Mountain – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Black Mountain

Million Dollar View

October 5, 2022October 3, 2022 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

After a respite among the cool spring waters, we headed up Peters Trail for the top of Peter’s mesa where, for all we knew, there was no water.

In this photograph I face northwest, looking down on Dutchman Trail. The peak, upper center left, is Black Mountain. The cleft of Charlebois Canyon is lower middle right. Stag Horn Cholla cactus is lower right with Prickly Pear cactus scattered in the brush. Poles of young saguaro cactus are scattered around the lower slopes. Look carefully and you can make out the pooled water of our rest stop.

Around the Mountain

The beetling cliffs of Bluff Spring Mountain

October 3, 2022October 3, 2022 MichaelStephenWillsLeave a comment

Here is a recap of the last few Superstition Wilderness posts. The expedition route, in red, starts on the right where Dutchman and Terrapin trails meet. The total distance is 2.6 miles. Photograph timestamps tell me about 2 hours passed — 1.3 miles per hour in this rough country.

I came upon the wildflowers of “Desert Color” a few minutes after starting.

“Ominous Splendor” photograph was taken just before Bluff Spring Mountain Canyon (green text).

“Marked Saguaro” was encountered a few minutes before the Cottonwood tree of “Riparian,” marked with a pushpin.

“Spring Flow” is the endpoint on left.

Here is a gallery of photographs from this portion of our expedition.

The beetling cliffs off Bluff Spring Mountain loom over where Terrapin and Dutchman trails meet. Patches of yellow are Mexican Poppies blooming on the talus slope. Terrapin Trail climbs the ridge, to right, Here is where I caught up with mounted expedition members, the spotted rump of an Appaloosa figures prominantly next to the sign post. Superstition Wilderness, Tonto National Forest, Arizona

Spring Flow

Rest Before A Climb

October 2, 2022October 4, 2022 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

The expedition party rested where Dutchman Trail intersected the creek, full of flow from Charlebois Canyon, Music Canyon and LaBarge springs. We filled the water reservoirs in preparation for the climb up to the night’s camping spot on Peter’s Mesa, a 1,300 foot climb over 1.2 miles.

Behind Colorado and “Ed’s Horse” (don’t recall the name) is Bluff Spring Mountain.

Click Me for the first post in this series, “Bluff Spring Mountain.”

Riperian

Blessings of Water

October 1, 2022October 3, 2022 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

A view to west on Dutchman Trail between Bluff Spring Mountain and Peter’s Mesa. The creek flowing from Charlebois, Music Mountain and LaBarge springs nourishes this Fremont’s Cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and other riparian flora. The tree is flanked by volcanic rock from an ancient eruption.

Click Me for the next Superstition Wilderness post, “Spring Flow.”

Marked Saguaro

Signpost to Gold?

September 27, 2022October 3, 2022 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

Lost gold mine legends tell of Saguaros bearing secret markings leading to the hidden location of rich gold mines. This specimen, perched on an ancient volcanic boulder, lives in LaBarge Canyon along the Dutchman trail.

Click Me for the next Superstition Wildness post, “Riparian.”

Ominous Splendor

Why are the hills red?

September 25, 2022October 3, 2022 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

This view from Dutchman Trail was taken on the red line trail (below) between Black Top Mesa (out of view, on left) and Bluff Springs Mountain (right), on the approach to White Rock Spring and LaBarge canyon (the large canyon at the north end (left) of the red line.

Terrapin Trail to White Rock Spring on Dutchman Trail

Looking Northwest, in the distance is Malapais Mountain behind Red Hills. Volcanic rock and Cholla cactus in foreground followed by Prickly Pear and Saguaro cactus. “Malapais” means “bad country,” an apt description for this terrain where the skull of Adolf Ruth was discovered near the Red Hills. Three fourth of a mile away, the rest of him was discovered on the slope of Black Top Mesa by a search party, January 8, 1932. Ruth walked this same trail, passing this very spot.

Click Me for the next Superstition Wilderness post, “Marked Saguaro.”

Desert Color

Wildflowers on Dutchman Trail

September 21, 2022October 3, 2022 MichaelStephenWills

Those cliffs above the Dutchman Trail (in red from the push pin “Dutchman Terrapin Trail Junction”) climb 670 feet in 0.2 mile. Fifteen minutes after starting I stopped to photograph a group of wildflowers.

