Between Canyon Lake and the Superstition Mountains

It's been a long time since I went for a hike. Just too many things to do this week, and the sun sets so early. This afternoon I was thinking about all the things still pending on my to-do list and decided that I needed to go for a hike. Last week I had pointed to a small mountain near Canyon Lake and told Lauren that I was going to climb it some day. Today was the day.

I wish I had a picture of it. I'll have to post one later. I didn't take a picture on the way there and it was too dark on the way home. The top was only .4 miles from where I parked, and slightly less than 700 feet higher. Since I've been a desk jockey all week, it was a challenge. The ground was very rocky and hard to walk on. I slipped and fell three times (not on a cactus, praise the Lord). My ankles are tired from the constant strain of keeping them from twisting. Gee, all that makes it sound like a pain. I had a blast. The views were fantastic. I'll do it again tomorrow if I'm not too sore.

Click here to see pictures from the hike. The first is of the Superstition Mountains. The next 4 are various views from near the top of the mountain I was climbing. The next three are views of Four Peaks. In the next one you can see the road to Canyon Lake. You can also see a dirt road that seems to be a service road for all the power lines through this area. Then there's a picture of Weaver's Needle, named after Pauline Weaver, who had to have been a tough guy with a name like that. Next is a stand of teddy bear cholla. That sounds so cute, but they're like Chucky. I was walking past them and thought I was being careful about where I put my feet when I felt something hit the back of my leg. The feeling included the sensation of spines sinking into my skin. Under high magnification you can see that the spines are covered with what look like fish scales. The scales are oriented so the spines go in easily but are difficult to pull out. I carry pliers in my backpack just for occassions such as this. I had to get them out and pull the cholla ball off without putting my backpack down, so it wouldn't get covered in cholla spines. I've put it down in situations like this before and it isn't fun when you put it back on. I got another one of those things stuck on the back of my left leg later but it didn't get into the flesh. I knocked it off with Kimberly's stick.

I put the last picture here. It's a small animal's femur.