Finally, a hike in the spring!

[eyesup]

I went out to Pinto Valley on Thursday. It was my 1st hike since back in the winter. I needed it. I wanted the sun and wind back on me and the day was perfect for it.

My wife and I have been working on a yard project for several weeks. We are laying in entry flagstones of quartzite. This stuff is heavy. It is denser and harder than granite. So my back, legs and joints were all grateful for the break from labor and to just go walking.

We are unseasonably warm this week and the temp when I got out there was at 81 F at 8:45 am. I knew it would be a short hike because of the heat and the fact I hadn’t been hiking in a while. I got naked about 200 yds. off the road and took off. I was headed east with the sun in my face. I embraced the warmth and the wind. This place is a favorite and although I have been here many times I always come back because of the isolation and the quiet.

I hear critters scurrying away as I move along the trail. Mostly it’s lizards. Too dry and hot for too many large animals. The largest are the wild burros and the bighorn sheep and during the day you seldom see them.

The times I have made it here at or before sunrise are special. You can listen to the desert wake up.

It was a little over 2 miles one way out to the rocks. When I got there I found a small cave in the rocks to crawl into to stay out of the sun. Stones in shadow provide a cool place to relax. I’ve been to this spot before and I went there because it was close in and I knew I could get in and out with easily even though it had been a while since I had hiked.

I am headed for the outcrop on the far slope of the valley to the left of me.	Sandstone shapes are like spotting shapes in clouds, all kinds of different looks.	At the back of the rocks you could climb these short mountains.

I love scrambling on the sandstone rock face.	Hiking on the old jeep trail back out to the road.	Aerial of the trail

My knees had been pretty stiff because of all the lifting and carrying we had been doing on our project, so this hike did a lot to help get rid of the pains. Unfortunately, because it had been so long since I had been out, my muscles got an extended workout. By the time I got back to the car the temps were up in the low 90’s.

It was a three hour outing. All in all a good hike.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

Beauty and wide open spaces. Gotta love the red rocks.

So, do you have a pic of the quartzite? I'm not familiar with it, but for internet images.
Jbee

[nudewalker]

81 at *:45 AM? You've got to be kidding me! Mother Nature has done nothing but played cruel jokes on us. We have had one day of 80+ weather with sun, the next day it made it to 83 before the severe storms rolled in. Since then it has rained and hardly made it to 60! I am glad to see you and others out and about. This year I won't think of a tan, just rust.

[Greenbare Woods]

I saw a weather report that said over 100F in Phoenix.   Must be summer in AZ.   

Have fun soaking up the summer sunshine. 

[eyesup]

81 at *:45 AM? You've got to be kidding me! Mother Nature has done nothing but played cruel jokes on us. We have had one day of 80+ weather with sun, the next day it made it to 83 before the severe storms rolled in. Since then it has rained and hardly made it to 60! I am glad to see you and others out and about. This year I won't think of a tan, just rust.

Well, there is also strange weather here. It has been more windy than average and of course we had a very wet winter which is a blessing.

Thursday, the day I went hiking, May 4 we had a max temp at 100 °F and a min. temp of 71°F.
Sunday, May 7 we had a max temp of 61 °F and a min temp of 51°F.

A cloudy day on Sunday and snow on the mountains.
A 39° temp swing! I had to wear a long sleeve shirt when we walked the dogs.
Strange weather indeed.

Duane

[eyesup]

So, do you have a pic of the quartzite? I'm not familiar with it, but for internet images.

Quartzite is just sandstone that has been metamorphosed. Add heat and pressure from deep in the tectonic zones and plain ole’ sandstone, that will not survive a regular erosion process for long, changes into quartzite. A stone harder and tougher than granite. The higher the percentage of quartz grains in the sand the larger and longer the quartz crystals in the stone.

The people at the rock yard where we bought it told us that it weighed 20-25 lbs per square ft. I am sure that’s an average per sq. ft. of area for your project. We layed in close to 500 sq. ft. As you can see some of the pieces are a good size. A couple had to have been pushing 200 lbs.

We are in the process of converting the entire front yard to desert landscaping.

It’s a beautiful stone. It sparkles in the sunlight. The spiral pattern in the layout was my wife’s idea and she spent many hours laying them, replacing them and making sure it was visible as a spiral as you approach. The black stone in the center, the singularity (her term), came from Ballarat, CA. A mining ghost town on the west side of Death Valley. An old weathered inhabitant (a funny story) of the site helped her pick it out.

She had numbered the stones as she went so she would keep track of how they were assembled. Unfortunately, I noticed and mentioned to her that the total number of stones that make up the spiral was, 42! She thought that was exciting and has kept reminding me that it is a significant occurrence. Oh, well!

	The quartzite came on 4’x4’ pallets each weighed over 2 tons. We bought 2-1/2 pallets. Yep! A little over 5 tons of rock. We moved it all by hand. Hence the joint and muscle pain!
	The spiral on the edge of the entryway.
	A close-up of the spiral.
	The snake on the side!

The snake design is on the opposite side of the driveway. Is made from small boulders with stones found at the same rock yard as we bought the quartzite. If you zoom in on the head you will see it is a perfectly shaped boulder for a snake head.

The eyes we found at a rock hound’s shop on Hwy. 95 in west central Nevada near Goldfield. A blue-eyed snake!

Duane

[jbeegoode]

Thanks. I recognize this stuff. I collected some for the sauna out at Redington Pass. It is think and not likely to explode or crack with heat, no air pockets. yOu are using it like flagstone. Looks good to me. I like th evarious textures on bare feet. Getting the mail will be more fun.

Your snake idea is quite original...especially the chryscola (can't spell it properly, how about copperstone) eyes.
Jbee

[eyesup]

That's the name of the rock! I couldn't remember what the rockhound guy said it was.
We've had many comments about the snake. Not many yards have petroforms.

Yes, we've laid enough that we can walk up to the door without tripping and the stone feels great to walk on.

Duane