Doing pathfinder duties at Brown's Ranch from 8:30 to 11:30 and decided to hike to the summit as I'd not done it for several years. Footing was better than I recall on the trail coming down from the summit. I think erosion has washed some top soil away and left a rocky base in some areas.

It was fine time turtle got a bit of elevation in his rehab diet.
We were treated to a bobcat siting on the way in. Denny about wet himself.

Overcast, misted a couple of times, a bit of a breeze, the weather was perfect.
We saw a couple of hikers and some mountain bikers enjoying the day.

I ran the Turtle up Brown's Mountain, then was going to show him around some of the Brown's Ranch ruins.
The McDowell Mountain Conservancy had a large group of stewards out (15-20) in the Browns Ranch ruin area. They were comparing old documents/surveys to the current ruins, documenting and recording what they found.

Next off to show Denny the Metates at Cathedral Rock and a stop by the Ampitheater.

An enjoyable morning catching up with my favorite Testudine.

Given the very nice day, we decided to head over to North Region of the McDowell Preserve to get in a few miles. With a clear sky, light breeze and temps in the low to mid 70s, it would be impossible to imagine a more perfect time to have some dirt under your feet.

Looped around Cone and then came up Goldie Brown from the North side. Had never been up Brown before. Really nice views from the top.

Dropped back down the south side and headed back to the trailhead. Made for a very nice stroll.

As a newly minted MSP steward, I decided to contribute to my All Trails Challenge quota by driving up to this trailhead for the first time. The first mile of the hike was a pretty boring wander down a dirt path. But the trail up to the summit was great, and the views from the summit are pretty awesome and expansive.

I did the Wrangler Trail by accident because I missed the turn for Brown's Mountain Trail. And I did the Jane Rau trail at the very end just to knock off another one on the list.

Kathy was recovering from a cold/flu so she wanted to do something light so she texted me . We tossed around a few options and then settled with the Scottsdale Sonoran Preserve as she hasn't done any hiking out here. I picked the Brown Cone's Loop clockwise. We had planned on Saturday but ended up going on Sunday. Sure glad that happened as the weather on Saturday was dreary at best. Sunday was perfect!

We started our hike around 10 and finished in time for a late lunch. The trail is just so nice and lovely. There are many times when we could walk side by side to chit chat. I also had my new camera so I was taking it for the inaugural hike. It is a bit of a learning curve as it's compact and I kept hitting the wrong buttons . Essentially the camera (Panasonic DMC-ZS40) is a replica of my old camera except compact and it has a couple other bells and whistles like wifi and 30x zoom instead of 24 and a leveler.

I had our route written on a very small piece of paper that I had to consult a number of times so that we could do this : Brown's Mtn Trail to Wrangler to Cone Mountain Trail to Upper Ranch Trail to Wrangler to Brown's Mtn Summit to Brown's Mtn Trail to Upper Ranch to Brown's Ranch Rd... got it? We encountered a few hikers here and there as well as bikers. Our biggest surprise was seeing Mazatzal on the SEastern side of Cone Mountain. He recognized me as Kathy and I were just chatting away. We stopped and visited with him and his wife and their friend for a few moments exclaiming what a wonderful day it was for a hike.

Our HAZtraks were having a competition as Kathy's started at the parking lot where mine didn't decide to start until we were a little ways on the trail. Also, Kathy's phone has more of an adult female voice where mine has what sounds like a female teenager's voice (I am trying to change the voice but am not having much luck with that so far). I used the gps route posted here from Scout II even though the mileage on the screen was like 17 or something .

We continued our journey around the western side of Cone and then headed east again before taking the trail toward the Summit. We took a break at the saddle to eat the pearapples I had brot and then headed to the Summit where we observed the various landmarks and mountains around us before heading back down. I like that one piece of the trail where you come around the rock face below the saddle as I think the view is enhanced with the rock face.

On our way back we discussed where to go for lunch. I had RXed where Juan Jaime's was and we decided to go there. That is one nice shopping center. Anyway, it was lovely as we sat outside and enjoyed our meal and beverage. The margaritas were exceptional as the amount of tequila seemed just right and it wasn't too sour. So kudos to the bartender which according to the waiter was him. Anyway, it's a nice joint; especially today with perfect temps to enjoy more of the outdoors .

