{"id":25441,"date":"2024-10-21T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=25441"},"modified":"2024-10-21T10:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T16:30:00","slug":"prickly-pear-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=25441","title":{"rendered":"Prickly Pear Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Until my knee gave out on me, I never had trouble finding big hikes that would produce interesting Dispatches! But now, I’m limited to canyon walks or traverses of level basins surrounded by spectacular peaks or rock formations \u2013 most of which are across the border in Arizona. This Sunday, I wanted to explore a beautiful area of buttes and bluffs that I’ve driven by many times. It’s all unprotected cattle country, but I’d seldom seen cattle there. Access was a big question \u2013 the map shows a few dirt roads crossing it, but I had no idea whether my low-clearance 2wd pickup would handle them.<\/p>\n

The road I was hoping to use turned out to be long-abandoned and blocked by catastrophic washouts and rockslides, but a few miles past it I found a rocky ranch road that the truck could just barely handle.<\/p>\n

\"Leaving <\/a>
Leaving town with a Biblical sky to the east <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching the low mountains behind which I hope to do a short hike <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pretty <\/a>
Pretty shrub beside the highway <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"An <\/a>
An outlying butte along the way <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Those <\/a>
Those who invade violently can expect violence in return <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Hope <\/a>
Hope this ranch road turns out to be driveable <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Today's <\/a>
Today’s little hiking ground <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The two-lane highway skirts the edge of the shallow basin, and the ranch road took me down to where a dead-end side track branched off. I drove that only a short distance lower into the basin \u2013 searching for the abandoned road had used up almost a half hour and I really wanted to get out and start walking.<\/p>\n

After yesterday’s winter-like storm, today’s sky was crystal clear, the air was still, and the temperature at this elevation \u2013 around 4,000 feet \u2013 was forecast to be in the 70s all day. Much warmer than it should be for this time of year.<\/p>\n

I set out for the nearest butte, across rolling desert terrain cut by shallow arroyos, featuring big honey mesquites alongside big catclaw acacias, with an understory of junipers, creosote bush, barrel cactus, prickly pear, ocotillo, palo verde, and various shrubs. A diverse paradise for lovers of desert vegetation. As with other areas I’ve explored nearby, the arroyos here often expose bedrock, and although the ground was already bone dry, yesterday’s storm had left hundreds of small tinajas \u2013 water pockets \u2013 in that bedrock.<\/p>\n

\"Setting <\/a>
Setting out across the shallow, rolling basin <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Creosote <\/a>
Creosote bush <\/div> <\/div>
\"Honey <\/a>
Honey mesquite <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Barrel <\/a>
Barrel cactus <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5251\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Exposed <\/a>
Exposed bedrock in the wash <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Water <\/a>
Water from yesterday’s storm <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lichen\" <\/a>
Lichen <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5258\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"IMG_5259\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5260\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ocotillo\" <\/a>
Ocotillo <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5262\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Some <\/a>
Some kind of ground-hugging cactus <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5264\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Unusual <\/a>
Unusual shape for a barrel cactus <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5266\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5267\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Crossing <\/a>
Crossing a low rise toward the butte <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The dry wash I was following turned away from the butte, so I climbed a shallow rise into the next watershed, and found a picturesque little box canyon at the foot of the butte. Crossing the head of that, I traversed the shoulders of the butte northward to get a view of the northern part of the basin. Big prickly pears surround the butte, creating an obstacle course that was sometimes almost impassable, but it was all so pretty I didn’t mind. My only regret was the lack of clouds \u2013 I’ve passed this area when cloud cover made it look more epic than it is \u2013 almost like Monument Valley in Utah.<\/p>\n

\"Mini <\/a>
Mini box canyon below the butte <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Traversing <\/a>
Traversing around the shoulders of the butte <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"North <\/a>
North basin <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Benchmark\" <\/a>
Benchmark <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5288\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Prickly <\/a>
Prickly pear heaven! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Unknown <\/a>
Unknown shrub <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Colorful <\/a>
Colorful young prickly pear <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dim <\/a>
Dim mountains in background are one of my favorite hiking areas when joints are working <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Palo <\/a>
Palo verde <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Eventually I turned back. I needed a little more mileage, so when I reached the head of the box canyon I turned upstream. This proved to be a good choice \u2013 the arroyo led me over more spectacular bedrock formations and into the eastern part of the basin below more rugged rock bluffs. I saw a phainopepla and flushed a covey of quail and several ground squirrels.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5296\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5297\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Phainopepla <\/a>
Phainopepla in mesquite <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5302\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5305\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5312\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Colorful <\/a>
Colorful bedrock in wash <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bluffs <\/a>
Bluffs at eastern edge of basin <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

I’d seen dry cowpies and cattle tracks that were probably a few weeks old, but thankfully no bulls! The basin was shallow enough that if there had been cattle here, I would’ve seen them from far away.<\/p>\n

\"Interesting <\/a>
Interesting rock in wash <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lichen <\/a>
Lichen at head of box canyon <\/div> <\/div>
\"Juniper <\/a>
Juniper sheltering barrel cactus <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Another <\/a>
Another range I’d like to explore <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Zooming <\/a>
Zooming in on my little truck <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_5340\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Today's <\/a>
Today’s route <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

By the time I returned to the truck I’d gone less than two-and-a-half miles, and my knee seemed to be doing okay. I’d been careful to stop and stretch several times, walking slowly and mindfully on the gentle descents.<\/p>\n

My next destination was the restaurant in the village I’d passed on my way here. It was packed with local ranch families, but thankfully they have one small table by the door, which just seemed to be waiting for me. I ordered enchiladas and turned to see if there was anyone I could talk to, but they were all immersed in Sunday gossip. These are rural Trump voters \u2013 but not the hillbilly types, unemployed and addicted to opioids, that the media seem to love. These hardworking country people were in their best Western wear for church, the men wearing different shades of cowboy hats.<\/p>\n

Locals came and went, nodding and smiling at me as they passed. As I was finishing up, a stooped man walking with a cane, who couldn’t have been much older than me, turned on his way out and said “Have a wonderful day, young man!” I don’t hear that much anymore!<\/p>\n

Unfortunately by the time I got home my knee was hurting more than at any time since the pain started, last May. At this point, I’ve spent nearly six months icing, elevating, compressing, resting, and doing recommended exercises and stretches. And now, with frequent travel back east, it’s impossible to maintain a rehab routine. Guess I’ll just have to be content with sightseeing instead of hiking, and look for other ways to reduce my stress.<\/p>\n

\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching floodplain, farms, and village <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Until my knee gave out on me, I never had trouble finding big hikes that would produce interesting Dispatches! But now, I’m limited to canyon walks or traverses of level basins surrounded by spectacular peaks or rock formations \u2013 most of which are across the border in Arizona. This Sunday, I wanted to explore a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,49,50,90,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-black-hills","category-hikes","category-nature","category-plants","category-southeast-arizona"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_5289.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25441","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=25441"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25517,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25441\/revisions\/25517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}