Tag: McDowell Mountain Park (page 35 of 46)

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:

Fourteen hikers showed up for the February 14 Fitness Hike.  Starting at the Wagner Trailhead, we crossed the road and took the Tortoise Trail to the Pemberton.  From there, we hiked Pemberton to Stoneman Wash, and Stoneman Wash to the Bluff Trail.  At that point the group split up with Amy leading the majority of the group back to the Wagner Trailhead.  Bill, Janet, Nick, Linda, and I went the other way on the Bluff Trail, eventually returning on the Wagner Trail as well.

A buckhorn cholla on the Tortoise Trail:

A dead tree on the Pemberton:

Anders said that this is a 1960 Chevy.  There had been speculation in the past that it was a ’59, but Anders said that the 1959 Chevy had bigger fins.

From left to right are Amy, Jill, George, Linda, Mary Ann, Christina, Venie, Nick, Janet, Mary Lou, Per, Anders, and Bill.  We had such a big group today that not much of the car is visible in this photo!  (And they made them really big back then!)
Even though it’s a fitness hike, Amy tells us about desert mistletoe during one of our water breaks.

A view of Stoneman Wash.  The green plant at the lower left is called Bebbia, but is also known as Sweet Bush or Chuckwalla’s Delight.  (Thanks to Amy for researching this and sending me this information after the hike was over.)

A chuparosa bush in bloom:

Janet, Nick, and Bill wait for me on some rocks. Linda took this photo of me next to a chuparosa bush.  An ocotillo is behind it. A fairy duster in bloom: The McDowells with a bunch of boulders in the foreground.

A similar view, but this time with a saguaro in the foreground too.

A boulder strewn wash: A view from the wash:

We encountered many large boulders on our hike. Another dead tree:

Making our way towards a quartz outcropping:

A field of small quartz rocks:

Two views of the quartz outcropping atop a hill:

Another rock formation beside a wash:

An unusual saguaro:

A dead saguaro; it seems to have fallen recently.

Janet examines the roots of the fallen saguaro.

A poppy:

The remains of a burnt tree on the Delsie Trail:

Christmas Cholla:

Friday’s hike was on the North Trail in McDowell Mountain Park.  Some of us hiked out to Cedar Tank via Chuparosa, Pemberton, and other trails in the that area.

When we got to the Chuparosa Trail, Mary Lou and Virginia hiked back with Amy.  We took this photo at that intersection.  From left to right are Per, Virginia, Nick, Christina, Mary Lou, Janet, Amy (in front), Bill, and Nancy.

There are some nice looking saguaros in the area…

I tried a different treatment for this photo.  It’s the same saguaro shown in the photo above, but the shot was taken from a different angle.

Nick, Nancy, Janet, and Bill chat while I take photos.  Per and Christina had turned back at this point.

A hedgehog cacti:

Bill told us that this is the nest / web of a Wolf Spider:

Cedar Tank:

Another view of Cedar Tank.  There’s an old, rusty, bullet riddled metal tank at the right of the photo.  But that’s not Cedar Tank.  Cedar Tank is actually the depression where water collects.We saw a Fairy Duster in bloom:

But the very top of the plant was not quite in bloom:

A close up of a chuparosa blossom: Bill, Janet, and Nick examine the chuparosa plant. We came across this survey marker on the way back.  It’s perhaps 10 yards off the Chuparosa Trail.  $250 back in 1919 was quite a lot of money.  It’s equivalent to $3,500 in 2014.