Rock Creek

I had decided that it was just too hot this summer to be taking Photo Point pictures, but by Friday evening I was anxious to go get some more pictures. I headed out toward Roosevelt Lake again. It was smokey when I left the valley, and it was smokey when I passed through Miami / Globe. There are a couple of forest fires that are putting out a lot of smoke. They are small compared to some we've had this summer, and with the monsoon humidity they aren't going wild, and they were started by lightning, so the forest service is letting them burn.

You can see smoke from one of the fires in this picture, if you know where to look and look closely.

I had coordinates for all the photo points already entered in my GPS receiver, and most of them were along a road, so I didn't waste much time wandering around in the heat. Still, whenever I walked over cottonwood leaves scattered on the ground, it sounded like it was raining from all the sweat dripping off my face. It was only about 100 and I wasn't doing much climbing, so the humidity must have been up. Also, I seem to sweat a lot more when I'm working on something. If I'm in the driveway changing a car battery, I'll be drenched. If I'm hiking I don't even sweat that much going uphill. Maybe it's because just hiking is so relaxing. Searching for photo points must be a little more taxing.

The first photo points were near a forest service cabin, which seems to be unoccupied at the moment. One of the photo points there was near wood piles and a thick layer of leaves on the ground and tall grass and other stuff. I don't normally worry about rattlesnakes while hiking because I have a good view of the ground. If I see them before I'm within striking distance, there's no problem. If there was one near that cabin, though, I could have stepped on it before I saw it.

A couple of recent photo points have been like that. They seem harmless and probably are harmless at least 95% of the time. After 8 years of hiking alone in the desert, I have developed rules for myself to avoid risky situations, and it's difficult to go against them. No hiker plans to get bitten, mauled, dehydrated, or fall off a cliff, but all it takes is two mistakes and you can be in big trouble. Going into a risky situation is a mistake that can be avoided if you recognize the risky situations. The second mistake will be a surprise (stepping on a snake, losing your footing, etc.), so you can't always prepare for it. Best to avoid the first mistake. If the first mistake can't be avoided, then you need to be very careful because you're one step away from disaster instead of two.

Speaking of losing your footing, I did that yesterday on the steep bank of a creek. I slid all the way to the bottom on my butt. Must have slid a foot and a half. That's why I avoid long steep slopes or steep slopes with a cliff at the bottom. I couldn't avoid the second mistake yesterday, but I didn't make the mistake of being on a dangerous slope, so it was no big deal. I didn't even get dirt in my pants this time (yes, I slip and fall down once or twice a year).

I didn't take a lot of non photo point pictures on this outing. That's one way I can tell that I've been out in the heat too long. If I look and something and think that I should take a picture of it but I don't because it's too much effort, it's time to get out of the sun. Anyway, click below to see the few pictures that there are.

2011_09_03

Wandering the desert, in air conditioned comfort

I left the house on Sunday morning for the vicinity of Roosevelt Lake, planning to get some more Photo Point pictures. There had been some storms around Saturday evening, but I didn't see much dust blowing around then. It was so dusty on Sunday morning that I couldn't see the Superstition Mountains from 9 miles away. Dust that thick when the air is calm is unusual. Even if it had been a cool day, I wouldn't have gone hiking in dust that thick. Still, there were a lot of people out on the local hills and riding bicycles before the day got too hot. There was a lot of dust in the air almost until I got to the valley where Roosevelt Lake is located. I didn't take any pictures of the dust because that seemed silly. "Look at all the stuff you can't see in this picture". Ha. I guess I could have shown it with a picture of the same scene under clear conditions, but that seemed like too much work.

As I approached the first photo point, I reached for the notebook with the descriptions and reference photos and realized that it was still at the house. Dad gummit! Well, there was only one thing to do. Drive around and take pictures of stuff (it was too hot to hike).

This lizard seems to be upset about what has been left on its rock.

I got out of the truck now and then to wander around a little. One of those times, I walked out to an overlook of a wash. Suddenly there was a lot of clattering down in the stream bed. I had startled a couple of deer and they were noisily scrambling to get away. Deer look graceful when they are soaring over a fence or a bush, but if you have ever watched one that's in panic mode you know that grace is the furthest thing from their mind. That's understandable. I wouldn't be very graceful if I thought something was about to eat me. Anyway, I think maybe the pair was a doe and fawn. I quickly lost track of the smaller one and took pictures of the other one as it jumped and snorted and climbed the hill across from me.

