12/5, Picket post Mountain

December 12, 2024

We took a great hike today, more level than normal, on the north side of Picket post Mt. close to where we wild camped last night. The posts on all trails were all about "be careful of the snakes" and "encountered a territorial diamondback" We didn't see any snakes, nor did we see the skunk that one fellow hiker said he saw- I guess both of those things are good!

I really enjoyed Picket post Mt. I think that it has the similar feeling that Mt. Hood does at home- it's a standout feature, rather than one of many. The nearby Superstition Mountains are incredible, but are a range of peaks, so don't have the same affinity for me.

12/4, The Superstition Mountains

December 12, 2024

The Superstition Mountains, Superstition wilderness. And the story of the lost Dutchman……… who was really German? Peralta Trail, Freemont Saddle, Tortilla Flats.

Some trails just seem to keep climbing! The route to Freemont Saddle was like that. Superb temperature, but the sun is intense, and the bouldering made the climb a workout. Views along the way were great, and from the top better! Lots of cactus and other plants, but the Saguaro stole the show for me, especially with the rocky spires as a backdrop.

We had to stop in to the saloon in Tortilla Flats. It's wallpapered with dollar bills, and has saddles to sit at the bar. The museum just 3 doors down has a jail cell out front where Ginger was talked into entering.

Evening was wonderful under the stars and Saguaro cactus, even a campfire! It's really nice not to be cold or wet.

Saguaro, Freemont Saddle, Superstition Mountains

Ginger gets tossed in the Tortilla Flats Jail!

12/3 Globe and the detour

December 12, 2024

I was rather ho-hum about going to the Boyce-Thompson arboretum. I think of it as a garden of trees, and I'd just as soon explore a trail in the woods without paying the admission fee. So I used Ginger as an excuse to drop Susan off, and go scout our camp site for the evening. Well, that only took 6 minutes, and Susan sent me a text saying that dogs are allowed to go in the arboretum. I checked my attitude, and thought it would be best to go on in. It was great, a huge property with a gazillion different types of cactus and desert plants. I even learned that a lot of what we refer to as cactus, are not, rather succulents. As an example, the agave plant is not a cactus, even with the thorns and thick "leaves". It was great, and we were able to spend more time than planned. We didn't get stuck :)

There were a lot of birds enjoying the trees, so we spent considerable effort spotting them- no I don't remember which ones we saw, aside from the humming bird…….

The road from Globe to Superior is only about 30 miles, but as luck would have it, it was closed for construction causing a 70 mile detour past some vast, enormous, mountain sized open pit mines. I spotted a few billboards touting the new technology used for a greener copper. "less water used means more for nature and our communities" or something like that. Would that be "greenwashing" or just "misleading"? Funny, I didn't think to photograph the mines….