Ford Canyon / Willow Canyon Loop - White Tank Mountain Regional Park

I hiked a 9.8 mile loop at White Tank Mountain Regional Park. I went up Ford Canyon and down Willow Canyon. The heat and humidity were brutal. It was 93 degrees with 51% humidity when I finished. The hike took me 5 hours and 55 minutes. I took some long breaks when I found shade. The hardest part was hiking from Ford Canyon to Willow Canyon due to lack of shade. It was 5.6 miles to the Willow Canyon Trail, and it took me 3 hours and 50 minutes. From there it was 4.2 miles back to my car.

The yellow flowers are broom snakeweed.

The white-lined sphinx is a moth.

Desert millipede

AZ BioBlitz - White Tank Mountain Regional Park

This reptile survey was a BioBlitz led by Bryan Hughes and Jeff Martineau of Rattlesnake Solutions.  It was for Arizona Game and Fish. The off trail hike was in the remote western section of the White Tank Mountains. Our hike was 5 miles and took 4 hours and 30 minutes.

Goat Camp Trail / Ford Canyon Trail - White Tank Mountain Regional Park

I hiked a 15.2 mile loop trail at White Tank Mountain Regional Park. I started at the Goat Camp Trailhead and exited through the Ford Canyon Trail. Ford Canyon is the most beautiful part of the hike and the most rugged. The Goat Camp Trail is 6.3 miles one-way and begins at parking Area 1 just off Black Canyon Drive. That trail will bring you to the Ford Canyon Trail which will lead you to the Waddell Trail on the desert floor.

I always like a challenge to my hikes. I'm pushing myself to do longer day hikes now. This is my second 15 mile hike that I have done. Fifteen miles is longest I've done in a day so far. My goal is to do a 20 mile day hike. Setting hiking goals helps reduce my OCD, because I focus on something positive.

The name White Tank Mountains was given to this range because there were many bleached out granite tinajas, or water catchments, commonly known as "tanks." This mountain range is on the western periphery of the Phoenix metropolitan area. It was formed through tectonic activities as part of a detachment fault sometime in the mid-Tertiary period, about 30 million years ago.

Goat Camp Trail

Goat Camp Trail

Goat Camp Trail

 

Goat Camp Trail

Goat Camp Trail

Ford Canyon Trail

Ford Canyon Trail

Ford Canyon Trail

Ford Canyon Trail

Ford Canyon Trail

Ford Canyon Trail

Ford Canyon Trail

Ford Canyon Trail

Northern Black-tailed Rattlesnake

Waddell Trail

My 15.2 mile hike.

Northern Black-tailed Rattlesnake - White Tank Mountain Regional Park

I saw a Black-Tailed Rattlesnake today on my 15.2 mile loop hike at White Tank Mountain Regional Park. I was walking through Ford Canyon and heard the unmistakable rattle, and saw it on the trail. Fortunately the snake didn't want to move, and made some nice poses for me. I sat down on the trail about 6 feet away and was thrilled that snake was cooperating with me. However, it was clearly annoyed by me and my camera.

When I photograph rattlesnakes I forget all about my OCD.

Crotalus molossus (the black-tailed rattlesnake) is found from central Texas west through northern and western Arizona, and south to toward the Mexican Plateau, Mesa Del Sur, and Oaxaca Mexico. Black- tailed rattlesnakes occupy grasslands, deserts, and rocky mountainous areas. They are also found at high altitude pine-oak and boreal forests. The highly hemorrhagic venom is of moderate toxicity, but venom yield from a large snake can be substantial.

 

Ford Canyon Loop Trail - White Tank Mountain Regional Park

On November 23rd, I hiked the 9.7 mile, Ford Canyon Loop Trail. The canyon stream bed is lined with white granite slabs that form pools of water. This is how the name came about. After exiting Ford Canyon, I returned to my car by hiking down Willow Canyon. It was long and difficult hike, but hikes like these make me the happiest, and really lower my anxiety form OCD.

The route.