The Praying Monk

The stone figure has gone by many a name over the centuries. In the past, it has been called a chief, the Man of the Mountain, and now the praying Monk. He resides on Camelback. The notorious mountain that I now climb so very often. You can view him on the Echo Canyon summit trail. And this is only the beginning of the trail. The picture is deceiving as one is only getting a glimpse of the stepping stone to the summit. The rest of the mountain is behind and off to the right.

It is hot now. And to hike Camelback sanely, one has to do it in the wee hours of the morning (like before 8am). People are already getting there at 5am, I am sure as the dawn and light comes that early now. I am still getting there about 6:30 and the parking lot is piling up with cars as people head to the mountain. And with the temperatures rising well over 90s and now into the 100s, I am going to follow suit and do a local custom. Bring a jug of water and soak/drench my clothes. And by the time I get to the summit, the clothes will be dry! It is the only way to keep hiking and staying cool during the insane temperatures of the desert summer.

The Stone Monk

The Praying Monk has

turned to stone.

Kneeling forever-dark-alone

Upon the mountain side

His offered prayers-

Our prayers and his

for centuries

Rise upward toward the Cosmic Tide,

While he prays alone.

~Sanger-Stewart

Globe Trekers

Ah, my parents came down for an extended weekend. During the weekend we headed to the Superstition area, staying in Globe. It is high country with chaparral and mountains with pine trees. And the main focus of our excursions--birding. :)

We had a lovely group of birders at the same B&B we were staying at and had a good time with lectures and searching for those birds. We headed up into the Pinal Mountain, Pioneer Pass. There were birds. Hummingbirds, finches, warblers, Western Tanagers. Bird haven for the bird lovers.
I found a stream where we were birding in Pinal Mountain. Frogs croaking away. By and by... for the birding expedition up in to Pioneer pass, we left at 6:30 on a glorious Sunday morning. Nice and cool and sunny. Perfect weather. And the kind of weather I will be dreaming about in a month or two while in the hotter than hell Valley of the sun.
This view is looking down to Globe. Globe is down there and the tan colored stretch of landscape in the left corner is the mining for copper. Globe was/is a mining town.

The scenery is beautiful and amazing to think about an hour and half drive East of Phoenix, this kind of habitat and ecosystem exist. Sorry no pictures of birds. They are elusive creatures. But they are in the pictures chirping somewhere.

Orchids of the desert

I have come to the conclusion that there is a certain kind of plant that should be named: Orchids of the Desert. I am referring to the yuccas or the banana yucca in this case. While enjoying my walk through the desert botanical garden before Tai Chi class, this week the yuccas are in full bloom. So I got my first viewing with them up close and personal.
The flowers are so beautiful. Delicate and slightly fragrant. The smell is oddly familiar.... hmm, like a banana! Ahh... hmmm... so good! The fragrance is very faint, it does not fill the air around you unfortunately, but nevertheless to see them is just as pleasing.
So on my walk I had a mission. Find all of the banana yuccas. They are easy to spot since the yuccas are so tall up to 15 feet in some cases. There were some smaller ones though around 8 feet, and hence the viewing of the flowers.
The wildflowers are all but done now. I am seeing that the cacti are getting ready to bloom. An older gentleman was telling me that in the high desert the cacti, yuccas, and other flowering plants have yet to open. When they do open at the botanical garden, it may be my cue to head for the high deserts in Arizona.

Huge Chuckwalla Lizard

Ok, this is getting unreal. I guess there was a point when the Park ranger said that Camelback Mountain is popular for chuckwallas. I went again this morning and on my way back down when the temperatures were on the rise baking the East facing side, I had hit one of those tricky passes where it is downhill gravel (this is where mountain goat maneuvers come in handy...). I had successfully made it down the passage and stopped. I started thinking now if I was a lizard this is where I would be hanging out. I am starting to pick out good lizard sun rocks. So I started to slowly scan the rocks and What??? I see this huge chuckwalla (pictured above) on the rocks above me right along the gravel side. Since I was concentrating so keenly on getting no scraped knees and bruises I did not even notice this guy two feet away from me.
Hot digity dang! This guy is huge. And it is a male by the way. Males have red on their back. Females are just one shade of lizard grey color. And the female was below me hiding under a rock. I clearly scared her with my "ooos and ahhs" and flashing my camera around.

