Even the green bark of a foothill palo verde looks red in the first light of sunrise.
Category: Scenic
Putting Down Roots
My first impression after hiking with saguaros was of redwoods. Of massive lifeforms with an outsized impact on their environment. Of warriors, long-lived giants, their struggles written on their skin. Yet for all of that a surprisingly shallow root system. Saguaros have a central tap root that grows down but the rest of their roots radiate outward a handful of inches below the surface, soaking up every bit of rainwater they can. Sometimes erosion exposes these shallow roots, as on this old saguaro at sunrise on the Vaquero Trail, Brown’s Mountain rising in the background.
The Guide’s Pack
I bought my backpack, the Tom Bihn Guide’s Pack, four years ago and put it to use right away on a trip to Mount Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park in Washington. We spent our first years together hiking around the Pacific Northwest, not only Rainier and the Olympics but the Columbia River Gorge, the redwoods in California, the Oregon coast, and of course at Ridgefield. Designed and manufactured in nearby Seattle, it was right at home in its home.
Then we moved to the desert.
My first thought after moving here, unsure how I would handle hiking in the hotter weather, was to take a lighter pack on some short hikes, so for the first couple of hikes I took an old REI daypack I’ve had for over twenty years. I quickly switched to the Guide’s Pack as I realized it was better suited to carry the water I’d need on longer hikes courtesy of its internal frame and hip belt.
Since some of the trails are narrow my first thought was to take off the two removable pockets on the sides and store them in the bag. One of the pockets has an organizer for little things but the other is open, and it turns out it is perfectly sized to carry two 27oz Klean Kanteen water bottles. I carry one 27oz bottle attached to my camera bag, two in the side pocket, and a spare in the bottom of the backpack. But I quickly realized my mistake once I started putting my telephoto lens and camera into the bag when the light started getting harsh, as to get to the water bottles I had to pull out the camera and lens. You have to constantly drink water while hiking here, so easy access to water is critical. I put the pockets back on the sides where they have stayed ever since, and after looking in the mirror I realized they weren’t sticking out as I had imagined anyway.
The bag is getting more and more dusty and that’s a good thing because it means I’ve been hiking more and more. I’ve been out almost 20 times in the two months we’ve been here and can’t wait for the next hike. One of the things I’ve loved about this pack is its looks, the navy parapack material is both durable and gorgeous and is well-matched against the coyote brown bottom and straps. It’s a rucksack design, the top compartment is where I keep my snacks, you can open the zipper and get inside without opening up the pack. Pull back the top and there’s a cavernous compartment inside where I store my hiking poles, my fourth water bottle, a first aid kit, and extra clothing (if needed), and various other things. There are some o-rings inside for attaching stuff sacks, adding some nice organizational capability to the large space.
My last adaptation in the desert was to start putting the big lens and camera away when the sunlight starts to get harsh, swapping the lens for trekking poles which make hiking in the desert more enjoyable. How I wish I had four arms so I could carry my tripod and trekking poles too! The tripod I cinch under the bag with some lash straps, that has worked a treat. This is the configuration in the picture below, with the backpack and attached tripod holding up Balanced Rock.
There are lots of nice touches in the bag, such as the loop handle that makes it easier to load the bag into the car or move it about the house. There’s a nice mesh on the back – your back does get sweaty in the desert, for summer hiking I might look for a back with a gap between your back and the backpack. Or maybe a lightweight pack if it proves too hot in the summer for any hike over an hour or two.
I absolutely adore the Guide’s Pack. I love that its beautiful, I love that its well-made and made well, and I love that it’s a great backpack too. It broke my heart to leave the Northwest but getting to know the Sonoran Desert has been an absolute joy. My thanks to the folks at Tom Bihn for making the backpack that let me explore my home in the Northwest, and my new home in the Southwest.
Brown’s Ranch
The Brown’s Ranch section of McDowell Sonoran Preserve has quickly become one of my favorite local places to hike. It’s far too soon to say if it will become my Ridgefield – the default place I go when I want to go out – but it has been a great place to explore and learn about the desert in the spring. I’m assuming it was named after someone named Brown and not because everything is brown, though both would be apt.
The Cask of Amontillado
‘Tis you, Fortunato?
Chasing Waterfalls
I loved the many waterfalls of the Northwest and knew I was leaving them behind when we moved from Oregon to Arizona, but as I stood under Tom’s Thumb I realized I had found a waterfall of sorts. I didn’t need a slow shutter speed to turn the waterfall into a flow of white. I’m not sure what kind of birds are making their home up there but further around the rock formation prairie falcons were nesting, as the rock climbing route was closed while the falcons were nesting. You can see one of the routes on the right side of the picture, it’s the thin grey line ascending the rock face.
Firsts
First light falls upon a foothill palo verde tree as the moon hangs above, taken yesterday morning on my first hike of the Sunrise Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Life has been full of a lot of firsts lately and hiking has been no exception. This morning was the first time I hiked in shorts since arriving here, as I’m testing out when I want to wear short sleeves and shorts based on temperature, and unfortunately it was also the first time I slipped on the trails here. Nothing serious, just skinned up one of my shins, but I don’t think in two decades of hiking in the Northwest I ever drew blood (to be fair I rarely lose my footing).
