Backyard and Backcountry: McDowell Mountain Preserve

Showing posts with label McDowell Mountain Preserve. Show all posts

Sunday, November 15, 2015

McDowell Sonoran Preserve: Bell Pass Trail

I spent my Saturday afternoon back up in the McDowells, this time hiking from the Gateway Trailhead up to Bell Pass. I've hiked the Gateway loop many times, but this was the first time I have ever been on the Bell Pass Trail. Wow, I have been missing out!

The Gateway Trailhead is located on the west side of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve off of Thompson Peak Road. It's very popular with hikers accessing the Gateway loop and some shorter nature trails that provide some awesome hiking opportunities for families with small kids or people who aren't interested in strenuous elevation gain. My route took me along the south section of the Gateway loop, reaching the Bell Pass Trail after 1.5 miles of flat hiking on a wide path. Along this section of the trail I saw alot of people out enjoying the beautiful weather.

Thompson Peak seen from the Bell Pass Trail

The ribs of a Giant Saguaro

Giant Saguaro

Once I reached the Bell Pass Trail, the crowds dropped off completely. Along the entire 2 mile trail up to Bell Pass I didn't see a single person on the way up and only passed one group of a few people on the way down. I don't know of many other trails that can give you that level of solitude on a Saturday afternoon so close to an urban environment.

The first mile or so of the Bell Pass Trail is relatively flat. It travels through a canyon formed by Thompson Peak towering overhead to the south and McDowell Peak to the north. Along the way I saw a few mule deer, several different species of birds and lizards, and tons of tall Saguaros.

Facing east towards the valley

The beginning of the switchbacks

The second mile of the Bell Pass Trail picks up a majority of the elevation gain, becoming much steeper. After a series of switchbacks the trail arrives at Bell Pass, elevation 3,204 ft. The view is pretty great, providing a 360 degree panorama of the McDowell Mountains and the valley. Four Peaks is visible to the east while looking to the west Camelback and the Phoenix Mountain Preserve can be seen. Looking down at the valley makes you feel like you are very high up (you are 1500 ft. above the trailhead at this point) but McDowell Peak and Thompson Peak are still 700 ft. above.

Looking down towards the start of the switchbacks

Looking east towards the valley from the top of the switchbacks

From Bell Pass you have several options to continue hiking through the preserve. The trail continues half a mile northeast to meet a fork. Heading right will take you to the Prospector Trail, which links up the road to the top of Thompson Peak while heading left will continue along the Bell Pass Trail to the East End Trail, which can be taken all the way to the Tom's Thumb Trailhead or back to the Gateway Trailhead via the Windgate Pass Trail. Since I started my hike late in the afternoon I decided to turn around and head back down the way I came. During winter months the park closes around 5:30 to hikers in order to give the desert critters their own time in the preserve.

Bell Pass

Four Peaks seen from Bell Pass

Facing east from Bell Pass

Hedgehog Cactus

Teddy Bear Cholla with Camelback Mountain in the background

Facing west from Bell Pass

I returned back down the Bell Pass Trail, arriving at the Gateway loop during the golden hour. Sunset in the desert is one of the coolest things about living in Arizona. As I got back to the car I saw the most interesting thing I've seen in the McDowells, a guy riding a unicycle with a mountain bike tire. I'm not sure how that worked out for him but I think I'll stick to my own two feet.

Descending the switchbacks

Fishhook Cactus

Saguaros along the trail with Thompson Peak in the background

Teddy Bear Cholla and Giant Saguaro

A bird nest in a Teddy Bear Cholla

Looking back up at Thompson Peak from the Gateway Loop

The Hike:

Gateway Loop/Bell Pass Trail to Bell Pass out and back, 7 miles, 1500 ft. elevation gain.

Leave No Trace!

Friday, November 13, 2015

McDowell Sonoran Preserve: Marcus Landslide Trail

I wasn't able to get out for a hike last weekend because I spent the whole time cooped up inside preparing for my masters thesis defense on Monday. I passed (woohoo!) and have successfully earned my masters degree in environmental engineering which is super exciting but it's also pretty bittersweet because it means that my time in Arizona is coming to a close. While I will continue to explore around the Great Lakes, I will definitely miss all of the cool things I've gotten to do in my time out west. However, in the mean time I am going to try to revisit as many of my favorite trails as I can out here.