A father and his daughter (about 5 or 6 years) came up the trail. I showed them the sighting. The girl let out a scream. And telling her daddy she wanted to go home. Oh dear. I told her that the lizards were more scared of her and would not attack her. Poor girl. I felt bad that fear was the immediate emotion and not awe.

By the way, yes I spotted a snake. Did not take a picture as it quickly slithered under a rock. The tail was showing a bit and I studied that... no visible signs of rattles. I am pretty confident it was not a rattler. But regardless, I left it alone.

And now that chuckwallas are so popular on my camelback outings. No more pictures. That is unless I find one over a foot or so. I wonder if they get that big.

Cute Chuckwalla lizard!

It's a snake! No! It's a gila monster! No! It is a Chuckwalla Lizard!

I encountered this cute creature on the hike on camelback. This is my second sighting of a chuckwalla lizard. I hear they are popular on Camelback and love to sun themselves. They are not poisonous. And are more likely to run from you. But they can be brave as this one showed to be.

They are sooo cute! The first one I saw two weeks ago was about a foot in length from head to tip of tail. This one seemed to be deflated because the first one had its side out thus creating the shape of a turtle's back.

I waited for about a minute before the lizard got brave and showed itself on the rock. I guess it did not mind me standing there. A guy came down the trail and saw the lizard and exclaimed, "It's a gila monster! A really, really small one." I told him it was a chuckwalla lizard. "Really? Are you sure?" "Yes, I am sure." I looked it up two weeks ago. And told him we would be in big trouble if it was a gila monster. They are poisonous. I hear that they sink their jaws deep into the skin and send out the poison that way. That's got to hurt and no way I am going to find out first hand. And chuckwallas are harmless. And all of this time the chuckwalla remained where it was. Perhaps thinking we did not see it anymore?

I will keep posted the wildlife sightings on Camelback. Temps are rising now (upper 80s) so more animals will be coming out in the warm weather.

Butcher Jones Trail

I spent the rather warm (upper 80s) Easter day to the mountains. Specifically, I hiked Butcher Jones Trail nestled along parts of Saguaro Lake, which has been created by the Salt River projects (dams and thus water for the valley). In the backdrop of this picture is the famous Four Peaks. While the Four Peaks was not my destination, it was one of the visible landmarks for my hike.

I parked my car at the Butcher Jones recreation site where it was full of large family gatherings for the Easter day. Fortunately the trail leaves the picnic sites and leads along some beautiful scenic spots overlooking the lake, desert, and vistas. I will pause for a moment in telling the story of Butcher Jones. As I am told, the nickname "Butcher" is a joke. W.W. Jones was a rancher and a doctor who had cattle in these parts spreading from the Salt River (upper Scottsdale/Mesa) to the Four Peaks wilderness area during the late 19 century. A rather large area covering thousands of areas. It is astounding to me to have the cattle grazing in the desert as the vegetation seems not to offer a lot for cattle. It's a desert! What do they eat?Not too far into the hike, there is a short detour (.1 miles) that visits a dry waterfall. This is where the water would be coming out (the V shaped rock, yellow rock). As I was walking the dry beds to the waterfall, it is apparent that water has not flowed for some time now (years?). As one continues the hike, the trail still follows the meandering shoreline rising higher and higher along the cliffs. The slopes are exposed and abundance of wildflowers are seen amidst the desert scape. I saw more varieties and colors of flowers than on South Mountain. Yellows and blues are still the dominate color but there were white, orange, and pink contrasts to be seen.During the hike, there were some panoramic views of the lake and cliffs. Saguaro Lake is an oddly shaped lake following the rugged cliffs in and out of coves. For the next mile and half or so, the trail left the lake and started into the desert terrain. So I was able to leave the noises of loud boats and people for a bit. I realize that sound travels far in the desert. So I could hear many things, mostly boat traffic.
So began the next segment of the hike. Even being in the desert, there is a lot of changes of vegetation and scenery in a short span of time. The trail becomes a little more rugged and less maintained. The cactus and shrubs extend often over the trail and sometimes the trail encroaches the vegetation. It is apparent that the wilds of nature is taking back the trail. I have small scratches on my arms and legs to prove it.

