On a long and lonesome highway....

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Short hike, great weather, and wow, what a moon....

Our Location:

Superstition Mountain BLM, Apache Junction, Az

I was awake but wasn't out of bed when my phone buzzed with a text from my sister around 6:35 am. Which would be just after 8:35 am Ontario time. I should have been up anyway. I scrambled up and out the door to chat but she needed about 45 minutes before she would ready to do so. Hmmmmmm...she is special, isn't she?

Not much of a sunrise....

Camera in hand I started walking hoping to make some of the low rises in the distance before the sunrise. I made the top of one but thought I could make the other which would offer a different angle and view. I was about 2 minutes too slow. Oh well, it was a nice view, and I managed to get some pictures of the general area. I was almost back home before I called my sister to chat. We caught up on the news and gossip, chatted about our upcoming summer time trip to the Canadian East Coast. About 40 minutes later we were caught up and I said my goodbyes. We miss Jan and look forward to seeing her in early May.

This is what I caught about 2 minutes too late .....

I prepped lunch which today will be pretty much the same as the other day, salad, chicken, veggies and potatoes. I'm not very creative and it's pretty easy fare to make, we like it and add variety with different spices, herbs and sauces.

On our morning hike we crossed this ATV/Jeep/Horse area, obviously well used and while it doesn't look it, often rutted rolling small sandy-gravel type dirt.

I was starting to read blogs I missed last night, comment, etc when Doug (Miss Adventure Travels )sent a text message asking about coming over. Yep, come on over. So the three of us sat down and chatted about yesterday's adventure for a few minutes, then about what we wanted to do today. I think we're all ready for a short hike or two. So that is the plan. We plan to head out around 11:30 am which will give us all time to have some breakfast, and get ready.

It doesn't look like much down in that pit does it?

Breakfast for Riley was a couple of sandwiches, I didn't see her make them but I noticed her eating them. I made myself a breakfast burrito of sorts but added Miracle Whip to the outside of the wrap like I would to a grill cheese, gives it a bit of a tang and it also makes oil/butter unnecessary.


*We came walking down this road.....*

Soon we were ready to go and outside Yuma came over before Doug and when Riley opened her door to do something he just hopped right in. He was ready to head out and didn't want to miss his ride. It was too funny. Soon enough all of us were loaded into the Dogsled and heading less than a mile up the way to the where the road dead ends. We thought we do a small hike today and opted to head out toward a huge rock back there that we've been looking at since we arrived.

Looking up from down in the pit...

I figured it was about a mile each way but I think it may have been closer to 1 1/4 miles. There were a number of ATV's/Quads/jeeps either going through the gate (legally with a permit) or around the gate (illegally without a permit as they couldn't open the gate) to head off in to the trails. The permits are free and I have no idea why folks don't just get the permit to have access via the gate. This is where we've noticed a lot of work on going with some new fencing going up and I think it will block the NON legal trail that allows folks to go around the gate area. Also some horse trailers in the area. The same ones we met yesterday on our way out the Apache Trail.

And we walked up this one....

Doug, Yuma, Riley and I walked and stumbled along over some off road areas, some on road areas and made for this big rock in as straight a line as possible. At one point we had to back track a bit as we missed the road and headed up the mountain side instead. We however corrected that mistake and were soon on the right path. Not far into our hike we came upon a large pit like area, but the bottom was flat with a few spots where campfires had been evident, some with debris only partially burned but at least still in the fire ring. The outer edges of the pit had multiple 'roads' up and out, all of course only suitable for off road vehicles. They were steep, rutted, gouged, rough pathways. Had we known what we were doing we could have gone either way not more than a few feet and found roads that were much much easier to walk down. However on the way in we weren't that smart and managed with great care to get down into and back out of this pit still standing and all in one piece. Nothing skinned, ripped, broken or otherwise damaged. We watched two Razors heading up one of the 'roads' and I'm telling you it must have been some ride, they were bouncing around and still pouring the juice to 'em. I'm sure they were having fun.

That big rock over there is our destination....Yuma always has to lead the way...

On the top side once more we managed to find our way to the large rock. It didn't look so big from far back but it's a huge thing as you can see in the pictures. Yuma of course is always ready to go first and brave the unknown. Doug followed close behind him but Riley and I headed off a bit to try a less difficult trail. We found a horse trail with gravel that was easily mashed down and made solid footing. We managed the climb without any difficulty although a tow would have made it easier.

That's where we're going....

