username
X
password
register
for free!
help
show related photosets
DESTINATION
Tortoise Trail - MMRP
5 Photosets

2025-03-12  
2017-07-07  
2017-06-02  
2017-04-07  
2016-07-05  
mini location map2025-03-12
14 by photographer avatarkingsnake
photographer avatar
 
Tortoise Trail - MMRPPhoenix, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
Hiking7.46 Miles 470 AEG
Hiking7.46 Miles   2 Hrs   29 Mns   3.00 mph
470 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Wife & I left home at 6:00 a.m. to avoid rush hour. Then, to kill time before dawn, I had a chicken-fried steak Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's in Fountain Hills. Many folks eat but don't exercise, some eat to exercise: I exercise to eat.

My plan was to hike a 7.0 mile loop -- a lasso if you count the first 250 feet -- of Tortoise, Wagner, Granite, Bluff, Stoneman Wash, and Pemberton Trails. It was drizzling as we arrived, but soon stopped. With an inch of rain the previous few days, I was hoping for flowers.

Tortoise Trail disabused me of that notion.

Wagner Trail had one brick red & darkening ocotillo. Scarey sign warning passers by not to wander near the maintenance yard, lest they get slapped with a class 2 misdemeanor.

Granite Trail had a small grotto of granite boulders. There’s a decrepit spring box next to the boulders. No flowers, but the clouds broke up enough I could see the mountains.

Bluff Trail would be a zippy downhill the direction I hiked it, away from the mountains.

Stoneman difficult, presumably for being sandy. Walking it was no problem. There’s guide posts, but it’s more a case of choose your own adventure. I’m glad I did. First, I found a nice cluster of penstemon. Further down, some beautiful saguaro.

When I arrived back at the Shallmo trailhead at noon, I was looking forward to a restorative ☘️ shake at Mickey D’s. Instead, my wife informed me that my SUV’s battery was dead. What a disaster. Suffice to say AI “customer service” is an abomination, and the bean counters who implement it deserve eternal fiery torture in the deepest pits of Gehenna.

Rumble Video: https://rumble.com/v6qqlea-hiking-mcdow ... -park.html
Vimeo Video: https://vimeo.com/1066364353
 Named place
 Named place [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  East End  Troon Mountain
 Meteorology
 Meteorology [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Fire Burn Area & Recovery
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Isolated
One cluster of hackberry beardtongue.
_____________________
http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored.
 
HAZ Member
kingsnake's
697 Photosets

  2025-09-04
  2025-08-08
  2025-07-23
  2025-07-15
  2025-07-02
  2025-06-25
  2025-06-18
  2025-06-12
  2025-06-11
  2025-06-04
  2025-05-09
  2025-04-29
  2025-04-19
  2025-04-09
  2025-04-02
  2025-03-29
  2025-03-19
  2025-03-12
  2025-03-05
  2025-02-26
1,  2,  3,  4,  5 ... 35  
helpcommentissue

end of page marker