Phoenix, Arizona.

The Holbert Trail, from the base of South Mountain to Dobbins Point and further, is a bit of a climb. Along the way, you will find it advantageous to stop and take photos. You stop, not only because they photos present interesting views, but the pause gives you a chance to catch your breath and grab a swig of water. The hike isn’t long, only a couple of miles, but it climbs around 1200 feet.

About the photo: Even the lower parts of the trail present interesting views. A small picnic area provides a a table and benches for those who might want to grab a short refreshment. Captured on my Samsung S7 at f/1.7; 1/4800 sec. ISO-50. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple. The image must be captured on a mobile device.

John Steiner

Phoenix, Arizona.

This week, Ben Huberman asks us to share the narrow reaches of our photography. From the challenge, “You could focus on a slender object… an image where your field of vision is restricted.” You can read the entire challenge post here. After reading the subject heading, I have a couple of images in my gallery that fit the concept, but the first one that came to mind is the narrow pathway between two boulders shown above. Hikers who have taken the short loop trail to Hidden Valley from the National Trail will recognize this point where the trail narrows as it comes to the confluence of three boulders as seen in the image above.

The trail itself snakes between the two lower boulders, about 12 inches (30 cm) at its most narrow point as shown in the image above. Known by the politically incorrect name, Fat Man Pass, the opening in the boulders isn’t the only way to go. Those who don’t like tight spaces can do a short, relatively easy scramble around and above one of the lower boulders. You can read about the hike on South Mountain and find out more detail on our trek to Happy Valley here. I will only say here that on this day, it was a tight squeeze for me, but our entire party made it through the pass.

John Steiner

Downtown Phoenix with the help of my Tamron zoom lens at full extension

Phoenix, AZ

South Mountain Park and Preserve overlooks the Phoenix metro. The park is open to the public with no entrance fees. Lynn and I have hiked parts of the National Trail on several occasions with detours to Fat Man Pass. For those looking for stunning views of the city, take the drive from S. Central to Summit Road. Note, however, that the fourth Sunday of the month is typically “Silent Sunday.” On those days, no motor vehicles are allowed in the park. Access to park roads is only open to non-motorized uses.

As you drive the ever-rising Summit Road, you will experience increasingly stunning views of the Phoenix Metro. Hikers who want to go to Fat Man Pass will turn right at North Buena Vista Road and follow it to the Buena Vista trailhead. If it’s nearing sunset, however, stay left onto North Summit road for the short drive to Dobbins Lookout.

Much of the development of South Mountain Park and masonry buildings like the one at Dobbins point were constructed by the CCC in the 1930s

The viewing area at Dobbins Lookout is at 2,330 feet; the highest public access point in the park. Mount Suppoa is the highest point in the park at 2,690 feet. Unfortunately, the pinnacle is not accessible to the public.

A small parking lot resides at the terminus of North Summit Road. On clear, smog free evenings, if you want to stick around to view the sunset, arrive early or you might find yourself without a parking place. A wide, flat area allows plenty of space for people to take in the sunset and enjoy the skyline view as the city lights slowly ignite. A very few seats are available for those who might not be able to stand for long periods.

Northeast of Dobbins Point lies the iconic Camelback Mountain and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport

On April 1, 2013, the day of our visit found us looking for some place to view the sunset. From our neighborhood in Buckeye, Camelback Mountain is visible on clearer days. As the mountain was quite visible from Buckeye, we knew the South Mountain view would be relatively smog free. As it turned out, we have seen clearer days on South Mountain, but we found the viewing to be acceptable, if not perfect for photographs.

Sunset at Dobbins Point in HDR via Photoshop Elements 12

One of my photographic goals for this trip to South Mountain would test my skill using Photoshop Elements 3-exposure HDR processing. I shot over 150 images in three-exposure blocks as I captured different views of the sunset. In a future post, I will share some of the other HDR sunsets created on that beautiful spring evening.

John Steiner

Phoenix, AZ

When my wife, Lynn, and I retired, we “knew” that when we joined the other retirees who winter in Arizona that we would have to take up golfing. In preparation for our first winter, she and I purchased some clubs, took some golfing lessons and prepared to walk the fairways and greens of many an Arizona golf course.

