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| | | Phoenix Sonoran Preserve N Wildflowers Loop, AZ | | | |
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Phoenix Sonoran Preserve N Wildflowers Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 7.03 Miles |
858 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.03 Miles | | | |
| 858 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Mar 8 posted Mar 17, posting even later than intended as Cox Internet has been down for two days! I wanted to go back and finish my hike from Sunday when I got too cold to finish. I decided to hike Apache Vista first via the Sidewinder. As I started up the trail already taking pictures, some hikers told me there was no point in putting the camera away and were they ever right. I had a great time documenting it all; although my light was not the best. And sometimes, I don't understand why this Samsung takes such sharp pictures; is it something I'm doing?
I did learn a great trick. Create a routine so that whenever you turn the camera app on, the screen will automatically get brighter so you can at least see better. Anyway, I fired away as they say. The flower display would change from time to time to just Lupine, just Poppies, just Scorpionweed, or just Smallflower Stock. There were other players as well like Pepperweed and Bladderpod among a few others.
It took me 45 minutes to go a mile but as usual, I just couldn't help myself. There was one particular corner within the first 1/2 mile that held my attention for a while, let alone the views all around with that exceptionally green desert floor. There were other hikers along the way but nothing too crowded. I was busy shooting movies too. I headed up Apache Vista and the breeze picked up which was nice today because the sun was out. On the way up and down there were lots of wildflowers on both sides of the trail, of course, so I took my sweet time. And per usual, the distant views were fabulous with the mountains, mesas and green desert floor. The wash area was very distinctive from the still mostly bare trees but they were quite evident. I also spotted what looks like a natural dam of some sort.
I made my way down Sidewinder and onto Apache Wash Trail. I knew what was waiting for me in just a little bit and I wasn't disappointed with the poppy and lupine show  . This time, the poppies were wide awake and so was one Rattler that a hiker told me about. It was quite the hisser, the snake, not the hiker. I ended up spending a little bit of time here enjoying the flower show before I got on the Ocotillo Trail that was mostly devoid of flowers. Once I hit the Ridgeback Trail, the flower show started again, this time with Lupine on both sides of the trail again. I can never decide quite how to film that. Sometimes I can put the video at a wide angle and that works in letting you see what I see.
This is such a nice grade up to the Overlook Trail and of course, the views are particularly nice because of the.... yes, you guessed it, the green desert floor. I filmed so much but I just don't know when we are going to have these conditions again, so I feel like it's almost my duty to document it. After all, I am the Tibbernarian. Well the Overlook Trail did not disappoint and it was like the icing on the cake. Shade had already started so some poppies decided it was Happy Hour and were closing up. I had filmed so much, and I think because of the brighter screen; I used a lot of battery so I had to get one of my chargers out. I still wanted to use my phone as it takes better video by far over my Pany. I took limited pictures on the way down the switchbacks as there weren't as many flowers in this area. Once I got down to the desert floor though, both the phone and camera were out to document the flowers; oh, and a bird.
By the time I hit the Sidewinder Trail, the battery charger was done so I pretty much switched to the Pany. There were quite a few poppies for the next mile until the intersection with the connectors. I only encountered four hikers from the Ridgeback to this part of the Sidewinder. I had hiked this next part on Sunday but still found reasons to take pictures and movies. I did take a few more pictures at the south end of the Apache Wash and of course, on the way back to the TH the scene was really pretty with the.... you guessed it again, the green desert floor. This darn Ultra 22 takes way too bright of pictures so I'll have to research how to fix that. (I turned off the Scene Optimizer so I'll see if that helps).
Since it was later than I thought, I debated drinking my beer, and ultimately decided to Huck It. Another great hike, although I was a little tired; I think because I had a pretty tough Barbell Class the evening before. We had an instructor who has been teaching this for 18 years and so she did old school biceps and for some reason, those reps must have really worked as I was pretty sore; and taking all those pictures and movies didn't help  .
Sidewinder to Apache Vista [ youtube video ]
Apache Vista to Sidewinder to Apache Wash [ youtube video ]
Apache Wash to Ridgeback [ youtube video ]
Ridgeback [ youtube video ]
Ridgeback to Sidewinder [ youtube video ]
Sidewinder to Apache Wash [ youtube video ]
HAZ 4hr 9 min (14 min break) 1.79MPH
WATCH 1:35-5:43PM 6.31 miles, 1780-2252 elevation. 121 avg bpm/160 max burning 1444 calories. Temp 71.5 Fair and 21% humidity, breezy. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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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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