And then when rising over the crest of a large hill, another part of the lake comes into view with the sweeping views of Four Peaks and the wilderness area. Turkey vultures were my steady companions. I saw them often during my hike flying low and than out circling with sometimes four in the same area.

And thus concluded my hiking destination. The trail took one to Burro Cove with a vista overlooking the splendors. There is a trail that continues along the shoreline but one needs to become a bushwhacker extraordinaire to continue this journey. As it was 2pm and temps well into the 80s, it was time to take savor the scenery, hydrate the body with plenty of fluids and foods and then head back. The trail length to Burro Cove is 2.6 miles.

On my return hike back, I stopped at a rather secluded cove. I took off my hiking boots and sweaty socks and soaked my feet in the cold waters. It was nice to sit a spell even with a entsy bit of shade to enjoy.

It is nice to know that the desert splendors among the mountains are so close considering locations. And one can quickly leave the traces of city scape behind. To get away and be on desert time.

Wildflowers at South Mountain

I was at South Mountain today for two purposes. One, to take a break from hiking Camelback, which I have started hiking twice a week, so I could do a moderate workout on my tight thighs to loosen up some. The second reason was a request for the wildflowers that are starting to be in full swing in the desert.
I went out to hike at 1430 hours. During the middle of the day and the highs in the lower 80s. Regardless of the heat, it was vastly pleasant to take a hike. There were nice breezes blowing through and I was protected with sunblock and shade (hat/sunglasses) plus water and electrolytes.
I am tempted to hike more often during the midday or afternoon. It is very different atmosphere than when I hike during the morning hours. I was contemplating what the changes were. Primarily reason may because there were less hikers and bikers on the trail. There were people out but very few, especially up on the National trail. But less movement and stillness, even though the wind was gently breezing. Not so many birds out chirping. A quiet feel that slowed my pace to being rather meditative and just being in the moment.
The next few are going to be pictures of flowers. Small flowers. The need to get up close and personal with the intimate characteristics of the subtle changing yellows, blues, oranges and the poise of the flowers.
I know the color contrasts are not vibrant...maybe looking a little bleached or more appropriately-dusty. But this is the beauty of the desert. It is so subtle. I am finding the desert is not a place to be hurried if one wants to appreciate the full gamut of beauty and the secrets the desert has to tell. Even though it was still, there were still plenty of critters out and about. The lizards were the most active. I saw a chipmunk and several beetles that can fly too. There was a hummingbird at one point. And I saw three birds passing through. Two looked to be some sort of miniature bird of prey of some kind.
And yes, your eyes are not teasing you, this is a snake. I made sure to include this one because I know there are so many snake fans out there and been asking about snake encounters. Cute little guy stretched out on the trail keeping warm, enjoying the sun. I was tempted to lay down with it for a spell to soak in some of the rays and hear any exciting tales of rattlesnake encounters. But no, I left it in peace. The snake did not seem bothered by my presence.
And thus my walkabout. It was nice to be out at South Mountain. It is like home now since I have been there so many times. Always nice to return to something familiar but yet observe the changes present. I had not expected this hike in many ways. I went with my before mentioned purposes but yet, the walkabout served a higher purpose that I did not plan for. Indeed it was very meditative. The pace just right to fit the day. To drink in the sights, smells, and what sounds that could be heard-the silence broken only occasionally by friendly greeting and smile with a fellow neighbor. The walkabout was also very restorative. I have needed this kind of contentment and peace for some time (especially with my February sickness streak). I am fairly certain that I will get much rest tonight. The kind that is deep and reaches down to the soul to dream the visions and mingles with loved ones far and near.

NOTE: Since I have already had some report interest in my snake encounter... I am going to give the snake a rest by declaring I have looked it up and identified my snake. It is a glossy snake, VERY harmless to humans.