Hiking the Arizona Trail #2: The High Desert Grasslands

High desert grasslands along the Arizona Trail in the Santa Rita Mountains.

 Our next stretch of the Arizona Trail snaked south into the high desert grasslands.  We were about 14 miles from home and more than 5,000 ft. high in the Santa Rita Mountain foothills.   I love the grasslands area, in fact, I could easily live there.  It is a perfect area for horses and horseback riding.  There are simply miles and miles of rolling hills and dales (bajadas and arroyos) and wide open spaces.  We ventured onto the high grassland area Monday, continuing where we left off on Friday.  It was an absolutely gorgeous hike.  The warmth of the soil rose with the heat of the sun bringing with it the sweet and tangy smell of timothy, mountain mulhy, and Arizona fescue grasses as well as alligator juniper, Colorado pinyon and live shrub oak.  Bridled titmice, western king birds, dusky flycatchers, and Lucy's warblers sang to us as we ambled past their foraging areas.  The trail wove between primitive U.S. Forest Service and ranch roads, and clung to the sides of steep hills.  Below us, we saw dramatic drop-offs deep into the canyons and arroyos.  It wasn't a place to take a wrong step.

I found patches of wild evening primrose basking in the early afternoon sun.  Fairy duster and blue dicks abounded along with mariposa lilies.  This was a portion of the Arizona Trail that seemed almost surreal, with the land opening up for miles and miles. 

Below are some photos from our hike, including a close up of a mariposa lily (yellow flower), an old adobe house, a working Aeromatic windmill, and wild tufted evening primrose (white flower).