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| Inner Basin - North Mtn Park, AZ | |
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| | Inner Basin - North Mtn Park, AZ | | | |
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Inner Basin - North Mtn Park, AZ
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| Hiking | 2.67 Miles |
267 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.67 Miles | | | |
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| 267 ft AEG | | | |
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| no partners | | I plodded along more than usual, looking for blooms. Going slow, you see stuff bikers, joggers and goal-oriented hikers often don't.
Today's oddity: A dozen or more detached Teddy Bear Cholla stems scattered over a 20' x 20' area. And there wasn't a single Teddy Bear cholla growing within sight ! In fact I could not recall seeing one on the entire hike up until then. No rhyme or reason for them to be there. Stranger yet a small animal, it appeared, had dug divots in the hard ground and placed a Teddy Bear stem into each one. The only animal I know that uses the Teddy Bear for protection is the packrat. It lines openings to its middens with them. But I saw nary a midden nor tracks of little feet. Like I said the ground was hard. Perhaps the packrat is moving them cross-country, and this is where they stopped for the night. I'm at a loss on this one.
Plenty of wildflower blooms on the N dam but nowhere else. The park is brilliantly yellow with creosote, brittlebush and palo verde blossoms. The creosote has passed its blooming peak, at least in this park, with many gray seedballs replacing the flowers. The brittlebush is at its peak. The cactus flowers are just beginning in the inner basin. This year at least they have bloomed in this order, Engelmann Hedgehog first, then buckhorn followed by compass barrel. Lots of desert mistletoe strangling palo verdes in the park.
Have no fresh stats. My newly-purchased Sony AA alkalines petered out half way along the route. Paid 50 cents for a two-pack at a $ store, affirming again the old saw, "You get what ...." For a few cents more I could've gotten decent batteries. Borrowed mileage and AEG from previous hike of this route a month ago. Didn't pay heed to time.
Came back in darkness, my headlamp on. Arrived at the VC circa 1915. Only two other cars in the lot. Beautiful day, a bit warm at first (87 on the car gauge) and little traffic on the trails. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
On the N dam: Globemallow, Phacelia, a few Fiddleneck, Black-eyed Susan, Desert Marigold. No poppies. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