Seems kind of skinny to me. What do you think?

I wandered around on the west side of the lake first. To get a good view of the lake, I would have had to climb a hill. Too hot to do that.

The last time I was out there, I had driven a little ways on A + Cross road. That's how it's written on signs, but it's pronounced "A Cross". I've been wanting to drive the length of that road for 4 or 5 years. So that's where I headed. The road is in very good shape, and there aren't any steep parts. There are interesting things to see along the way, too.

Barren hills. This is what you expect a desert to look like. Well, except for all that green stuff in the foreground.

Dutchwoman Butte really stands out from far away.

When I started out on A Cross road, I thought I might also drive up 288 to Young, but by the time I got to 288 I'd had enough beautiful scenery for one day. Instead of turning left, I turned right and headed for Globe, to the south. I had come into the valley from the north, near Payson, so I would have some different scenery on the way home. As I approached Globe, it looked like a puffy little cloud was dropping some rain. It looked like diffuse, gentle rain like you seen in Texas sometimes. I finally realized that I was looking at dust, though. There was a lot of it in the air all the way back to Mesa. I'm glad I got out of it for a little while. Click below to see all of the pictures.

2011_08_28

Armer Gulch and Cottonwood Wash

I haven't taken any Photo Point pictures for a while. I decided to try to get out to a couple of them early Saturday, before it got too hot. It's a long drive, though, so I didn't get there very early. I was heading for Armer Gulch and Cottonwood Wash, just east of Roosevelt Lake. Another reason I wanted to go to that area was to get a look at Parker Canyon from the east.

Every time I've crossed the Salt River before, I've thought that I should stop and take a picture. Can't remember if I ever did, but it would have been nice for comparison. I don't think I've ever seen it so muddy.

I stopped to take some pictures at the Salt River. It was about 92 then and felt pretty good. I was thinking it might be pleasant as I took pictures at the photo points. Silly me.

There were puffy clouds to the east when I arrived.

I got to the side "road" that went to the first photo point and was supposed to follow it for half a mile. I remembered to look at the tripmeter. 82.1. There were lots of mesquite and cat claw branches intruding into the path. I dodged this way and that trying to avoid them, but was not very successful. After going through dozens and dozens of branches I checked the tripmeter to see if I was almost there. 82.1. I parked and started walking.

I had to climb a little to get into position for the first pictures. I had reference pictures with me that I had to match. A rock ledge lined up with distant mountains in one picture and a saguaro lined up with a road in the other showed me exactly where I needed to stand. I needed to stand in a place that, if I was out hiking just for fun, I would not have gone. It was at the top of a steep slope of loose dirt. If I slipped, I would probably go all the way to the bottom. At least there was a bottom. The dirt was very soft, so each time I put a foot down, I carefully let it sink into the dirt and made sure it couldn't slide downhill. I was wondering why that spot was picked and remembered that it was picked 20 years ago. I probably would have thought it was a good spot 20 years ago, too. I was still pretty much invincible then.

The climb and descent got me warmed up. There wasn't much of a breeze, especially once I was back down in the mesquites. I trudged back to the truck and started looking for the second photo point. Turns out I parked about 50 feet from it. A cottonwood in a reference picture was still there, but it was dead and will be gone soon.

I decided to trim some branches before driving out. I didn't cut very many, and my saw worked quickly, but the exertion and being in trees too thick to let a breeze through but too thin to block the sun just about fried me. I was able to drive to the third photo point.

Armer Gulch; a river of green flowing to Roosevelt Lake

After getting the last Armer Gulch pictures, I decided I needed to do some serious cooling off. I didn't know if I would even try to get any more photo point pictures. I wandered around (in the truck) trying to find a way to Parker Canyon and eating food bars and drinking water and drinking water. No, I didn't stutter.

I came across this while cooling off. The inside is about 4 feet by 5 feet. I can't imagine what it was for. It looks like it had a sturdy door, but that's been destroyed.

This narrow canyon is formed by Parker Creek. I'll get some pictures from the bottom when it's cooler and less likely to rain.

There were clouds building to the east as I drove around. I could see some rain and heard a little thunder. If it started to rain near where I was, I would just have to sit in the truck and wait. I'm sure there would be lots of water going across the roads. I wasn't going to worry about it, though. I'd cross that bridge when I came to it. Ha ha. Groan.

