Mike, Bob, and I hiked a loop of about 8.5 miles starting from the Wagner Trailhead.
Some of the wolfberries are drying up, but these still look okay.
A dead tree in Stoneman Wash:
A very pretty and rocky area of the park:
Mike and Bob:
Views of the Superstitions in the background…
Ratany blossoms:
More boulders…
Sandwash Groundsel:
More boulders…
A lone poppy amongst a lot of dry grass.
Still more boulders…
Sandwash Groundsel in Stoneman Wash:
I got this photo on my Wednesday evening hike…
Mike, Bob, and I hiked 8.8 miles in the competitive track area. We hiked relatively short sections of both the Technical Loop and the Long Loop, with long sections of several washes in between.
This is a view, taken somewhat after sunrise, from the parking lot of the Horse Staging Area.
Another view from the parking lot:
This is a view from the surface road overlooking Stoneman Wash.
Wolfberries:
Saguaro and Ocotillo:
We had gotten rain during the early morning hours; the day was humid with a good chance of rain forecast for later in the day.
Senna:
Looking up at a saguaro…
White Ratany:
I think the yellow flowers might be Slender Goldenweed with Buckwheat in the background.
This wash was new to us…
Bob and Mike:
Another view of the wash…
Doug, Bob, Mike, Elaine, Denise, Linda, and I hiked 11.9 miles starting from the Dixie Mine Trailhead. (Elaine turned back early for a six mile hike.) We noticed that some of the cactus flowers are starting to bloom and that other flowers are beginning to dry out.
A view of a blooming ocotillo from the Dixie Mine trail.
Mine tailings…
Petroglyphs:
Doug, Linda, Denise, Elain, Mike, and Bob:
Bob, Mike, Doug, Elaine, Denise, and Linda:
Wolfberries:
Prickly Pear blossoms:
Mariposa Lily:
A view from the Prospector Trail, just prior to meeting up with the Bell Pass Trail:
A view from the Bell Pass Trail:
Prickly Pear Blossoms:
Saguaros in the wash:
Rain falling on the large panel of corrugated metal sheets flows into a trough at the bottom. Pipes leading from the trough fill a holding tank lower down. Barely visible (behind some vegetation) at the left is a mostly submerged and concrete lined tank which is sloped on one side for animals to enter and drink. We’re not entirely certain how water flows from the large holding tank to the drinking tank; the pipe leading from one to the other was well above water level and there is no evidence of a pump at this site. (It’s possible that there’s an underground pipe which we could not see.)
We had observed this site from above during past hikes up to Hog Heaven and then continuing onto the East End (summit). I had that that what I was looking at in the past was actually a concrete pad with some sort of round drinking tank. Visiting the site up close dispelled those erroneous assumptions.
We saw animal remains nearby.
More saguaros with views of Weaver’s Needle and the Flatiron in the distance.
Owl Clover / Exserted Indian Paintbrush:
Globemallow (with bee!):
New Mexico Thistle:
Pot shard. (We left it and another piece of similar size in place where we found them.)
A view from the Coachwhip Trail:
Prickly Pear Blossoms (with another bee!):
A small rock outcropping with Thompson Peak in the distance:
Hedge Hog Blossoms:
Miniature Woollystar:
I used Topaz Impression for both of these…
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:
Finishing a hike on the Tech Loop…
