bjregan

I’m really enjoying the Arizona sunshine, but, unfortunately, today’s hike was a bit much for Lee.

Just kidding. We both enjoyed our hike at Lost Dutchman State Park in the Superstition Mountains. Maybe this poor fellow is the lost Dutchman.

When we left Albuquerque yesterday morning it was in another round of scattered snow showers. I don’t think that storm amounted to much, but I know it’s not as warm and sunny there as it is here in Arizona.

Our stop in Phoenix is just for one day, as we continue on tomorrow for our San Diego destination. We haven’t been to Lost Dutchman before and it turned out to be a good choice for a day hike, not too far from the city. Of course, there were a lot more people on the trails than what we see in New Mexico. But there’s plenty of room to roam for both hikers and horseback riders.

This week’s quest to find a suitable area for a day hike led us to a familiar area of BLM land known as the San Ysidro Trials. I once thought it was a misspelling and was supposed to be San Ysidro Trails. But it’s “Trials” because a large section of it is used for recreational motorcyclists (aka ‘dirt bikes’) who want to test their expertise riding in and around the rocky arroyos in the area. Fortunately, during the times we have hiked there we haven’t encountered any of the roaring, noisy machines, although it’s obvious from their tracks that it is well used.

When we go there we like to walk past the trials area and get to a section of eroded sandstone that, even on a cloudy day, has colorful and interesting rock formations. As wet as the desert still is, we knew we probably would have to navigate through some muddy spots before we got to the rocks. But the parking area is right off a paved highway so we didn’t have to drive any muddy roads. In the spots where the trail got muddy we were able to pick our way through spots of grass along the trail.

This landmark lets us know we are crossing the arroyo in the right place. Look closely to see the “monkey face” rock.

Another reason we like hiking in this area is to check out the many tinajas. “Tinaja : a bedrock depression that fills with water during the summer monsoonal rains and when snowfall accumulates in the winter.” We’ve had a winter with snow accumulations and the tinajas didn’t disappoint. Here are a few of the interesting ones.