Mark's Cycling & Hiking Blog
  • Home
  • Mark's Cycling Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Boulder Canyon Posts
  • Cycling Event Meet-Ups
  • Home
  • Mark's Cycling Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Boulder Canyon Posts
  • Cycling Event Meet-Ups

Back to Finish the Baby Jesus Ridge Trail

11/8/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Getting off trail during Thursday's hike and getting mixed signals from the Garmin left me aggravated and motivated. So, after riding the bike on Friday, a mere 36 miles, I was ready to go on Saturday.  I downloaded a different route to the Garmin and hoped it would show the way.  I'll forego the images from the beginning of the hike as they can be found below but could no pass up another image of these giant saguaros with the sun rising behind them. 
Picture
The trail enters and exits a couple of ravines which support a colorful variety of plants. The revelation today was, after thinking I had gotten off trail on Thursday, I discovered I was on the trail after all.  It is very reassuring to look at the Garmin screen and see the triangle icon that represents my position is exactly on the red line representing the route.  How bout that!?  The trail emerges onto a rock ledge.....
Picture
....opening up amazing views to the south.  One of my favorites to be sure.
Picture
Soon thereafter, I arrive at another ravine to cross but this one has a broad bottom with a thin layer of water which supports grass.  very cool.
Picture
Then I reach this trough that supports some cattle in the area and likely lots of other animals.  Would be great to see a video clip of what arrives at this each evening.  I passed a couple of hunters who had spent the night, scouting for a future hunting trip.  They saw lots of deer and other animals but not a lion.  Had they seen one they were going to shoot it.  I think it is always open season on them but not sure.
Picture
Gold fish, which are there to eat mosquito larvae were present, along with maybe minnows, of which there were many.
Picture
Near the end of the trail, I entered something known as "Rock Meadows" which is an expanse of slick rock.  I could not find the trail out of it but hey, I've got a Garmin and so whipped it out, looked at the red trail line, looked at where I was and used it to find the FREAKIN TRAIL!!!!!  HOW BOUT THAT!!!!!!! This has to be comparable to the feeling Neil Armstrong had when he stepped on the moon, when women were given the right to vote, when the Buckeyes counted down the end to the national championship game, etc...
Picture
The end of the trail is very anticlimactic.  99% of my hikes end at the top of a mountain but this ends at a rocky forest service road, the above not being it.  Instead, the above, for those who find this during an internet search for this trail, is where I screwed up on Thursday.  I went slightly to the right, arrived at a ravine and thought the trail ended, came back and took the left fork and that just keeps going and going.  As it turns out, going slightly to the right is the correct direction.
Picture
On the hike back, I passed this among many interesting rock formations.  Thinking it has not been named, I named it "The Kaiser".
Picture
A cow stares at me. I stop and stare back, playing the "eye blink" game.  It blinks first so I won. 
Picture
The final mile is along a very rough dirt road but it affords great views of the area.
Picture
A woman passes me riding her horse with two well behaved dogs in the lead.  I finish with just under 12 miles.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Mark is a long-time cyclist, hiker, golfer and plays some table tennis...ok, it's ping pong.

    Categories

    All
    April
    California Riding
    Grand Canyon Backpacking
    March
    The Characters

    Archives

    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.