Now I made my first video using the new software Adobe Premiere Elements 13. I sure do like this new interface that Adobe introduced with Premiere 11; I've been on 10 so was really looking forward to taking the new stuff for a spin. I'm not too impressed with the image quality of my photos but I had the camera set at - 1/3rd for a sunny day so I'm hoping that's why the photos aren't as good as I hoped.

I can't upload the video as I'm currently experiencing a problem with my brand new computer:
'); document print.print(); $('#object1').empty(); }); return false; } I thot I had it fixed yesterday morning as I did all sorts of stuff but then I uploaded a new program to set up my camera's wifi functions and the error came back (for example, I don't get the triplog comment box ).

needed a peak today
also needed a decent hike
backed out of one event, missed out on another, and had two less than stellar days due to weather
i've been up brown's mountain before, but not this year
coupled with cone mountain, seemed worth driving up to the mcdowell sonoran preserve - north
took a nap after work this morning, then finally got going and started hiking around noon
upper ranch trail to cone mountain loop
found a decent line on the east side of cone mountain
pretty easy off trail
most vegetation was avoidable, any scree was packed down by recent rains, and there were lots of black rocks to step on
approached from the same side flying_fliver did on his ascent
the summit area was bigger than i anticipated
you're not very high, but still good views of the other peaks: brown's, cholla and little granite mountains
didn't stay long due to some flying ants and other bugs
came down the same way and continued on the loop back to upper ranch trail
took a right on brown's mountain trail and hit the summit
more nice views of MSP-N and a good breeze by now
heard a beehive in the lighter cliff face on the descent - didn't stop to look
took wrangler, rustler and hackamore trails to finish out the day
another beehive along hackamore about halfway between rustler and cone mountain trails
an ambitious hike bot could get good tracks for rustler and hackamore trails from my route
not much AEG out here if you're not hitting the peaks
haven't seen all the trails, but i'll be back, hopefully for a trail run on some of the others
saw only four hikers and one mountain biker
seemed odd for such a nice afternoon
had fun and got two more peaks for 2014

Well I decided today to hit Brown's Mountain in the McDowell Sonoran Desert Preserve.
The hike was nice and quiet only one other hiker out. I wanted to try something with a little elevation. I started up to the summit, but decided my ankle was not ready for all the loose rock and sand. My concern wasn't going up but going down. So I played it safe and headed back down. After all there will be better views in the spring.
After getting back to the trail head I decided to do Jane Rau Interpretive Trail. It was a short little hike with a lot to see. I even had a Cardinal fly right by me.

Had the day off for MLK holiday - kids at daycare - so I got in a nice morning hike in northern McDowell preserve. I went counter-clockwise from this description. First time I've been down the back part of Brown's Mountain and it's plain but pretty (and more quiet). Cone mountain trail looks like a nice flat trail to try with kids sometime.

After a couple weeks off to let my blisters heal, I was looking for a moderately easy hike that wasn't too long. This time I taped up my feet and was blister-free. My first time at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, and I'm not sure if I'll be back. A little too crowded to make the 45 min drive from home worth it. The parking lot was packed, and there were huge crowds just hanging around the trailhead, but there weren't quite as many people on the trails as we expected (thankfully).

We did a counter-clockwise loop through the Brown's Mountain Trail (hitting the summit along the way) and all the way back down the Upper Ranch Trail. All the trails are very well-marked and easy to follow. The Brown's Ranch Road Trail was pretty uneventful, but a pretty good climb on the Brown's Mountain Trail. The summit was very steep and slippery, but short. Excellent 360° views. We had the summit to ourselves for our 10 min break, but saw a few people coming up as we were going back down. We planned to extend the loop via the Cone Mountain and Hackamore Trails, but we got a late start today and had to cut the hike short.

Checking out a new area and playing with a new toy. Tons of trail choices all in great shape.
Saw a Coyote with a fresh rabbit kill run in front of me.

All sorts of Emergency equipment from the parking lot to Dynamite/Pima on my way home.
Never heard what was going on.

Highlights

Perfect weather
The Virgin's Breast
Brown's Mountain views
Brown's Ranch Ruins
Cathedral Rock
Balanced Rock
The Amphitheater
Granite Mountain Loop
Cholla Mountain Loop