The road I was following toward Parker Canyon got worse the further I went, but I was able to keep going, so go I did. I came to a spot with several tall cottonwoods. A side road off the side road went into the middle of lush greenery. The ground on the sides of the side side road was solid berry vines. It was like a dark jungle in there.

A dense jungle in the desert.

There was a convenient place to park near the side road (which, strangely, was covered in a think layer of ash), so I parked and headed into the jungle. It was eerie. The eeriest part was a chain link fence at the end of the road. There were no tracks, no trail, just plants on the other side of the fence. Suddenly I heard "Hotel California" playing in my mind. It was just too creepy. I left.

You can check in, but you can't check out. I made like a ballerina and split.

After driving around for a while, I was cooled off and feeling pretty good. The clouds were also providing some shade so I decided to take pictures for the Cottonwood Wash photo points.

Cottonwood Wash, with Parker Canyon in sunlight in the background.

I walked up and down Cottonwood Wash several times looking for the first photo point. The reference pictures had no distinguishing reference points. No mountains in the backgrounds, no huge boulders, no steep banks. I couldn't find anything that looked as plain as the reference pictures. I was getting hot again, too. The clouds were dissipating. I was also getting tired since I hadn't had much of a lunch. My documentation has coordinates so I resorted to putting those in my GPS receiver. They took me to a spot that looked a little like the reference pictures; a rocky wash. Actually, the coordinates took me out of the wash, far beyond what typical GPS error would have done. I got close to the coordinates but stayed in the wash and took pictures. The next photo point was like that, too. If I hadn't had coordinates for the third, I would not have found it for weeks from the description. There were large cottonwoods there that matched the reference photos, so I knew I had found the right spot.

At one of the Cottonwood Wash photo points, I had taken my sunglasses off to take pictures and never picked them back up. At least I think that's what happened to them. I guess they could still be in the truck somewhere, but I can't find them. I'm glad I buy really cheap sunglasses. That pair had already lasted longer than most.

Several times while I was out there I searched for the tiniest bit of shade and stood there panting in the heat. It was very uncomfortable. Part of the problem is that I wear bluejeans. Very blue jeans. They soak up heat. Several times I've gone to stores planning to buy some thin, light colored pants. All the stores I've been to only have light colored pants for short, fat guys. What's up with that? Do the short fat guys run all the light colored pants factories or something? Well, I may have been uncomfortable, but I still had fun. I saw lots of cool stuff, too. I'd do it again. I will do it again. Click below to see most of the pictures.

2011_08_20

Still too hot

For hiking in the middle of the day, that is. I had stuff to do in the morning and plans for the late afternoon, but I had to spend some time in the desert so I went in the middle of the day. I went out near Fish Creek Hill and was thinking I might take a short hike over to where I could see Apache Train descending the hill. It would be less than a mile round trip.

I couldn't drive as far as I wanted on this road, but I didn't need to go far.

There were signs of recent rain.

As you might guess from the clouds, the humidity was up. It was only about 100, but the intense sun and the humidity made it uncomfortable. There are very few saguaros up there, probably because of the altitude (about 3000 feet), so I couldn't hide in their shade. Clouds got between me and the sun now and then and that was very nice.

Apache Trail is over that cliff and 600 feet straight down.

I was kind of wandering in the general direction of where I wanted to be, with my exact direction of travel determined by what I wanted to get a closer look at and what the terrain would allow. I got within about 400 feet of my destination and stopped to take a few pictures. I looked around vainly for a place to get out of the sun and I studied the studied the slope ahead of me. I would have to descend 100 feet. It was mostly gradual, but there were occasional vertical drops of up to 8 feet. You can usually get around those, but it takes time. After considering the effort it would take to get to the cliff edge, the rate at which I was drinking water, and the fact that the return trip would be all uphill, I decided that it was time to turn back.

That's Four Peaks from the side way back there.

I had made stops on the way down to plot my course. I had to make stops on the way up to keep from overheating. I felt like a wimp when I decided to turn back but halfway up I knew I had made the right decision. By the time I got back to the truck I was getting a headache. Turning back had been a very good decision.

Whenever I have to postpone getting to my intended destination, I think about all the motivational speakers I've listened to saying that you have to set a goal and stick to it. I'm pretty sure that it would be foolish to apply such a philosophy to hiking in the desert. Or maybe I should just add "and return in good health" to my hiking goals. Click below to see all of the pictures.

