{"id":23424,"date":"2024-03-18T16:53:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T22:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=23424"},"modified":"2024-03-18T16:53:35","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T22:53:35","slug":"sunlight-and-shadow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=23424","title":{"rendered":"Sunlight and Shadow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

For me, the onset of daylight savings time, in March of each year, means that I can venture farther west for my Sunday hikes \u2013 because Arizona rejects daylight savings time, and when crossing the state line, I gain an hour. This is especially important in late winter when the high mountains are still covered with snow, because Arizona offers more lower-elevation hikes, and with daylight savings time, I can leave my home at 8 am as usual, drive 2-1\/2 hours, and still hit the ground at the reasonable time of 9:30. Yeah, I’m still not gaining much daylight \u2013 but everything’s psychological.<\/p>\n

I decided to return to the area with interesting granitic and metamorphic rocks and dramatic topography that I’d started exploring a little over a month ago. It can also be accessed via an old ranch road that would allow me to bypass the initial steep climb and deep canyon and get closer to my original destination, the ridge above the next watershed to the north.<\/p>\n

I’d already discovered in a short midweek hike that I’d lost a lot of conditioning during my recent trip back east. Today’s hike would require a climb of over 3,000 feet, but the round trip wouldn’t be much over 8 miles, so I should have plenty of time to stop and catch my breath.<\/p>\n

The dirt road to the trailhead is less than 4 miles long, but it took 20 minutes to drive because much of it is rocky. It crosses the mouth of the creek that drains the deep canyon I’d hiked to last time, in a grove of cottonwoods that had just leafed out. Then it climbs past a corral to a bench above the creek, where the trail begins.<\/p>\n

\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching the mountains on a rocky old ranch road <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0860\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Some <\/a>
Some of these slopes are lined with big prickly pears <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Heading <\/a>
Heading up the canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Very <\/a>
Very rocky road down to the creek <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Prickly <\/a>
Prickly pears on metamorphic outcrop <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Very <\/a>
Very similar to rock in my desert mountains <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

There was already a cloud mass hanging over the crest of the range, and as the day progressed, the entire sky filled with scattered, ever-changing cumulus clouds, so that I found myself moving between sunlight and shadow, warmth and chill. Sometimes it became quite dark.<\/p>\n

The trail was steep from the beginning. The overall average grade is almost 14%, making it one of the steepest long trails around, with a lot of short climbs in the 30% – 40% range. I soon came to a gate past which the vegetation changed dramatically, and I understood why the broad slopes above are blanketed with stands of tall native grasses \u2013 cattle have been fenced out of this entire watershed.<\/p>\n

I spent a long time climbing over the rounded foot of an outlying ridge, finally reaching a side canyon that I knew led to the junction with the trail I’d explored last month. Past there, I expected to have to find my own way up the abandoned, overgrown continuation. But the rocks here continued to excite me \u2013 so much like the rocks in my desert mountains.<\/p>\n

\"Early <\/a>
Early poppy <\/div> <\/div>
\"Keeping <\/a>
Keeping cattle out of the mountains, letting hikers through <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail is steep and rocky <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Wild <\/a>
Wild weather <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail over interesting bedroock <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"More <\/a>
More poppies <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Steeper <\/a>
Steeper and rockier stretch of trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching side canyon, with trail junction ahead <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View south over the canyon I crossed last month <\/div> <\/div>
\"Predator <\/a>
Predator scat <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Across <\/a>
Across the side canyon, I spot switchback to junction <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Debris <\/a>
Debris flow fills bottom of side canyon here <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Looking <\/a>
Looking up side canyon to my destination on ridge <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Manzanita <\/a>
Manzanita in bloom <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"More <\/a>
More steep trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"More <\/a>
More beautiful metamorphic rock <\/div> <\/div>
\"Water <\/a>
Water seeping down an eroded wall <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"My <\/a>
My destination is a saddle on that distant ridgeline <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

I reached the junction, and had gone a few yards down the main trail when I suddenly realized it had been cleared, and very recently \u2013 within the past couple of weeks. I’d actually been looking forward to some routefinding and bushwhacking, but this meant I could go faster and potentially farther.<\/p>\n

The trail leads up the gentler left slope of a canyon whose right slope is lined with granite, and a sheer-sided granite outcrop above that slope became my landmark. Below that outcrop, the trail cut sharply left into a smaller side canyon, and the vegetation changed dramatically.<\/p>\n

Whereas below, the slopes had been lined with grass and open oak woodland, from here on up they became a steep maze of boulders and thickets of oak, manzanita, and thorny locust.<\/p>\n

\"Trail <\/a>
Trail up side canyon a month ago, before recent trail work <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Same <\/a>
Same spot now <\/div> <\/div>
\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching landmark granite outcrop, with canyon narrowing <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Turning <\/a>
Turning left below outcrop, into smaller tributary canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

I was aiming for a saddle on the ridge above, but the convoluted terrain at the head of this watershed required the trail to switch back and forth before getting there. And the grade was still steep so I had to stop often to catch my breath. It had rained here yesterday, and the ground was damp, but thankfully in this granite terrain the trail was sandy, not muddy.<\/p>\n

Finally I could see the high saddle up ahead and knew I was on the verge of a new watershed and a new canyon.<\/p>\n

\"Tall <\/a>
Tall pine and fir isolated among oak thickets <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A bear’s been digging in this stretch of trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0967\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Without <\/a>
Without this steep trail I’d never get through these thickets <\/div> <\/div>
\"Another <\/a>
Another view of the landmark outcrop <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"And <\/a>
And more steep trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Granodiorite <\/a>
Granodiorite boulder beside trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0974\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"IMG_0977\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0978\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A look back from an upper slope of the watershed <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail just as steep as it approaches ridgetop <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Outcrop <\/a>
Outcrop on ridge to east catches light <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0993\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The saddle, and a new watershed! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Normally in an out-and-back hike, after only going 4 miles I would be only about halfway to my destination. But I’d dreamed about reaching this point for a long time, and I wasn’t in shape to go much farther. Still, I continued down the trail a few hundred yards \u2013 the trail crew had continued too \u2013 hoping to get a better view. The slope I found myself on had been burned in an old wildfire, but still bore some living pines and firs, whereas the opposite slope, far across the big canyon, was heavily forested.<\/p>\n

I now had a phone signal from the city below the mouth of the canyon, and by the time I’d returned a call, I decided to call it a day. I discovered later on the map that if I’d continued only about a half mile, I would’ve rounded a corner and obtained a view of the summit of the range.<\/p>\n

\"View <\/a>
View from the saddle <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail continues into new canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail has been brushed here, but tread not restored <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Panorama <\/a>
Panorama of new canyon, with crest barely visible at left <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Apache <\/a>
Apache reservation out there <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Today's <\/a>
Today’s route, with summit of range at lower left <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_1032\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_1036\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Still, I felt great. After going three weeks without a hike, I’d climbed over 3,000 feet and gained a view into a new watershed. And this is still my favorite place for rocks in our entire region.<\/p>\n

On the way down, I noticed isolated, charred skeletons of pines rising among the oak thickets on the upper slopes. These slopes which I’d accepted as covered with thickets had once been lined with mixed-conifer forest.<\/p>\n

Passing some burned snags cut by the recent trail crew, I caught a strong odor that immediately sent me back to my childhood bedroom with its cedar chest. I leaned to sniff the fresh cut. Years after the wildfire that had killed the juniper, the heartwood retained enough fragrance to fill the air around it.<\/p>\n

\"Over <\/a>
Over my shoulder, granite outcrops farther out the ridge catch the light <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Looking <\/a>
Looking down the watershed I came up <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The recently cut juniper snag that recalled my childhood <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_1054\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sky <\/a>
Sky and earth, beauty in harmony <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Past the trail junction, paying more attention to my surroundings, I discovered a few more early flowers. The grassy slopes enabled clear views, and far below me I watched a white-tailed buck crossing between clumps of oak. And when I finally reached the livestock fence with its hikers’ gate, what did I see on the other side but a bull, blocking the trail!<\/p>\n

With the fence between us, I yelled at it to move, with no effect. I was in no mood to wait, so I passed through the gate, but on the other side I caught my sleeve on a prickly pear cactus. Standing about twenty feet away, the bull watched me, unconcerned, as I cursed and struggled out of my sweater. By the time I’d picked the tiny glochids out of my elbow, I was more pissed at myself than worried about the bull. It was a young one anyway, and hornless, and it had resumed grazing, ignoring me. I’m still getting used to these local bulls \u2013 so far they’ve seemed to lack the aggression of our desert bulls.<\/p>\n

I made a short detour around the young bull and reached my vehicle with plenty of daylight left.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1064\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Cascade <\/a>
Cascade and pool <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Suggestive <\/a>
Suggestive rock formation <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_1072\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail across bedrock wall <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_1075\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_1076\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Drystone <\/a>
Drystone retaining wall <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Looking <\/a>
Looking back at crest from lower slope <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The entire crest was obscured by clouds when I left for home the next morning, and a storm brewed to the east as well. That country is littered with low desert ranges that might offer some interesting winter hikes.<\/p>\n

\"Early <\/a>
Early next morning, the entire range I hiked lies under cloud <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"And <\/a>
And storms are brewing to the east <\/div> <\/div>
\"At <\/a>
At right is the dramatic rock spine I bushwhacked to a month ago <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching the low mountains south of my hometown <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For me, the onset of daylight savings time, in March of each year, means that I can venture farther west for my Sunday hikes \u2013 because Arizona rejects daylight savings time, and when crossing the state line, I gain an hour. This is especially important in late winter when the high mountains are still covered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,72,141,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hikes","category-pinalenos","category-round","category-southeast-arizona"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_1038.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23424"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23537,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23424\/revisions\/23537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}