Tag: McDowell Mountain Park (page 13 of 46)

Mona, Sara, Gayle, Heather, Sunaree, Randy, and I hiked the Hog Heaven Loop. Total distance was only about four and quarter miles, but we gained over 1600 feet of elevation along the way.

We encountered this view shortly after topping out at the saddle at the top of Mesquite Canyon.  (I took photos of Mesquite Canyon, but it was mostly in the shade, so the photos weren’t especially compelling.)

We saw this small hook-shaped pinnacle a short while later:

Mona completes the hop boulder hop…

The group makes their way up to the base of Hog Heaven (which is out of view above Heather):

The rock wall behind the group is the main wall of the Hog Heaven climbing area:

Heather and Sara make their way up a section of granite while Gayle and Mona look on:

This is one of the scrambles between Hog Heaven and the Thumbnail Pinnacle.  We’re definitely on the right route – note the cairn:

Heather, Sunaree, Gayle, Mona, Andy, and Sara posing by the Thumbnail Pinnacle:

Looking back down at the Thumbnail Pinnacle: from nearly every other vantage point, the hooked shape is clearly evident. But at this point it looks like a straight up and down spire.

Sara and Heather make their way along the northeast side of the ridge.

This the part of the loop that I like the least.  The section from where Randy is standing down to where Mona has made it is steep and loose. Thankfully, there’s a bush to stop you if you should slip. It’s probably easier if you slide down it on your butt, but I never do it that way.

We had some great views as we made our way along the southwest side of the ridge leading over to the East End (peak)…

Sara and Sunaree at the highest point in the McDowells.  Sunaree is signing the summit register.

Descending the climber’s access Trail from the East End:

Glass Dome (left) and Tom’s Thumb:

Gardener’s Wall and Tom’s Thumb:

When the hike was done, I added on nearly seven more miles by hiking into McDowell Mountain Regional Park. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see the Thumbnail Pinnacle.  It looks very small from here.

This is a view of Rock Knob from the Pemberton Trail:

Cheryl, Sunaree, Marilyn, Mike, and I did a 10.7 mile hike starting from the Dixie Mine Parking lot. We hiked Dixie Mine to the road, then went and took a look at the mine and the petroglyphs. We continued up the canyon, which eventually turns into just a wash until we got to the Prospector Trail. At that point, we turned right and followed the Prospector Trail up to it’s junction with the Bell Pass Trail. We then took Bell Pass, Windmill, and Coachwhip back to the Dixie Mine Trail for our return trip. Total distance was just under 10.7 miles with nearly 1500 feet of total ascent.

This is a view of one of the washes that crosses the Dixie Mine Trail, well before getting to the service road.

A view of the mine tailings.  Our route went well below the tailings through the trees that can be seen in the wash.

This is one of several shallow holes near the mine.  It goes in perhaps only eight feet and there is no vertical shaft. I suppose that the warning sign is posted in the not very likely event that it should collapse.

Although I took a picture of the main petroglyph panel which is near the mine entrance, I decided not to post it for this hike.  (I’ve taken a lot of pictures of it.) These are some other petroglyphs which are further up the canyon on the way to the “waterfall”.

Another pair of glyphs:

This is a view from the top of the “waterfall”.  (It’s not steep enough to be a true waterfall, but it is steep enough to be challenging to ascend when it’s wet.)

A triangle shaped slab can be found further up the canyon:

This is one of the views just before the canyon opens up, turning the route into a hike up a wash:

This is the view just after turning onto the Prospector Trail:

Cheryl, Sunaree, Marilyn, and Mike, hiking up the Prospector Trail:

More views from the Prospector Trail – this is a very scenic section:

Looking back towards where we had been hiking perhaps half an hour earlier.  An old road can be seen along the hill at the left side of the photo. (We didn’t hike that road.) The trail comes up from below the right side of the hill and then continues up to the right.  Not much of it is visible in this photo.

The remnants of the windmill for which the Windmill Trail is named can be seen in this photo:

A view of Four Peaks from the Coachwhip Trail:

Returning via the Dixie Mine Trail…