Meanwhile Doug was out of sight but we did see Yuma once in a while braving the heights of the rock. We noticed 4 horses coming along behind us and the horses all managed to come up with only one appearing to have done any scrambling at all. They all stopped on the top of the hill, assuring me that Doug was still standing and in one piece as they could see him as they came toward the trail while Riley and I couldn't see him behind the rock. After a short breather for the horses they were off once again on the trail leading farther back into the canyon. If I have time I may actually go back there and walk a bit just to see what I can see on that trail. I'll bet it's an amazing sight.

Can you see Doug down there?

While Riley rested with Yuma (who had come around as the horses were coming up the trail), I traveled a few feet up to the rock, snapped some pictures and caught sight of Doug coming on up the trail. He also found the path onto the rock and took a few photos I think. After that it was back down the trails, easier time through the jeep pit and back to the Dogsled pretty quick. We were around the 1 1/2 hour mark.

That is Superstition Mountain from about mid way up the rock...

Back home about 1 pm we all went our separate ways with an invite to Doug to come over for lunch around 3 pm. I had a short nap and finished my James Patterson book. Started a new one by Jonathan Kellerman, he's a good writer as well.

I took pictures from level area where Doug is standing, although more around the corner on the left....

I was outside by about 2:20 pm getting lunch started on the Weber. It was about 20 minutes before 3 while I was sitting out reading that I had a visitor that really didn't have much to say just wanted me to sit there and pet him. Yuma had somehow managed to evade Doug and came for a visit all by himself. Wasn't long before Doug called him home and shortly after that they both came over. Before long lunch was ready and I think everyone had their fill. JD Hickory Smoke Chicken breasts, orange juice/zest fresh veggies (green beans, mushrooms, carrots, peppers, sweet onions), garlic potato wedges and of course a green salad.


*Some morning pictures around sunrise....see the pic on the right, that pass or notch is where we travelled yesterday....*


*Mountain pictures taken in the sunshine ......*

We all sat around chatting about this, that and other things, made some tentative plans for tomorrow and shortly before 5:30 called it a day. Doug and Yuma headed off home, Riley and I came inside to clean up after lunch, do dishes and settle in for the night.

These guys were all heading out of the pit....

Riley made some salads for tomorrow while I was busy doing a few other things and by 7 we were all finished. I sat down to write my post, edit my pics and all that stuff. I happened to glance out and caught the most incredible moon, slipped out to take a few pictures and continue this blog.

The horses made the top of the climb......

So there you have it, our short hiking day. The temps were warm enough to go in short sleeves on the way back from the hike but coolish enough to need a sweater on the way in. Tomorrow will be nicer still. Going to enjoy this weather while we can.


*I changed lenses to capture the moon and snapped one of Superstition Mountain as well...*

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to drop a comment.

Various shots of the moon tonight....

Until next time.... take care, be safe,


*These two pictures were taken from the top step of the Igloo just after sunset....*

The moon over the mountains tonight just after the sunset....

Deb

A long tour day........

Our Location:

Superstition Mountain BLM, Apache Junction, AZ

(lots of pictures today)

Rain continued off and on through the wee hours of the morning, as I heard it at 1:30 am when I woke up but not at 3 am. This morning dawned with a misty fog in the air which wrapped the mountain in it's fluffy white cotton and allowed the cotton to move in whimsical fashion over, around, and almost through the mountain. The crown of the big mountain was visible most of the time with a too big wreath of white that fell to the knees of the mountain. A beautiful sight to behold.

The beautiful Superstition Mountain wreathed in fog this morning...

Fog patches here and there stuck around for a long time this morning. We caught a few seconds of blue sky here and there but it didn't look promising. Riley and I were up and sitting with a hot cuppa by 7:30 am after a battle with the propane tank to light the stove. The first tank ran out, switched to the second tank but it just didn't want to burn, no matter what I did. Eventually I just switched the tanks and it worked fine. I'll deal with that a bit later, but today we have plans. After that little battle I paid some bills, replied to the comments on my post and started a bit of research.

A wee bit of red tinged the clouds this morning over the mountain....

Before long Doug sent a text asking if he could come over. The three of us discussed what we'd like to do today and we all agreed that today would be an excellent day to take a driving tour as the weather was cool, with a wind, and very little to no sun until much later in the day. By about 9:30 am we were all loaded up in the Dogsled and ready to head out. Yuma was as excited as the rest of us.


*These children were panning for gold......*

Our first stop was the Superstition Mountain Museum for a quick peek and to ask a few questions about hiking trails and trail heads, etc. The museum is definitely worth a much longer visit but today wasn't the day for that. Two bus loads of children were present and some things were closed off due to their presence and the guided tours they received. So we did a quick walk through, chatted with a couple of the volunteers, and climbed back into the Dogsled heading off the The Lost Dutchman State Park. There we were informed that no information would be given until we had paid our $7 day use fee. The volunteer was very helpful with regards to the camping and amenities of the park. We're going to go back there on a different day to actually hike some of the trails but not paying today just for the paperwork.