Wednesday afternoon I took the path less traveled at the Tom's Thumb Trailhead, the Marcus Landslide Trail, part of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale. The Marcus Landslide Trail is a 3 mile out and back that takes you along the eastern face of the McDowell Mountains to the Marcus Landslide, the second largest landslide in Arizona. The trail also features a cool little 0.7 mile loop through the field of boulders that fell off the top of the mountains. The trail is much less crowded than Tom's Thumb and much less strenuous, gaining only 300 ft. of elevation. However, the views are absolutely spectacular, providing a panorama of Four Peaks, the Tonto National Forest, the Superstitions, and Weaver's Needle. The trail also features several interpretive pull-offs that provide signage to inform you about the geology of the region.

The first section of the trail involves traveling from the trailhead around the northern tip of the McDowell Mountains. This section takes you through some open desert passing stands of Palo Verde, Chainfruit Cholla, and Prickly Pear. Along the way there are also several access points for rock climbers to reach bolted routes, which date back to the 1970s and 1980s before the preserve was established.

Heading east along the Marcus Landslide Trail

The Trail also provides access to many bolted climbing routes in the McDowells

Once you reach the east side of the mountain range, the panoramic views open up. The flat valley makes for excellent visibility of the Superstitions and Weaver's Needle some 40 miles away.

Weaver's Needle and the Superstitions

Many of the boulders are covered by lichens, small symbiotic organisms composed of algae and fungi

Giant Saguaro

After about a mile of hiking you begin to be surrounded by boulders from the landslide. The Marcus Landslide is named after Dr. Melvin Marcus, a late geography professor at Arizona State University. Discovered in 2002 by two graduate students at ASU, the landslide occurred approximately 500,000 years ago. 194 million cubic feet of rock and soil fell from the top of the McDowell Mountains, releasing the energy of an atomic bomb and spewing debris across a 4,000 ft. long and 1,600 ft. wide field.

Approaching the Marcus Landslide

"The fallen mushroom" - this boulder gets its shape from erosion

An in tact "Mushroom" boulder

Looking north from the loop through the Marcus Landslide

The Marcus Landslide

Teddy Bear Cholla

The dried out fibers of a dead Teddy Bear Cholla

Heading back to the car at sunset

The trail also provides great opportunities to view wildlife, especially at less crowded times such as a weekday afternoon. I saw several Coyotes, Desert Cottontail, and several species of birds including Gambel's Quail and Greater Roadrunner.

Coyote

Desert Cottontail

A Coyote crossing over the border of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve

The sunset was a really cool time to explore the trail because of how beautiful the surrounding mountains looked illuminated by the setting sun.

Four Peaks at sunset from the trail

The Trail:
Marcus Landslide Trail, 3.7 miles, 300 ft. elevation gain

For more info check out the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy:
http://www.mcdowellsonoran.org/trailhead/displayHike/10#sthash.AU5AYnT6.dpbs

Leave No Trace!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Golden Hour at Gateway Loop

As I wrap up my time out in Arizona for grad school I'm spending more and more time thinking about what it is I'll miss most. While the people at school and experiences of the southwest are at the top of the list, I would be lying if I didn't include the Saguaros. If you aren't familiar with the Giant Saguaro, think of the scene that first comes to mind when you think of Arizona: a colorful sunset over the mountains punctuated by tall cactus with goofy arms reaching for the sky. Saguaros are found only in the Sonoran Desert, which spans from northern Mexico up into Central Arizona.

Giant Saguaros

Saguaros are incredible plants. They can grow up to 50 feet tall and have as many as 25 arms! These gigantic cacti begin life as small seeds inside red fruits. Saguaro blooms occur in June and are the state flower of Arizona. The cacti are also incredibly slow growing, taking nearly 100 years to begin growing arms. Saguaros can live for over 200 years, beginning to produce fruit and flowers after 35 years.

Saguaro Bloom in Saguaro National Park

A Pyrrhuloxia perched on some Saguaro blooms

I spent the golden hour this evening hiking the Gateway Loop, a 4.5 mile loop with 650 feet of elevation gain. Located within the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve, the trail provides excellent views of the adjacent McDowell Mountains and great opportunities to see desert plants and wildlife.