But mostly the firsts have been positive. First time seeing animals, first time seeing plants, first time visiting parks, first time hiking trails. The new Columbia sun hat and new Merrell hiking shoes are both working well, Friday morning I wore the shoes for the first time on a flat hike and by Saturday morning I was confident enough to wear them on this hike of the Sunrise Trail, which is mostly constant elevation change. It was also quite windy so fortunately I had the chinstrap on my hat cinched tight or my new hat would be soaring above the desert even now.
McDowell Sonoran Preserve
When I first started thinking about looking for work outside of Portland, I immediately added Albuquerque to the list of cities I was interested in. Thinking about the high desert got me thinking about the regular desert but I had the misconception that the desert near Tucson and Phoenix was flat as far as the eye could see, with the occasional cactus sticking up to break up the monotony. Fortunately I did some research and discovered the hills and mountains around each city.
Once we decided to move here and started looking for a house to rent, one of the things I was interested in was distance to local hiking trails. I saw McDowell Sonoran Preserve on a map and thought it looked interesting from afar, it’s a massive preserve owned by the city of Scottsdale with a variety of trailheads leading out to a network of trails. Most trailheads are a 15 to 25 drive from our house and I’m pleased to say that the preserve has turned out to be a great place to hike, so far 6 of my 8 hiking trips have been to different parts of the preserve.
These pictures are from Tom’s Thumb Trail, the furthest trailhead I’ve visited so far but a lovely hike and one I will return to. You can see Pinnacle Peak in both pictures, the nearby trail was the one I visited briefly during my interview trip and the first trail I hiked after we moved here. Pinnacle Peak Park is also owned by the city of Scottsdale but is not a part of the preserve.
Eggs
Before we moved I researched the risk of natural disasters for each city we were considering. In California it was earthquakes and wildfires. In Arizona it was heat and drought. It was only after we moved I learned of the disaster no one dared mention, the dinosaur eggs the size of buildings waiting to hatch outside the city.
I wish someone had told me, I would have moved here a lot sooner.
Adapting to the Desert
We’ve been here four weeks now, though strangely it feels to me like we’ve been in Arizona a month but left Portland months ago. One of the appeals of moving here was the unique beauty of the Sonoran Desert and I’m thankful that not only have I been able to start exploring the desert, but I’ve been out six times! A welcome respite after only getting out once since November while in Oregon. What a blessing it is to be out on the trails.
One of the things I looked for in a rental house was easy access both to work and to local hiking trails, thankfully our house is only 15 to 30 minutes from a number of trails, allowing me to explore the desert in spring before the brutal summer heat arrives. While the trees here like this palo verde don’t provide shade, I have found some trails that are shaded in the morning by the surrounding hills, so hopefully those will be tolerable for a couple hours after sunrise even during the summer months. We shall see.
In the meantime adjusting to hiking here means adjustments to my hiking gear.
I’ve had the same hiking hat my entire time in Oregon, a hat we picked up at REI after we moved there, but after a few hikes in the desert I realized I was going to need a hat designed for the heat. On Friday the Columbia Sportswear Bora Bora II Booney hat arrived and was immediately put to use on both hikes this weekend. I immediately noticed the difference as the new hat is lighter and lets out more heat while keeping out the sun. Loved the old hat and will love the new one. I figure sun hats here are like sunglasses, you’ll want multiple ones so you’re never caught without one when you need it, so I may keep the old hat in the car and maybe pick up a different style of hat as well, but this one I expect to be my main hiking hat.
I’ve been wearing a pair of old New Balance trail runners on all my hikes so far, which work well on the flat hikes but on some of the hills I would have preferred a more structured shoe. Both of my pairs of hiking shoes are waterproof and a bit warm for the desert in the summer (they’ll be fine in the winter). Saturday my Merrell Moab 2 Ventilator shoes arrived, I haven’t worn them hiking yet but Saturday night I wore them around the house and they fit well and don’t seem like they’ll need any break-in. I ordered them in black as I like the look despite knowing from the moment I hit the trails they’ll be covered in desert dust from here on out.
Saturday morning after returning from my hike I ordered two Klean Kanteen 27 oz water bottles to join the two I’ve had for years (as well as a smaller one) and they arrived that afternoon, a perk of the the Phoenix metro area is Amazon has same-day delivery on some items. They joke about the dry heat but it really is dry here and you have to work harder to stay hydrated. I always try to hike with more water than I’ll need so it was time to up the water bottle ante, the two new bottles were put to use this morning. The Klean Kanteen bottles are sturdy and I’ve never had a leak, which is important to me as they sit next to some expensive camera gear. They come in a variety of colors, really love these bottles.
I do miss Portland’s tap water though.
My wife picked up a small bottle of sunscreen so I can keep it in my backpack in case I forget to apply it before I leave or if I need to reapply it. I used the same bottle of sunscreen in Oregon for many, many years, as I rarely needed it unless I was above tree line or out on the coast. Here though I never hike without it. I already had some good hot weather hiking shirts, I’m still testing out when I’ll wear long versus short sleeves, and I have a couple pairs of lightweight hiking pants that convert to shorts, so I’m OK there. I did order a long sleeve swim shirt and a new swimsuit, as while I haven’t swum much the past thirty years, that’s about to change and I enjoyed testing them out in our pool this afternoon.
A quick dip in the pool to cool off, and to get some exercise even in the heat, that I think I’ll love.
Lots of pictures to come, this desert really is something special.
Boolie 