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Photo of the Month–March

Monday, March 1st, 2010

March’s Photo of the Month comes from Lost Dutchman State Park near Phoenix, Arizona.  I visited the park in January while my wife was helping her sister plan for the upcoming arrival of our niece.  In addition to the proximity to the greater Phoenix area and huge selection of hiking trails, the main draw of Lost Dutchman has got to be the rugged and beautiful Superstition Mountains rising out of the desert floor abruptly and confidently.

This month’s photograph shows the western flank of the Superstitions bathed in warm late afternoon light.  I chose to use this cholla skeleton as a FG element because it seemed to be pointing me to a fantastic composition!

Superstition Mountains in Lost Dutchman State Park

Western Flank of the Superstitions, January 2010

If you clicked on the link to Lost Dutchman State Park above, you couldn’t miss the red box informing us that the park will be closing indefinitely on June 3, 2010.  Apparently, that part of Arizona’s budget has lost a significant amount of money during restructuring, causing the closure.  I think the restriction of access to any open space is a great loss to us as a community.  It prevents us from enjoying our parks, but more importantly it robs us of a chance to connect with the land, and wild places.  I hope the Arizona government finds a way to keep their state parks open, or at the very least, to reopen them as soon as possible.

You can see all of my photos from the Superstition Mountains here.

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More from the Superstitions

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Sometimes the best-laid plans just don’t come to fruition.  On our recent visit to Phoenix, I planned to get up very early (i.e. ~4am) drive to the Peralta Canyon trailhead and hike ~3 miles to the Weaver’s Needle Overlook to watch the sun come up, and to get that really sweet crepuscular light that happens in the desert.  Easy enough, right?  I ended up having a couple of roadblocks on my journey to ‘the Supes’.

  • Roadblock #1.  Two days before I intended to hike, I came down with the worst head cold I’ve had in several years.  I’ll spare you the mucus-y details, but use of my nostrils was completely nonexistent, and my head felt like it was completely detached from my body.  As a result, a 4am departure time didn’t seem feasible.  I settled on getting up at 4:50am, figuring that if everything went smoothly, I’d still make it up to the overlook by 7:15am sunrise.
  • Roadblock #2.  Of course everything didn’t go smoothly.  I really like Phoenix–its a great town, and its super easy to navigate as the streets are laid out in a logical grid pattern.  That said, there are exceptions, and a poorly marked detour can throw an out-of-towner like me out of whack.  Driving from my sister-in-law’s house, I wanted to connect from I-10 to US Hwy 60 to drive to the Superstitions.  The connector ramp was closed, and the flashing sign said to take I-10 to McClintock instead.  OK.  After driving nearly 15 miles south (I wanted to go east), I finally stopped and asked for directions.  I got on my way then.  OK, well, that cost me about 15 minutes.  But if I really hoof it, I can make it, right?
  • Roadblock #3.  I finally made it to the Peralta Road east of Apache Junction, and as I began driving the 7 miles toward the trailhead I was met by school buses.  Lots of them.  School buses…on a Forest Service road on a Sunday.  What doesn’t compute here?  After I met the school buses, I was met by runners.  Lots of them.  It turns out it was the annual running of the Lost Dutchman Marathon, and I was driving up their course!  After slowly navigating several hundred finish-line-bound runners, I finally made it to the trailhead about 6:50am–25 minutes before sunrise.

I like to say that I’m a pretty fast hiker, but I’m not that fast.  I didn’t make it to my destination by sunrise, but the hike was nice, and in hindsight the chain of events I encountered getting to the trailhead were almost comical.  I even ended up with a nice photo or two out of the deal.  It was definitely a good lesson not to take things so seriously.  Things won’t always come together as you planned, but if you fail to see the forest for the few negative trees, you’ll miss out on some great experiences.

Weaver's Needle from Weaver's Outlook Ridge, February 2010

Weaver's Needle from Weaver's Outlook Ridge, February 2010

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Those Mighty Superstitions

Monday, February 15th, 2010

A few years ago I had the opportunity to go backpacking for a week in the Superstition Wilderness east of Phoenix.  Two things struck me then about this area: its stunningly beautiful, and it doesn’t matter how you slice it, this is one rugged area.  Although I was “into” photography at the time, I didn’t carry a camera with me, and since then I’ve been itching to get back to those mighty Superstitions.

My wife’s sister lives in Phoenix, and we’ve found ourselves here visiting a few times this winter.  Its given me an opportunity to revisit these mountains.  In January, I visited the Lost Dutchman State Park*, and hiked around the western flank of this magnificent range.  I had a fantastic sunset, and had the opportunity to get a short hike in–up the Siphon Gulch trail.

Superstition mountains from lost dutchman state park

Cloud above the western flank of the Superstition Mountains, January 2010

Yesterday morning, I was able to visit the Superstitions again.  This time, I drove to the eastern side of the range and hiked up the (very) popular Peralta trail to photograph Weaver’s Needle.  I wanted the morning light on this spire, so I was on the trail before sunrise.  It was a good thing too: the trail’s proximity to the greater Phoenix area makes it extremely busy.  On my way down, I must have passed 50 people on their way up!  My early start ensured I got good light on my subject, but also that I got the place to myself.  The solitude was very rewarding.

Weaver's Needle in the Superstition Wilderness, Arizona

Weaver's Needle, February 2010

After visiting this place again after several years, I can say that its just as beautiful as I remember it.  I can also say that its just as rugged as I remember it!  Man, this is one amazing place.

I’ll be sharing more images from the Superstitions over the next week, but in the meantime, you can view them all here.

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Photo of the Month-September

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

On our end-of-the-summer camping trip to the Sierra Nevada I noticed many of the aspen trees at the higher elevations beginning to change color.  Even though its been brutally hot here in southern California, I can *sort of* feel fall in the air, and its making me wistful for the change of seasons.   In the spirit of the winter to come, this month’s photo is of Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly National Monument.  Spider Rock–Tsé Na´ashjéé´ii–is an impressive 800 foot tall monolith rising out of the floor of Canyon de Chelly is sacred to the Navajo people; Spider Woman, who taught the Navajo how to weave supposedly lives on top of the rock.

Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, December 2008

I was able to get this photograph on a somewhat grey afternoon, after driving from my sister-in-law’s house in Phoenix.  Although I wanted a low-contrast shot, I was thinking that some color would be nice.  Luckily, right before the sun dipped below the horizon for the day, it lit up the far cliffs giving me the splash of color I hoped for.  I think (but am not sure) that the red sandstone here is part of the de Chelly formation, and I do love the glow it gets in late afternoon light.

Here’s to the a change of the seasons soon!

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