There were 4 folks, 4 horse, and 2 dogs heading off for a bit of an adventure along one of the many trails...

From there we headed on out on the Apache Trail. Doug has taken this trail before but Riley and I were new to the whole thing. The drive was amazing, the views almost beyond description. However I'll give you my over all impression of the entire drive, while the description may not apply to every part of the drive, it applies to various individual areas and the over all feel.

It's so green, isn't it? See the cave over there? (sorry for the wires and poles, just no way to get some pictures without having them in there)

The road is narrow, uneven, old hardtop for a good part of the way, however there was also some very rough, washboard, hole infested, rain gouged, rutted dirt portions that went on for many miles. Some construction early on the road indicated they were adding some more pull outs to allow cars to pull off and let others past. The skinny roads wound around, climbed up, dropped down the mountains in their entirety, in parts and pieces, but also caught only the smallest corners for climbing or descending. The road way was literally hanging off the side the mountain. In many places it was extremely skinny and further toward middle to end of the journey it became one lane which meant if you met someone somebody had to get over and allow the other person to pass. You could not both move at the same time. Many one lane bridges also dot the Apache Trail. Single lane, iron grid work with long drops to the bottom of the gorge are not uncommon on this beautiful but very long drive.

View after view after view of this kind of scenery.......all day long....

The roads were not for those with fear of heights, as there were few if any guardrails, and the ones present were pretty much useless. The climbs are steady, steep, long, filled with hair pin turns, blind corners and extremely rough roads. The inside of these corners were easily a foot drop from the edge of the road to the 6" wide inner ditch. Dropping a wheel over the inside was of course much more preferable than dropping one over the outside. Cobblestone cemented supports could be seen in various places, shoring up the outside edges of the roadway. At Roosevelt Lake Dam the road once again becomes hard top, beautiful hard top, quiet, smooth, wide, speed worthy hardtop. From there we took the long drive home along the bottom of the Tonto National Forest on AZ 188 or 88 (I can't remember) and connected to AZ 60 and a few other small roads to bring us back to our home sweet home.

Isn't that just stunning?

What did we see on the Apache Trail? The hills, mountains, valleys, mesas, plateau's, and gorges were stunning, breath taking, eye popping, jaw dropping filled with beautiful vistas, fascinating colours, unbelievable rock formations, sparkling blue waters, straight sheer cliffs, long sloping mountain sides. Gorges that ran downwards causing chasms of almost bottomless depth to the eye, choked with vegetation of varying kinds. The most apparent were the tall stately cactus which almost carpeted the landscape in many many places. Teddy Bear Cholla's also were abundant, as were prickly pear cactus every where we looked. The mountain sides reared tall and straight, slanted and stunted, jagged peaks, splintered points, smooth sides, craggy tops. Rock covered, bare and the colours, they ranged over almost the whole colour spectrum. Oranges, browns, greens, blacks, blues, even some reds, and yellows appeared.

Spectacular to see so much blue water in the desert......

The lakes were amazing, startling blue waters lapped against straight up walls of rock, against what looked like sandy shores in some places, rocky edges of mountains eased all the way to the water's edge in other places. The lakes followed the water course gouged over centuries, with no valley in sight instead the flat expanse of water from one mountain side to the other, wending it's way along just like snake.


*The scenery just didn't ever stop showing off.....*

The Roosevelt Lake Dam was impressive. Tall, stately, guarding the lower reaches deep in the mountains. Clean lines, well maintained buildings and yards at the dam give one the impression of a mature, responsible, stable presence. A feeling of safety and honour, truly a guardian of the inner sanctum of the mountains.

The sheer mountain sides reaching all the way to the water's edge....

The same body of water, but the mountain sides reach down gently in some places, steeply in others....

The small town of Tortilla Flat was barely longer than the Dogsled and had less than no parking available if that's possible. The tourist town offers old town flavour and buildings in this new century. Although the town is still hard on those that require stern discipline and even resort to hanging if necessary. As one poor fellow who couldn't pay his bar tab found out and swings from the top of the building. We didn't stop but waved as we passed him by.

Do you see the warrior keeping watch over the land?

From the blue water in the picture above to views like this....how absolutely breath taking.....

We found ourselves meeting many people, in fact for those folks that know southern Ontario at all, I lived in Hamilton for 30 years, the girls were all born there. One of our stops to view the water found us chatting with a few folks, two of them from less than 20 minutes away from Hamilton in Dundas, Ontario. They arrived in the area yesterday, and will be here for two weeks. It's a small world.

