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| Hiking | 7.46 Miles |
470 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.46 Miles | 2 Hrs 29 Mns | | 3.00 mph |
| 470 ft AEG | | | | |
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none
[ show ]
| no partners | | 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 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
One cluster of hackberry beardtongue. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
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.
and I got turned around at one road intersection (seems the trails are easier to figure out at night!) adding another 0.5 miles to the hike. Here is how I linked the trails to make the loop:
to do this trail while in the area. It's right by a little visitor center. .7 miles one way. I came across a snake with his head in the sand, so to speak. His head was in a whole with his tail wiggling. He might have been eating breakfast 
. He was still at it a few minutes later when I came by. I was starting to warm up so I made this my last little trail for the day. I have to get home anyway... My granddaughter has a play date so the grandson get's to come hang out with me 