2011_08_14

Sunset pictures

The clouds we have this time of year often make for some stunning sunsets. I watched a couple from the yard but I've given up on taking pictures of them from there. Can't stand all the houses and light poles in the way. I used to drive out to the desert 2 or 3 times a week to get sunset pictures but I finally got tired of not enjoying them. It's been a while since I've taken any, so yesterday I headed out to Bulldog Canyon to go for a short hike and photograph the sunset.

I got out there just before the sun set.

The moon was up.

It was a nice sunset.

I didn't see much wildlife. Just rabbits and birds. I was next to a deer trail, but I didn't scare off any deer. There was only 1 fly and no gnats. Boy, that was nice. Click below to see all of the pictures.

2011_08_09

Exploring roads

I wanted to go for a hike yesterday, but couldn't decide where. I eventually wound up exploring roads branching off of Kelvin Florence road. I went down several roads where my progress was stopped by gates (there are several ranches out there) or by terrain. Often, I couldn't turn the truck around when I needed to, so I had to back up a long way. My neck still hurts.

Barrel cacti have yellow flowers near where I live. This is a nice change.

It seems that Cochran road and Whitlow Ranch road are about the only roads that go all the way up to the Gila River. Whitlow Ranch road goes up to where all the water is taken from the Gila River and put in a canal. I didn't make it to the end of the road, though, so I couldn't see that.

I came across a very strange looking saguaro.

I uploaded the full size panoramas to my web album this time, instead of all the individual pictures. If you zoom all the way in and then wait a few seconds, you should be able to zoom in a lot more. Click below to see all of the pictures.

2011_08_06

To the Cochran coke ovens, almost

In August of last year, I had gone a short distance north of the Florence Kelvin Highway before it got dark and I turned back. I've been meaning to check out that road in the daytime and since it was too hot to do much else yesterday, I went out there. There was a chance of storms, and I thought I might be able to get some nice pictures of storms too, but I usually manage to be in the wrong place to do that.

On Cochran Road, with rugged mountains in the distance.

I drove through that light shower on the way through Florence.

I made lots of stops along the way to take pictures. There are some pretty mountains on the other side of the Gila river. I think the only way to get back there would be to walk. Some roads get near them, but I don't think any go through them. I stitched together several panoramas and will put something close to the full size versions of those on Panoramio.

I think Skid and I had been on Cochran road several years ago. The river looked very familiar when I got down there. In spots, the river looked like it might be shallow enough to wade across, but the water was muddy so I don't know for sure. Also, it looked like it was moving fast enough that even if it didn't come up to your knees, it could knock you off your feet. I don't think I'll be trying to cross it.

The Gila river.

There were some nice clouds around, so almost all of the pictures are HDRIs. I think I got some nice pictures of rain showers, too. As I was driving out, I came to the top of a hill with a thunderstorm right in front of me. The lightning flashes were lasting a long time, at least half a second. I figured I should be able to get a picture of that. I caught a lightning bolt on my second attempt. Encouraged, I tried 10 or 15 more times and missed every one.

A slow lightning bolt.

With all the rain around, I was a little worried that I would get caught at a wash crossing. They were all dry, though. Click below to see all of the pictures.

2011_07_30

Sultry

The weather, that is.

I took half a day off Friday. Spent the time getting the bathroom ready to wallpaper. Spent Saturday wallpapering it. Lindsey's help shaved a day or two off the task. Anyway, by Sunday afternoon I was ready to get out to the desert.

As Sweetums and I ran an errand after lunch, there were some cute puffy clouds around. I didn't want to go hiking right then, though. Too sunny and hot. I finally left the house around 3:30, and by then the pretty clouds were gone. The gray sheet overhead kept me a little cooler, but when the dew point is over 50, it's going to be a tough hike.

Blah sky. I hardly took any pictures.

I was going to hike a short distance to a secluded spot, but after a couple of hundred feet I felt like I was pushing through molasses. Hot molasses. I could feel a slight breeze but it did very little to cool me off. This is a tough time of year to be out in the desert; for me at least.

I had planned to go back there but never made it.

As I plodded along, I kept looking at all the bare rock to my right and before I knew it, I just sort of started wandering up that way. I think some part of my subconscious didn't want to get too far away from the truck air conditioner.

