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| | | Esplanade Owl Checkup and Apache Vista, AZ | | | |
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Esplanade Owl Checkup and Apache Vista, AZ
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| Hiking | 8.03 Miles |
469 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.03 Miles | 2 Hrs 45 Mns | | 2.99 mph |
| 469 ft AEG | 4 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Mission accomplished. Sad to say, the north owl hasn't seem to come back for the second year in a row. The south owl was in residence but I didn't see any young 'uns yet.
It was a nice day for the checkup. The temp was a little warm to start but when the sun went behind the clouds, it was just right. I thot I had walked by the intersection from Apache Wash so backtracked only to realize I hadn't walked by it. Part of the reason is I couldn't see my normal landmark, the tuner fork saguaruo which has passed away  . On the Esplanade Trail, before arriving to where that saguaro normally stood I took a closer picture of the ground cover I couldn't ID last Sunday that I think is Woolly Plantain. I also grabbed some photos of some other flora including Owl Clover, Desert Hyacinth, Christmas Cholla and a few other different kinds of Cholla.
I did get buzzed as I headed northbound. Thankfully I didn't over react like I have a tendency to do. It was in the grass and I couldn't really see it. I passed by additional flora including Owl Clover which was the star of the day. The condo saguaro looks good and once again I missed the first owl (south) and realized it when I saw this one saguaro that is my landmark for the north owl. I had seen a few bike riders up to this point. I walked over to where her nest was and circled the saguaro. I saw no evidence of her. I noticed one of the saguaro arms had broken off so perhaps that nest is not usable anymore.
I headed back about 1/2 mile where the south owl was and I could first see her ears. I circled around and took her photo  . The breeze had picked up when I hiked southbound so I truly enjoyed that. I tried to stay clear of the taller grass alongside the trail so I wouldn't get buzzed again. I didn't see any hikers on the Esplanade Trail. And now it was just a matter of getting back to the Trailhead and finishing off with a trip up Apache Vista. My legs were a little sore but that was mainly from my two workouts this week after being off ten days from being sick.
I made my way up the normally easy Sidewinder Trail which has Lupine and Scorpionweed on both sides. I remembered that Ambika said in order to get a decent picture of meadow-like flowers you need to zoom a little so I tried that. Sometimes successful, other times, not so much. The lighting needed to be filtered to get the ideal shot. As I topped out on Sidewinder on the east side I was serenaded by the coytoes again, just like last Sunday, so I stopped to listen and record.
At the intersection of Apache Vista Trail I sat on a rock for a few minutes before heading up. Not much in the way of flora on the way up other than miniature poppies and some lupine, but quite a few blooming Brittlebush.
The temperature continued to be lovely as I made my way back and along the Sidewinder Trail. Very little flora where last year there was so much. Glad I did all that filming last year and it's nice just to be able to hike this year. This time I felt my watch stop so I fired up my phone to continue tracking my hike. There was some photography going on as I got nearer the TH, including with horses. I noticed the stormy weather I had seen to the north was now getting closer and I'll be darned if it didn't start to sprinkle. In fact, it would rain on my way home.
I enjoyed my Huck It which I was really looking forward to for about two miles. I watched the weather and photographed some of it as I was leaving the TH lot.
WATCH 2:39PM start (watch died, phone said 5:27PM done) burned about 1200 calories. 1746-2094 elevation. 141bpm/176 max. Temp was 75.1 and 25% humidity with partly cloudy skies. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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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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