Shortly after arriving for our first winter in December 2011, we joined a nearby gym. The Arizona Centennial Celebrations were just around the corner in 2012, and the Arizona State and County Parks invited people to hike 100 miles in the state during that Centennial year. One of our gym instructors offered to lead hikes around the area and a scheduled Wednesday hike was added. Lynn and I joined the group and our lives in Arizona would be forever altered. To this day, our golf clubs sit unused in our garage. Instead we spend our time hiking the trails in Arizona.

Lynn and I met that goal of hiking 100 miles, but we “fudged” the rules a bit, including walks in our neighborhood as long as they were over a mile. We did hike over 75 miles on hiking trails. Considering our relatively sedentary lifestyle during our working years, we considered this to be quite an accomplishment. In January 2013, we were ready for more. The goal would be to hike the full 100 miles on hiking trails.

When we started hiking, a hike of over two miles was a challenge for us, especially if it involved switchbacks as the trail ascended the side of a mountain. By the end of 2013, a four to five mile hike was more typical, and we easily met our personal 100-mile challenge, logging 148 miles in 2013. Since December, 2011, we have logged over 250 miles on Arizona hiking trails.

When we returned to Arizona this winter, we discovered the Maricopa County Parks were sponsoring a new challenge for 2013-2014, 100 miles in 100 days. Lynn and I had a new goal and a bit of a handicap. The official challenge ran from November 1, 2013 to February 8, 2014. We would only arrive in town for the winter by November 14, and further, we’d be gone for ten days over the Christmas holidays. Knowing that six to seven miles would be our typical hike limit, a schedule of at least three days a week with total miles of ten to twelve miles during the week should allow us to meet the challenge.

The rules stipulated that hikes must be completed within Maricopa County Parks or along the Maricopa Trail. That trail meanders through the county parks and ventures around the metro area linking each of the county parks and some Phoenix parks as well. At a minimum, hikers must hike three different parks, but hikes on the Maricopa Trail can be substituted for one of the county parks. At the completion of each hike, a park ranger must sign off on the hiking log.

We live on the extreme west edge of the Phoenix metro in Buckeye. Most of the county parks are an hour drive from us or more, one way. We opted to hike in the two nearest parks, Estrella Mountain Park and White Tank Mountains Park. We would also hike South Mountain on the National Trail, part of the Maricopa Trail. On February 6, 2014, Lynn and I submitted our hiking logs, totaling 108.5 miles. The distances were all GPS tracked via a smart phone app called Map My Walk so there would be no question as to distances traveled. We now eagerly await the delivery of our rewards, T-shirts commemorating 100 Miles in 100 Days.

I submit for your constructive criticism, photos taken during hikes in the three parks that challenged us. In the interest of full disclosure, most of the photos were taken outside of the timeframe of our 100 miles in 100 days challenge. Please click on one of the photos below to open the gallery of images.

Would anyone like to buy a set of used golf clubs?

John Steiner

Avondale on Dwellable

Phoenix, Arizona. 

My wife, Lynn, and I joined Dana and Mike on this week’s hike. On an earlier hike, Dana suggested that we would enjoy the hike through Hidden Valley to Fat Man’s Pass. The day was beautiful, and the warm sun brought out some wildlife. Wildflowers were just starting to appear in the meadows. When we started down the trail, we didn’t know we would have Lynn and my first encounter with a rattlesnake along the trail.

The trail we hiked, the National Trail, meanders along the upper ridges of South Mountain. The park, part of the Phoenix Parks System, is the largest municipal park in the country, at over 16,000 acres. There are over 50 miles of trail wandering through the desert preserve. We would be hiking a short section of the trail eastward from the Buena Vista Scenic Overlook, eventually taking a small loop that would send us back to the overlook and our car.

Dana was right about us enjoying the view, the trail winds its way through rocky terrain. Boulders balancing on other boulders, natural tunnels, rock outcroppings and granite polished by rushing water during centuries of monsoon seasons provide amazing scenery. Our hike took us to a point where a sign beckoned us toward Hidden Valley. We left the National Trail to descend into the valley.

After only a short hike, we came to Fat Man’s Pass, a junction of three boulders. The trail ventures between two boulders, narrowing to approximately twelve inches, chest high, at one point. The length of the trail through the boulders is only maybe 10 feet or so. Those who don’t feel inclined to stay on the trail can easily find their way to the other side of the pass by going around the boulders. But there was no challenge in that!

