberton, Boulder, and Marcus Landslide.

We saw quite a lot of haze in the distance.

A view of Tom’s Thumb from the ridgeline:

Linda scrambling up some rocks on the way to Tom’s Thumb:

A view from the East End Trail:

A view from the Boulder Trail:

Mike, Bob, Sara, Jill, and I hiked 9.7 miles starting from the Wagner Trailhead. We did a big loop, staying in washes for the majority of the hike.

More burst fruit on a saguaro. (I got a photo last week too.)

A tree in Stoneman Wash:

A look at one of the really cool arroyos in the park. Perhaps half an hour later we were down there where we took a group photo.

A somewhat narrow wash with high banks!

Mike, Kevin, Bob, Jill, and Sara. Thanks to Sara for helping with this shot.

Marilyn, Bob, Linda, and I hiked a six mile lollipop-loop in the Dixie Mine area. We visited the mines, petroglyphs, and dry waterfall prior to returning.

Saguaro blooms:

A slightly different view (than what I normally photograph) of the mine tailings and hills / mountains beyond.

Despite a recent effort to eradicate it from the area, tamarisk is once again growing in front of the gated adit.

It’s a shame that the sign doesn’t say what was taken out of the mine…

This is part of the main petroglyph panel:

We saw these petroglyphs just prior to arriving at the dryfall:

The dryfall…

A view from the Dixie Mine Trail on the way back:

Bob, Linda, Marie, and I hiked nearly seven miles on Friday. Ranger Amy joined us for part of the hike on her bike, meeting us at various points along the way when our paths diverged.

The saguaros are in bloom!

This is Stoneman Wash:

Views while hiking the wash…

Linda, Marlee, and I hiked nearly 10.7 miles on Friday. We hiked up Tom’s Thumb, down East End, left on Windmill, left on Coachwhip, left on Pemberton, and left on Boulder. When we got to the Marcus Landslide Trail, we hiked the interpretive loop before taking it back to the trailhead. Total elevation gain was 1900 feet.

This is a view from the top of the East End Trail:

Marlee and Linda, hiking down the East End Trail:

Prickly Pear Blossom:

A view of Thompson Peak from the Pemberton Trail:

We saw this rabbit just off of the Boulder Trail:

Submarine Rock:

Linda took this photo of me returning from my perch where I took the previous photo.  (Photo Credit: Linda Kalbach.)

The bow (or maybe stern) of Submarine Rock:

The hole / tunnel below Submarine Rock:

Another view of Submarine Rock, this time with Linda and Marlee in the photo to show its size.

One of the mushroom boulders on the Marcus Landslide Trail:

Soon to be blossoms on a saguaro: