This spring, the desert is blooming much more fully than I’ve seen it in previous years. Only one other year came close, 2013, and it wasn’t quite as prolific for wildflowers as this year. Since moving to Arizona, one of our favorite pastimes is hiking in the nearby mountains. On Thursday this week, I led a hike along the Mesquite Canyon Trail in the White Tanks Mountain Regional Park. The wildflowers, especially the bright yellow brittlebush dominates the landscape, but the green growth on the mountains take away the brown, barren desert appearance. This year, in just the fall and winter seasons, the area received around 4 inches of rain. Though I don’t know the average for the same time frame, I know we’ve had more rainy days than usual. We even shut off the watering system at our house for a short time as the plants were getting plenty without us providing our usual input.

About the photo: Captured with my Samsung S7, this view of Mesquite Canyon Trail was captured at f/1.7; 1/3500 sec.; ISO-50. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple, the image must be captured with a mobile device. Since I only had my cellphone with me on Thursday’s hike, Lynn and I came back to the park on Friday with my Nikon D500 so I could capture some macro and HDR images from the park. Those photos will be featured in an upcoming post.

John Steiner

Buckeye,AZ

I only heard the rhythmic sounds of hiking boots hitting the trail and the metallic clank of the aluminum hiking poles as the metal tips strike rock. Lynn and I don’t talk much when we hike. We are too busy putting one foot in front of the other and soaking in the views from the trail. For a Sunday, I expected more people on the trail. I suspect since our choice of trail stayed mostly in the lowlands, the crowds were populating the trails that headed up into the canyons. The only other sounds, besides the wind occasionally whistling by our ears, were other hikers chatting in the distance, or mountain bikers pedaling around us as we walked along the trail.

Since returning to Arizona in late November, we hadn’t yet had a chance to visit our nearby White Tank Mountain Regional Park. We decided to blaze some new (to us) trails. I plotted a route on the Ford Canyon Trail from the trailhead at the base of the mountains, to the Waddell Trail, and then on to the Mesquite Canyon Trail. We had hiked parts of all these trails in the past, but not in the area where we planned our hike. The view would be mostly fresh to us.

As the park is full of people, especially on the weekend, there is very little wildlife to be seen. If you’re quick, and use your peripheral vision, you might spot a lizard scampering underneath a bush, or between a pair of rocks as you approach. Or you might see the rear end of a gopher as he dives into one of the many holes that pock the desert floor. You would have to be lucky to see a deer or a javalina, maybe even a mountain lion. Rattlesnakes, tarantulas and scorpions live in the park as well. On this hike, we had to be satisfied with glimpses of a lizard and a gopher. Though many varieties of birds live in the park, either I was oblivious to them, or they simply stayed away from us on this hike. On other hikes, they have been more noticeable.

Sunday’s hike was 3.7 miles in a loop from the trailhead on Ford Canyon Trail to the Waddell Trail, then on to Mesquite Canyon trail, both terminating in the same parking lot. We were looking forward to hiking Wickenburg’s Vulture Peak on Tuesday, but a conflict arose. We have to be back in Buckeye by 1:00 PM, and there’s no way we can drive to Wickenburg, make a four-mile hike and drive home in that amount of time. Lynn and I will go on a hike Tuesday, probably leave the house earlier than the group, and head to the nearby White Tank Park. It will be a good day to get reacquainted with a trail or two that we’ve already trod.

John Steiner

Goodyear on Dwellable