Views are the reward after a steep climb to the Quartz Outcropping in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
Tag Archives: mcdowell sonoran preserve
Gateway Trailhead
The Gateway Trailhead for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve is on schedule with an opening promised
at the beginning of May. Most impressive about the Gateway area is
how little impact construction has had on the environment. If a plant or
rock had to be moved, it was replaced nearby.
hdr desert
An HDR image from yesterday’s hike in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
quartz outcropping
Spectacular weather today called for a special hike so we went to an area in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve called the Quartz Outcropping. The views are spectacular making it well worth the difficult climb up.
hedgehog
With our rainfall level so far, this beautiful specimen of Hedgehog Cactus is likely to be filled with blooms this coming April!
happy new year
Happy New Year! Hope you all are doing something you enjoy today! We hiked one of my favorite trails this morning….Tom’s Thumb in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. It’s less than two miles but very steep and technical.
hiking boots for a horse?
Hiking boots for horses? Who knew?! We were introduced to this interesting tidbit on this morning’s MSC photo walk. Donna, his owner, told us that her horse doesn’t have metal shoes so these boots protect his feet from the stones on the trails. This encounter turned out to be a great photo op for the group especially since the horse was a ham who seemed to love posing for us.
blue shirt
Stewards of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve wear blue shirts. The one here belongs to Allan Willey who was enjoying a solo hike to Windgate Pass. I added a little drama to the photo making the weather look ominous when it was actually sunny.
(upgrading my computer this week so I’m behind on posting)
inspiration viewpoint
I finally hiked up to Inspiration Viewpoint in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. It’s only 3.25 miles but the elevation gain is 1000 feet so it’s a little challenging. Chris and my photographer friend Barry went too. Click for a panoramic view.
Gateway
MSC Stewards and volunteers gather to hear about and see the progress on the Gateway access to the Preserve.
Below we’re given an explanation of the Rammed Earth process used in the building of the trailhead structure.