Some people go hiking early in the morning during hot weather. I've tried that a couple of times but I start feeling panicky as the temperature rises and the sun grows more intense. I prefer knowing that as I get tired during a hike, the weather will be less taxing on me.

By the time I got back to the house, the clouds and the setting sun were doing very strange things to the lighting. I think I was out there during the worst lighting of the day. Oh, well, maybe I'll time it right next time. Click below to see all six pictures.

2011_07_24

Barnhardt Trailhead

How many of you noticed that the title of this blog is NOT "Barnhardt Trail"? How many of you also know that I'm going to put off telling you why until later? Good job.

Sunday was another one of those excessively warm days. About 110 F as I left the valley. There were storm clouds to the east but a hot wind was blowing. Starting at about 4000 feet, I thought the temperature on the Barnhardt trail might be tolerable.

Ominous clouds east of the trailhead.

The dirt road up to the trailhead was in very good shape. It was only about 100 when I got to the large parking area at the end of the road. There was also a lot of shade because of all the clouds. Large, dark clouds.

The trail starts out going that direction (west). A storm is building to the left of this picture.

On the drive up, there was a long, almost level stretch of road that had some ruts from the last time it rained up there. It reminded me of that time I was sliding around in the mud up on the rim about a year ago, though it was dry now. I didn't want to get stuck in mud; Skid is in Texas and couldn't rescue me. I decided to walk along the trail for a short distance so I could leave quickly if it looked like it was going to get wet.

The trail starts out winding through junipers.

Some parts of the trail are rocky.

Some parts are not rocky. There was a huge fire in this area a few years ago, which explains the sticks in this picture.

The trail has a gentle slope and is easy walking, but the air was dead calm and the humidity was probably over 40%. I had sweat trickling down my face in no time. I was glad when it started sprinkling and gave me an excuse to turn around.

As I drove back down to the highway, admiring the clouds all around, I saw something out of the corner of my eye that seemed to be shaped like a lizard but was the wrong color. Well, it wasn't a lizard color that I am used to seeing. It was a collared lizard and it let me take a lot of pictures before it ran under a bush.

Collared lizard.

Shortly after I saw the lizard, I decided to stop and see how steep the drop-off was to the right of the road. I wandered around a little enjoying the view and spotted something else odd out of the corner of my eye. I've come across a few crested saguaros on my hikes and I have read that other cacti can have that same type of deformity. I finally found another cactus like that. It was a hedgehog cactus.

Crested hedgehog cactus.

It was a pleasant and relaxing trip. I'l be back to that trailhead when it cools off. Click below to see all of the pictures.

2011_07_17

NF 25

I went outside early yesterday morning to rearrange some stuff in the garage. It already felt very hot. I knew I'd have to go someplace high if I was going to hike. Turns out Phoenix had a record high yesterday; 118. That's just crazy.

Iron Dike doesn't look climbable from this side, but I think the north side is.

I had to take forest closures into account when deciding where to go. I decided to check out the view from the top of Iron Dike. It looks like a person should be able to walk up the north side of it, though I would be approaching from the south to reduce how much climbing I would have to do. When I left the house at 2 in the afternoon, it felt ridiculously hot outside. It was only about 98 when I got out of the truck near Iron Dike about an hour later. Being able to see a 20 degree drop in just an hour drive is nice.

The wind was blowing pretty good, too. It might have been stirred up by rain showers. I drove through the beginning of a dust storm as I left the valley. It's weird how much wind is created by these piddly little showers that barely get the ground damp. Anyway, one of those piddly little showers was south of me, and I could hear thunder. I wasn't worried about getting wet, but lightning could hurt. I decided that I would drive around out there rather than hike. I wasn't too disappointed, though. I didn't like the looks of all the bushy oak I would have had to push through on my chosen route.

NF 25. I've never been down there. It's labeled NF 201 on Google Earth, but the sign at the road says "25".

NF 25 is pretty smooth for a seldom-used forest road. It goes up the side of some almost vertical canyon walls. It's kind of nerve-wracking to look at the precipitous drop on your left as you drive along. The road ends at an old stock pen at the border of the Mazatzal Wilderness.

View of Mt. Ord. The forest on that side of the Beeline Highway is closed.

There are agave flowers all over the place.

I was hoping to get some nice cloud pictures, but the clouds weren't very photogenic. Click below to see all of the pictures.

2011_07_02