Not Four Peaks Brewing Company

I worked with Gary for a few years in Houston. Every March he comes out to the valley for about a week. We usually meet one evening at Four Peaks Brewing Company and catch up over good beer and good food. I've always told him he should go for a hike with me some time. This year he finally did.

I was originally planning to go off-trail in Bulldog Canyon. Then I got to thinking about how rough and steep it would be and how it would be difficult to see where it was safe to put your feet with all the spring growth hiding rocks and snakes, so I had about decided that we should probably stick to a well-traveled trail. What cinched it was when Gary got out of his truck wearing shorts. He would never leave the pavement again if his legs got full of cholla and prickly pear spines or if cat claw acacia ripped them up.

I decided to head out to the Boulder Canyon trail by Canyon Lake. It's wide, not too steep, and there are great views all around. Also, the drive out there along Apache Trail is very nice.

It was a beautiful day. It was also the warmest day of the year so far. There was a nice breeze, though.

Gary taking pictures from a precarious perch. Actually, it's not as bad as it looks.

I took several pictures as these people came down the trail. This guy asked if I was going to send the pictures to them. I told him to Google my blog and he asked me to tell his wife what to search for. If they find this, I hope they leave a comment to let me know they did.

There are getting to be a lot of flowers. I got a few pictures of them.

I've seen lots of bird nests in cholla. This one had a couple of birds in it.

On the way back down to the Marina, we took the side trail towards La Barge Canyon. We didn't go all the way down to the stream (which is still flowing, BTW). Gary got a little taste of what it might be like off trail, though, because it's a little steep and the plants crowd the trail.

Click below to see all of the pictures.

2010_03_18