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Taking a break on a big Boulder
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If you have been wondering, well, my old computer hard drive got corrupted ( I guess it couldn't keep up with the updates anymore) and I was forced into a new computer. A lot of my old pics and maps will have to be recovered from the exterior discs but it's not as easy as it sounds. I'm working on it. Doin' the best I can here! The photos on this entry were taken by Susan R. Thank goodness for that!
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Strawberry Hedgehog
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The Lady Hikers set out on an oldie but goodie loop trail in search of some spring blooms. Particularly, we were looking for open blooms of the Strawberry Hedgehog Cacti. For a couple of weeks now, we have been passing many of these prickly plants with large buds on them. We would always say, "Any day!" And, Wow! We found a treasure trove of the plants in the area between the Red Rock Scenic Loop and the Red Rock escarpment while hiking on the Arnight Trail and the Knoll Trail. Both trails can be accessed from the Oak Creek Canyon Trailhead ... the last trailhead on the Red Rock Scenic Loop. This area can also be reached from the parking lot at the end of the Red Rock Scenic Loop at SR 159. So four of us parked there and hiked out one of the many trails there to get to the Oak Creek Canyon Trailhead where there is a small park bathroom. After a brief stop here, we continued out the Arnight Trail. Our hike loop is indicated on the sign here. One of the things that makes the Arnight Trail stand out is the fact that it is very rocky ... even more so than most of the other dirt trails in the park. So, we stepped high and sure as we climbed up the gradual hill and through a few wide washes.
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| Narrowleaf Goldenbush |
Finding the Knoll Trail junction to the left, we started up. None of us had hiked this trail for a few years so it was pleasantly "new." The Knoll Trail is pretty and we soon found a very large slanted boulder on the right of the trail where there is also a spur trail to Juniper Canyon. We sat up on the boulder and had a break then returned to the Knoll Trail and continued out in the direction of Potato Knoll that you could see in the distance. We could also see the Oak Creek Canyon Trailhead pretty far away down the hill. We followed the Knoll Trail until we came to a large trail sign. Several trails spoked out from the sign and we chose the Middle Oak Creek Trail to continue back to the cars. Eventually, this trail brought us back to a very familiar trail junction coming out of the adjacent Oak Creek Canyon on the right. From there, a turn to the left followed soon after and we were on our way back to the cars. Fun morning!
Stats: 5.4 miles
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| Kay points out the Knoll Trail Junction |
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