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| Hiking | 4.37 Miles |
225 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.37 Miles | 3 Hrs | | 1.46 mph |
| 225 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Maricopa Mountain Wilderness Wildflower Hunt...
Shawmut Trainspotting Loop into South Maricopa Mountain Wilderness
Brittlebush Trail into North Maricopa Mountain Wilderness
After reviewing wildflower status reports on HAZ and DesertUSA, I decided to make a trek to the much neglected Maricopa Mountain Wildernesses within the Sonoran Desert National Monument. I crossed the Union Pacific main line near the ghost town settlement of Shawmut and headed towards the wash that travels east-west at the base of the ridgeline.
A yellow carpet of mustard bladderpods and fiddlenecks covered much of the desert floor. Once at the wash, patches of globemallows, lupines, and poppies could be found. Skippy and I scrambled up the ridgeline and staked out some good sitting rocks and scanned the horizon for trains. We waited... And waited... And waited some more... So much for trainspotting from the ridgeline...
We scrambled back down into the wash and trekked a ways to the east. There were various pockets of wildflowers along the wash and side tributaries. Sure enough an east bound and west bound freight trains show up in the Shawmut curves - just the event we were waiting on the ridgeline for!
After following the wash east about a mile the wildflowers were thinning out, so we turned around and back-tracked heading west. A couple of hundred yards west of where we scrambled up to the ridgeline, I was stunned to see some new Forest Road signs! The wash we were walking in is now known as FR371. A north - south double track is FR8037A. I'm left scratching my head because I thought I was in the South Maricopa Mountain Wilderness. No motorized vehicles are allowed in a wilderness area, so what are with the new Forest Road signs?
We follow the FR8037A south over the saddle and into a basin area I've previously explored. In the back of my mind I know I'd seen some old Jeep trails in this basin, but thought they were remnants before the wilderness area was declared in 1990 and the national monument in 2001. All I can think is the wilderness area must be further to the south...
Once over the saddle and into the basin, wildflower activity certainly picked up. Brittlebushes on southern slopes are in full bloom and massive poppy patches can be found in every wash.
After wander a couple of miles into the basin area, we retraced our steps and headed back to the truck to go and check out the North Maricopa Mountain Wilderness area from the Brittlebush Trail.
If you are looking for some wildflowers and solitude, this isolated basin should be on your list! |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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Route Editor
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