The weaving of mountains jutting back and forth between each other....perfect harmony....

Even with very little sun we still managed too see some amazing colours....

The drive through Globe and homeward bound was good, fast and also very beautiful. However by this point we were tired and just wanting to get home. We did stop quickly at the cave dwellings, but only took pictures from the parking area as it was getting closer to 4 pm than it was to 3 pm. Perhaps another day will see us retrace those steps along to Globe or the nearby area for a more thorough visit.

Can you imagine what it was like with a horse and wagon to pass through this country?

Many of these bridges dot the Apache Trail....

The weather was a mixed bag, sun, clouds, wind, rain, we seen snow on a mountain top but not near us. The temps were pretty chilly reaching around the 50 F/10C near the mountain tops, but a cold wind made it feel much colder. Down in the valley's the temps were higher but we didn't stay down long and so we didn't get to enjoy those warmer numbers.

The colours are eye catching, don't you think?

The camera just cannot do justice to the beauty of these lands....

So over all, the day was an excellent one in my opinion. Longer than expected but still very much worth the effort. Rough roads to be certain but we managed to do just fine. Yuma was a good fella and patiently waited for us at some locations and at others managed to wrangle his way out of the Dogsled and along with us for a short walk.

It's hard to believe how far these views just keep going on and on.....layers and layers of mountains in the distance.........

Rugged peaks, flat mesa's, jagged edges, smooth sides....it's all here.... that's our road down way over there, the thin brown line....

I recommend this trip to anyone that has a love of beautiful scenery, a strong heart, and a good tough vehicle. Take your camera, your binoculars, lunch and have a full tank of fuel as it is a very long drive. Extremely rough in places but enjoyable all the same. It is approximately 40-45 miles of rough dirt road, single lane in places, steep grades up and down, hair pin curves, and washboard, rutted, gouged driving paths. So before you go leave home, be aware of those things. Plan on this being a whole day excursion. Leave early in the morning so you have plenty of time to stop and enjoy yourself. Take a warm sweater, maybe even a hat if you intend to be outside long.

Where does one begin to take a picture with such an amazing vista before them.....

I love the colours, the shadows, and the clouds....

We arrived back home at 5 pm. We headed off to our own homes, although Yuma wasn't too sure if he wanted to go home or stay with the Dogsled for a few minutes. He finally opted on going home. I was still just climbing out of the Dogsled and hadn't made the Igloo door when a Ranger truck pulled in and stopped. A very handsome fella with an amazingly nice beard climbed out of the truck and came over to chat. I didn't catch his name, nice fella with a sense of humour though. He wanted to remind us that it is a 14 day stay limit. They've had complaints of folks staying longer and they were here to check them out and move them on. As our spots are very clean he had no need to tell us to clean it up and pack it out. His partner came out of the truck as well, but didn't add much to the conversation. Doug came back out and we all chatted for a few more minutes. The Rangers headed out, we went back to our own homes and called it a day.

The edges look clean and flat, don't they?

Yeah, that's the road we are going to be taking, see it way further along in the middle of the picture too?

Riley and I were too tired to make dinner. We had a problem with the soup we started yesterday and so had to make something else. We relied on our stand by of pasta with a few hot dogs as well. It was our first meal of the day. Other than a couple of granola bars through the day.

Do you see the different layers of rock?

That's the road we're going to take, far away past those mountains just around the corner is Roosevelt Dam....

Then it was time to start editing pictures. The camera number read 420 for the day, including sunrise. I culled them down to just about 300 but I'm sure I can dump some more once I get another look at them. Don't worry I'm not going to post too many. It's late, I'm tired and I'll be lucky to get this posted tonight. I will have to catch up on two days blog reading tomorrow at some point.

Do you see the guardrail on the left? This is wide enough for one lane....

Ruggedly beautiful....don't you think?

Riley and I would like to thank Doug (Miss Adventure Travels) for his wonderful company, great humour, and guiding abilities. You were 100% right Doug, the dam was just around the corner. We hope you and Yuma enjoyed the day as much as we did. We both very glad you suggested we see the Apache Trail. It was worth the effort. Thanks again.

Can you imagine how the storm waters must have run down these gorges to form this winding river path?

Swallowed up by all the surrounding beauty it's hard to pick just one feature to say it stands out....


*The sun casting it's own shadows and playing with the view....*

These waterways are peaceful and quiet, teeming with all kind of life forms including water fowl....

The middle of the picture shows the stone work I mentioned, and yes we will be taking that road ......

The road follows the river, it's the flat piece you see between the water and the mountain on the right side of the picture....

The white line indicates high water I think. Can you see the face in the rock? I thought it was Chicken Little, Riley though it was an eagle....what do you think?