Arizona short blogs (January - June 2015)





Today we plan on a nice hike on the Black Canyon Trail south starting from the Table Mesa trailhead however after a short walk with the people shooting illegally at targets near the trail it becomes quite unsafe with us hearing bullets whizzing above our head and soon we decide to change course and walk north where there are less crazy people and the area is quite nice also. As we have walked on the main trail before we try a few other side roads leading to viewpoints, mines and other local attractions.

Black Canyon TrailView near trail
Taking some side roadsThere are some palms there
br /> The viewpoint from one of the roads is quite interesting as you can see the whole valley including the shooters. But the main attraction is a grove of palm trees growing near a spring in one of the washes - especially one tree is quite imposing and seems quite old. After about 4-5h of walking we return to the car sooner than usual as we don't want to hike at night with all the shooters around. br /> br />
You can see far awaySaguaro near trail (closed road)
Impressive Arizona PalmLooks like a spring



Today we try a short hike starting from the Badger Springs trailhead looking for some ruins on the hillside that we know are there. The climb is a bit tiring but we are soon at the top and start walking on the mesa.

Start of trail..lots of carsCan you spot the parking lot?

We walk along the cliff's edge and look and look but we cannot find the ruins. There are some great views of the Agua Fria River though that we enjoy and after we finish our exploration we return to the car and then back to Phoenix after this short trip.

Far above the valleyBadger Spring Canyon
Agua Fria CanyonWater in Agua Fria



Today we plan to visit a Phoenix mountain park that somehow we never visited. Estrella Mountain Park is close to us but somehow we never got around going to it. We start on the Coldwater trail continuing for a short while on Gadsden and then return on Toothaker trail. The trail starts quite wide and popular but soon it becomes more narrow with no one around.

Start of trailSome parts are road like
Less clear roadView from the trail everything is green

There are lots of yellow flowers around which makes for a great walk - flowers are such a rarity in the desert so we are happy to see them.

Lots of yellow flowersCloseup of flowers

We continue on the trail which is quite enjoyable and climbs hills and descends through green washes. We see a few birds but no animals as we start the return part of our loop.

Trails are well markedView from a pass
Surprisingly greenNot everywhere

On the way there are a few quartz outcrops that are impressive and we stop and eat a snack near them before continuing on.

Quartz outcropsClose up of quartz area

There are lots of flowers again as we approach the parking lot, and they are of many colors from red to yellow to blue. Both the cacti and the plants are flowering which makes for an interesting mix.

Nest in teddybear cactusClose up of cactus
Prickly pear flowerInteresting flower by the road

Before returning to the car we catch a beautiful Arizona sunset - it looks like the sky is in flames. After this we return tired to the car - it was a nice excursion and we are glad we explored Estrella.

Nice sunsetClose up of sunset



Due to time constraints this is a short trip relatively close to home in South Mountain Park where we explore a trail from an unofficial trailhead. The trail is short but leads to a nice overlook of Phoenix and a short ridge walk before we have to return to the car and home.

View of park interior from crestReally narrow crest
One side of crestOther side of crest



This is another exploration of South Mountain Park this time starting from the official trailhead at the end of 19th Avenue. From here the trail goes parallel to the boundary for a while before climbing to an abandoned parking area.

Trail goes close to housesDowntown Phoenix over houses
At the top there is an UFO landing place :)With unknown monuments in their honor

The views are quite good from this "abandoned" viewpoint and we enjoy them before descending back to our car and going home.

View from the trailWater cistern with Phoenix in the distance
Downtown and the suburbsClose up of downtown area



Today we are exploring an area above Sedona more by necessity - everywhere is raining and this is the only spot which seems reasonably ok. And the weather holds, only a few sprinkles fall during the whole day. However most roads are muddy and barely passable so we decide to walk through the forest which is a great decision as it allows us to see the many flowers along the road.

Quite muddyFlowers near the road
One of the many flowersAnother one - almost perfect

The goal as it is is to reach the rim of the Oak Canyon from above and we do that relatively fast. The views are quite nice and you can see up to Mt Humphrey even with the clouds.

Close to the rim - flowering yuccaFirst view from the Rim
Oak Creek CanyonCanyon Walls
Canyon closer to usClose up of canyon wall

As we sit to eat a few snacks we notice something moving in a crevice and we look closer and it is a colorful snake. We are quite excited as we never saw a kingsnake in the wild before and we examine it as it tries to exit and leave when it actually succeeds.

Ok that looks...colorfulArizona mountain kingsnake - harmless
Trying to climb towards usToo close

There is a trail which starts here descending towards Oak Creek and we take a look at the descent - it is quite impressive and we do not have time today so we return back towards the car on a different road passing a nice waterhole on the way.

Oak Canyon towards SedonaLooks so wild (there is a major highway through the valley)
Wall near the edgeWaterhole

Before reaching the car we find an abandoned car in the woods that is decomposing slowly. It is surprising as it is between the trees without any clear way to reach the location.

Finding cars in the middle of the forestHow did it get here?

Before returning to Phoenix we stop at a Denny's in Camp Verde to eat dinner and replenish the lost calories. The portions are so huge actually that we take part of the dinner home and we eat multiple days from it - a big advantage for lazy people:).

Huge dinnerChicken fried steak




Our weekend trip takes us this time again in the mountains to escape the oppressive heat in Phoenix. We start in Stoneman Lake which is only around 6,000 ft where we examine the different summer homes on the shore - while they look cool they are also quite expensive unfortunately.

Stoneman "Lake"Lake shore
Summer houses near the lakeCottages near the lakeshore

We drive around the lake and arrive at a side road that ends in a road closed sign. We continue on foot on this abandoned road for a nice walk near ponds through the forest while we look and search for mushrooms and flowers.

Guess we have to walk from hereBeautiful flower
Another lakeThis one has more water than the official lake
Former roadSecluded trail

Next we decide to try to see the rim of the West Clear Creek which is a narrow canyon in the area. We are planning to descend in the canyon at some point so we want to see how the roads are. While our Jeep can make it the roads are not that good so in the end we decide to park and walk the last half mile to the rim.

Towards West Clear CreekWaterhole - so many of them

Soon we arrive at our first view of the rim and we decide to go off trail the rest of the way.

First view of canyonNo trail here

The overlook we find is quite impressive - the canyon is deep and quite scary from that point. We avoid the edge but we still manage to get some impressive photos of the canyon bottom far below. As the darkness starts falling we return to the car and then to Phoenix.

On the edgeView of the canyon
Water at the bottom of canyonCanyon wall



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