Life Among the Saguaros: December 2012

I learned of this area of Lake Pleasant from Ranger Terry on a previous hike around the lake. I've not seen it in any hiking books or on any web sites, and I don't think many people know of it. It's an amazing place, at least this time of year. We saw an abundance of wildlife (more on this as I go) and even did some bushwhacking.

We started by hiking down a long hill (remembering all the time that we would have to come back up!) into the wash. I believe it is so named because the Morgan City stagecoach used to come through here. Terry talked a little bit about how stagecoach wheels were made, enabling the stagecoaches to get through the loose sand. While down there, he showed us some palo verde and mesquite beans. The mesquite beans have a sweet smell to them. He also told us that there must have been some coyotes in the area because we saw some coyote scat with saguaro berries in it.

As we hiked along and made our way out of the wash, the terrain of the trail and our surroundings became very different. I'm not sure if we were technically still in the wash, but we didn't gain any elevation. We went from being on a loose, sandy, wide "road" with walls of rock rising on either side - where Terry also told us how to best avoid a mountain lion attack - to being on a much narrower path surrounded by a lot of brush, trees, fallen trees, and rock. Not only was the trail much narrower, but it was also more difficult to hike on due to rocks and branches on it. It was also darker once we entered this area due to all of the trees.

As we walked along, we noticed something a bit strange; the ground was becoming wet. This is due to the underground springs in the area. (I believe they are the Wild Burro Springs and the Chalky Springs.) We saw some ant lions and some sort of desert willow tree. It was also around here that we saw a gila monster, which is the only venomous lizard native to the United States, and one of only two known venomous species of lizard in North America. (The other is its close relative - the beaded lizard.) I had seen one before on Pinnacle Peak, but it was sitting in a crevice in a rock, not doing much of anything! This one was climbing (very slowly!) up a small incline. I had never seen one moving like that. By now, we had a little stream to the left of us and, looking into it, we saw a box turtle. We also came across an area that had some rusted objects such as something called a cowboy ring and the back of a truck. We also saw some sort of corral which was off the trail quite a ways.

We also saw one of the more unique things I've ever seen on a hike. It was a rusted out car that was almost completely buried. It was lying on its side with the driver's side door open and sticking out of the ground. We could also see part of the back end. Apparently, it had slid down into the wash during some flooding during the 50's and has been there ever since.

By now we were doing some bushwhacking, and were entering what Terry called "Rattlesnake Alley". Sure enough, we saw (and heard!) one. I've seen them before, but this was the first time I heard the rattle. We were in a small group; there were only five of us, including the ranger. I was the fourth one back, so I had a little bit of warning. It was sitting off to the right of the trail under some brush. After going through Rattlesnake Alley and crossing a very small creek, we emerged into the sunshine, so to say. It was a very interesting area.

We climbed up out of the trees, and as we gained a little elevation, we saw a small swimming hole down below and to the right. There were also a lot of cattails in the area, and a small cave off in the distance which Terry said is possibly home to a mountain lion. He also joked about the little (and I do mean little!) stone arch that we saw here. It was here that we turned around and headed back toward Rattlesnake Alley.

After going back through Rattlesnake Alley, we decided to take a different path back. It was here that we were doing some serious bushwhacking. I got scratched up quite a bit, but it was fun. We saw a common kingsnake and a skunk on the way back. The climb out was a bit tough due to the climb itself and, according to Terry, it was 110 degrees by the time we were climbing out of the wash, but we took it slow. Needless to say, this was a very interesting hike!