Mike and Dana, both much more slender and fit than I, made it through the pass nicely. It was my turn next. Camera in the backpack, backpack in my hand, I slipped into the pass sideways. Sidestepping along, I was almost to the other side when I hit the narrowest part. My forward progress stopped as my upper chest wedged into the rock. I contemplated sliding back a bit and forcing my way into the wedge. I thought about the possible consequences. It would not be fun to be stuck here. The granite was smooth so I wasn’t worried about being jabbed or poked by rock, so I slid back toward the entry point just slightly and with a little more momentum, drove my body into the wedge. I slid through the narrow point rather easily with only the backpack, hanging from my trailing arm snagging a bit on the rock. Lowering my arm a bit, the backpack slid through where the gap was slightly wider.

Knowing that Lynn is shorter than I am, I was confident she would make it through the pass more easily than me. The narrowest area that was chest-high for me would be higher on her. After relieving her of the hiking poles and water belt pack she was carrying, she slid through the gap easily.

Moving along the trail with Dana in the lead, I was enjoying the beauty of the valley when Dana stopped dead in front of me. She had heard the sound of a rattle. Next to the trail, within striking distance of those walking close to the trail’s right edge, lay a young rattlesnake, sunning himself on a rock. He was slightly hidden by some overbrush, but his warning rattle told us he was in no mood for visitors.

Dana, an experienced hiker, and trained in fire and rescue skills in her day job, decided to move the snake from the edge of the trail and encourage it to move to a safer place for itself and other hikers who might come along. I will not describe or provide photos of the method she used to convince the rattlesnake to move elsewhere. I don’t want to encourage those with no skills in an attempt to do something similar. Suffice it to say, we got an up close and personal view of Mr. Rattler, and then Dana encouraged him to head safely away from the trail.

With the snake safely out of our way, I asked Dana what should Lynn and I have done had we been hiking alone and encountered the snake. In this case, a wide berth to the left side of the trail would have been sufficient. If the snake were in the middle of the trail, stopping and waiting for the snake to move might be an option. If the snake is comfortable, though, leaving the trail to go around is the best option. In that case, extreme caution should be exercised, lest you disturb another snake. A sharp ear is helpful, but you cannot depend upon it. The rattle isn’t as loud as I imagined it might be, and if startled, a snake may strike without a warning rattle.

Shortly after that adventure, we came to a stone tunnel. The photo I included is one example of what photographers need to watch out for, especially when shooting toward the  sun. Lens flare isn’t always visible while taking the shot, so you don’t always see the problem until after you are nowhere near the location. In this example, you can see the flare in the rock at the roof of the tunnel.

The best way to avoid the flare is to shield the lens. If you don’t have a lens shield, hold your hand just slightly above and in front of the lens so that the front of the lens itself is in the shade. The hard part is keeping your hand out of the frame.

The feature I wanted my viewers to see was the shiny rock surface. The rock has been polished by centuries of water cascading through the tunnel in the Arizona rainy season. Concentrating on the rock surface, subject in the shade, I did not notice the sun directly above the line of the tunnel.

Continuing on our hike, we eventually rejoined the National Trail. We could have continued east along the National Trail, but instead headed west, back to the overlook where we parked the car. Though some of the trails we’ve hiked this spring were resplendent in wildflowers, this area, not so much. I suspect with the higher altitude on the mountain, it hadn’t warmed up enough to trigger budding yet. In the next week or so, I’m sure the flowers will appear.

Flowers are one of my favorite subjects, their natural beauty and color make a striking image possible. To get the best results, use the macro setting on your camera. Most consumer cameras use the symbol of a flower on the setting wheel. This setting allows you to move more closely to the subject and maintain focus. If your camera has a setting that allows Aperature Priority (usually A on the setting adjustment), use that setting and open the lens aperature as large as possible. This will give your image two advantages. First, it will blur the background, causing your subject to stand out much more vividly, and it will ensure a fast shutter speed, mitigating any possible motion blur from the wind moving the plant, or a less-than-steady hand when pushing the shutter button.

After  4.2 miles, and a leisurely 3-hour pace, we arrived back at the overlook. South Mountain is one of the nicest parks we’ve visited in the Phoenix area. Even if you aren’t into hiking, the scenic roads through the park present beautiful vistas. You could even spend some time on horseback. Equestrian rentals and guides are available in the park.

John Steiner