The bright yellow flowers on right are a member of the pea (Fabaceae) family named Wright’s Deervetch (Acmispon wrightii) I am able to pick it out from many similar flowers due to the characteristic narrow leaves with small hairs. These start out yellow, turning to red with age eventually forming brown seed pods. Mexican Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica) to the right.

The small white flowers are Chickweed (Minuartia macrantha) of the family Carnation (Caryophyllaceae).

Click Me for the next Superstition Wilderness post, “Ominous Splendor.”

Bluff Spring Mountain Canyon

A Meeting of Expedition Members and Trails

September 17, 2022October 3, 2022 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

Here is the topographic map with Terrapin Trail (yellow) meeting Dutchman Trail (orange) to the right of Upper Black Top Mesa Pass, bottom center

The beetling cliffs off Bluff Spring Mountain loom over where Terrapin and Dutchman trails meet. Patches of yellow are Mexican Poppies blooming on the talus slope. Terrapin Trail climbs the ridge, to right. Here is where I caught up with mounted expedition members, the spotted rump of an Appaloosa figures prominently next to the signpost.

Terrapin Trail almost immediately starts a climb up to an eponymous pass between Bluff Springs Mountain and Weavers Needle. From here, it is the best way into the mountain. The trail name is a misnomer, as terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) turtle habitat is near the ocean. There is a desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) you might encounter during the rainy season as they are otherwise inactive.

Click Me for another posting from Black Top Mesa

Al at Terrapin and Dutchman trails. His Appaloosa is enjoying fresh grass.

Click me for the next Superstition Wilderness post, “Desert Color.”

Bluff Spring Mountain

A Storied Place

September 15, 2022October 4, 2022 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

As we descended Upper Black Top Mesa Pass into Bluff Spring Mountain canyon we found, foreground, Palo Verde and brittle bush, and, midground, Saguaro. The presence of Palo Verde reveals water flows through this area intermittently though not enough to sustain a large tree. Palo Verde is in the pea family (Fabaceae), as evidenced by production of seeds in pods.

Calling it “Buff Mountain” some say the mountain is named for these buff-colored cliffs. Others, calling it “Bluff Spring Mountain” name it for the cliffs and the spring within a canyon on top.

Bluff Spring Mountain from the slopes of Black Top Mesa

Closer to the junction with Terrapin Trail this Bluff Spring Mountain ridge rose above us. A fine specimen of mature Saguaro cactus is in midground.

Click Me for another posting from Black Top Mesa

A climb up this ridge rewards a person with fine camping within a canyon on top of this mountain. This joy was reserved for a later trip I have yet to enjoy. Bluff Spring Mountain features prominently in the literature and stories of the Dutchman Mine and lost treasure.

Click Me for the next post in this series, “Bluff Spring Mountain Canyon.”

Slievenaglogh View, east, V

Looking east

September 14, 2022September 14, 2022 MichaelStephenWills11 Comments

This the fifth and final of a series of landscape photographs taken from this position.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

The peak is named, in the English language, Slievenaglogh. It is so strange as it’s not English, being instead a transliteration of the Irish name “Sliabh na gCloch.” This is “Rock Mountain” translated literally. Slievenaglogh is carried to the townland, a long thin swath of land being the peak and associated ridge-line.

The rocks up there are called “gabbro,” a type of magma slowly cooled under ground. Slievenaglog, Slieve Foy across the valley, and the Morne mountains all formed within volcano magma chamber(s) of the Paleocene, 66 million years ago, a time associated with extensive volcanism and the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that gave rise to the current age.

Our younger cousin has been up there, optimistically we left it for a later trip.

Category: Mountain

Black Mountain

Around the Mountain

Spring Flow

Riperian

Click Me for the next Superstition Wilderness post, “Spring Flow.”

Marked Saguaro

Ominous Splendor

Click Me for the next Superstition Wilderness post, “Marked Saguaro.”

Desert Color

Click Me for the next Superstition Wilderness post, “Ominous Splendor.”

Bluff Spring Mountain Canyon

Click Me for another posting from Black Top Mesa

Click me for the next Superstition Wilderness post, “Desert Color.”

Bluff Spring Mountain

Click Me for another posting from Black Top Mesa

Slievenaglogh View, east, V

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Click for another interesting post and story from County Louth.

Here is a slide show of this landscape series.

A link with interesting reading on County Lo uth geology.

Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills