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| Hiking | 6.19 Miles |
493 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.19 Miles | 2 Hrs 37 Mns | | 2.53 mph |
| 493 ft AEG | 10 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | It's been about 4 years since I was last out here and I remember I was impressed then and even more impressed now. Why? One word: WILDFLOWERS  Laurie had mentioned how that area was in a 20 year peak bloom and she wasn't kidding. Even though I was probably 1 week past prime; it was incredible... except for all that fox tail (at least that's what I call the low grass with a feathery plume). While the fox tail is pretty, way too much of it and thank goodness I didn't have to walk thru it. I stopped at the wrong TH at first so I had to get back in the car and drive further (I had turned at Frasefield TH rather that 136th St).
It was now 3:45 and I was hoping to be done at 5:45 which I would have been except there was one problem: WILDFLOWERS . Actually the whole hike is pretty impressive. The banana yucca were blooming all over the place and then you have the giant boulders and saguaros mixed in. On the way out as the light was waning, the banana yucca looked like torches. I don't think I was quite able to capture it in the photos. And speaking of photos, I blew thru the rest of my memory card as I rounded the corner and finished off the last of the wildflowers so I had to resort to Kemosabe for the last 1/2 of the hike.
The most impressive flower show was as you came off of the Saddlehorn Trail onto the Granite Mountain Loop and around the corner to the southwest. Every kind of wildflower imaginable and en masse. Needless to say I got hung up here for awhile. On top of all this, it was a glorious afternoon temperature-wise and the trail is like gliding on ice; especially after Saturday's mostly off-trail hike in the Supes. Every time I come out here I think I need to rent a bike and go for a spin.
Once the wildflower show was done I was able to pick up my pace but I was still in Tibbernarian mode as I rounded each corner circling the mountain. I saw a dozen others with a mix of bikers and hikers. As I hiked into the shadow of the mountain it actually got a bit chilly but that didn't stop me from taking some more pictures; especially as I came around the corner with the Brittlebush providing the only light in the shadow of the mountain.
I think I got done a little after 6 and on the way home I got to see golden rain. Not sure that I've ever seen that before. And yes, there is much video but since I'm behind a couple weekends now... it's hard to say when that will be ready.
4-7-2017
Bootlegger Trail to Granite Mountain Trail [ youtube video ]
Granite Mountain Trail
[ youtube video ]
[ youtube video ]
[ youtube video ] |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
I would have said extreme except that it's past its prime but still worth going out for the rest of the week I'd say. Many of the desert wildflowers were well-represented out here as was the Brittlebush. The Banana Yucca seemed to all be blooming; there were groves of them. |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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