The Best Hikes of Phoenix Valley Peaks

 This was another exercise hike close to home on my usual route.

I saw a gopher snake in the trail on the way down from Bell Pass. It didn't want to move so I circled around behind it and it decided to slither off the trail in the opposite direction from me.

I heard a viperidae rattle its tail while I was hiking back on the Prospector Trail. It was off the trail to my right in some grass, and I did not see it. When I heard it I picked up the tempo a bit and scooted past it.

It is starting to get warm out there!

Wildflowers
Buckhorn and palo verde are still hanging in there, along with some cactus and cholla flowers

 Don't you love it when you have a really good hike ?! Me too. It also signifies I'm getting into hiking shape. I know it won't last long since it's going to heat up soon but I'm enjoying the moment. Let's see: temps in the 60s, a brisk breeze/gusty wind to the point I was glad I had an extra long sleeve shirt in the car, no need for a hat or sunglasses. I did forget my insulated water bottle but I always carry a plastic water bottle in Tonto's door.

Hiked clockwise and managed the steep slippery hills pretty well and powered up. Hiked near both towers and the dam. The lemon-yellow blooms of the Palo Verde Trees were a delight to see during most of the hike, thus more pictures than I would normally take . Also, the Desert Lavender was really healthy on the paved hill. I still couldn't get over the overcast skies for May and I even experienced that foreign substance that comes from them.

So many people out for a Wednesday morning and lots of dogs too. Many folks would leash the dogs up when they approached. Oh, and I saw a ranger on the trail, altho he couldn't have gone very far as he came back to his truck while I was drinking my beer.

WATCH 7:53-9:48AM, 5.25 miles, 1343-2131 elevation. 122 avg bpm/157 max. 22% Zone 5 max, 20% Zone 4 anaerobic, 33% Zone 3 aerobic, 25% Zone 2 weight control burning 687 calories. Starting temp 66.1, mostly cloudy and 27% humidity.

 I decided to stay close to home today and do this hike again.

It was a relatively cool and breezy morning. There was cloud cover for the first hour, which was nice. It was really breezy atop Bell Pass, and I would have put on a windbreaker if I had brought one.

Wildflowers are still hanging in there. Most of the brittlebush has dried up, but it still had a yellowish hue to it.

Wildflowers
There is still some decent color in the area. Flat-top buckwheat, prickly pear cactus, and staghorn cholla stood out, but there were flowers also.

 This was just another "morning miles" hike close to home.

There is still a good bit of color out on the trails in this area, although it will soon be fading I imagine.

Some mesquite is starting to flower.

I heard crotalus hazerus but I was ready for it this time. The problem will be if I think that I hear crotalus hazerus, but it turns out to be crotalus atrox!

Wildflowers
Many flowers are past prime, but others are still at or near peak. There is a good bit of brittlebush and fairy duster that looks good, but I'll give the wildflower of the day award to flat-top buckwheat.

 I recently did a hike in Rainbow Valley, with the backdrop of the Sierra Estrellas. After viewing the Estrellas during that entire hike, I decided to hike up Quartz Peak again.

My last hike up Quartz included off trail searches for some benchmarks. On that hike I found nothing.

On this hike I also went off trail, even further a few times, for the same reason.
All I had to go on were TOPO maps displaying symbols of some benchmarks, and also a bit of research I had done about a couple other locations. My searching was futile.
I again found nothing - No disks, or etchings in boulders.

Anyway, the hike was still great, and a good workout.

I'm giving a shout-out to @rwstorm, for his published drive route into Rainbow Valley from the south. I have used it many times now, and it's the best way in, from the south - Thanks.

 It was a great day to hit Superstition. I started at Carney (wave cave) trail and went counter clockwise. I did a side excursion and to the three sisters and the 5057 summit. It was nice seeing a fair amount of people up there tackling the harder stuff. There was a fair amount of water. I wish I had brought my water filter, because I did run out. It was toward the end, so not a big deal.

 Peak after peak after peak... Reminded me of the Four Peaks Motherlode, just not as technical. Flushed about twenty sheep when nearing Butterfly. It's always cool to see the rate at which they can move through rough terrain. Can't wait for Torote Loop north!

 Not too shabby of a route. However, going CCW, once cresting onto the Sunrise saddlepoint, all that could be heard from below is the sounds of destruction! The traverse north on Andrew - Kinsey stays dispiriting until past the Adero Canyon junction. The sound of jet engine rumbling is also ever-present when climbing west back towards Bell Pass. This almost constant annoyance of sonic booms isn't as bad on this hike as when one hikes Windgate Pass or the western sections of the Tom's Thumb Trail. Three of five stars if I was to rate this as a standalone guide.

 I have recently started jogging a little when I go for my evening walks and today my knee was severely agitated. The trails were busy as all get out due to the holiday so after I slowly crawled to the first bench on the trail I was done. Managed to move about 1.4 miles in 38 minutes so not a record pace by any stretch of the imagination. When I got home I iced my knee and drank a cold beer. All in all, good practice for our upcoming backpack trip. The good news is I have been stretching and warming up more before I try to jog and it has been much better on my knee. Crucial for the 50lb pack weight!

 Hike to the top of Quartz peak, started about 10am and make it back to the car around 4:00pm. My 68 year old dad was with our group. We thought he wasn't going to make it to the top as we made it to the top, a few minutes later he appeared in the rocks below. Yay Dad!! Lots of route finding, carins helped a lot, and crawling over large rocks I would say about 1/2 mile of that.

On our decent my dads legs started to cramp a bit so we took lots of breaks. He wants to do the Grand Canyon soon and this was a really practice for that.