Bulldog Canyon - Again

There are at least five gated, vehicular access points to Bulldog Canyon. You can get a free access permit and the gate code from the Tonto National Forest District Office in Mesa if you intend to use a motor vehicle. I headed out for a morning hike from the Hackamore Road entrance with no other vehicles in the parking lot at the gate.

As I headed up the hill to a viewpoint, I discovered that someone left a can of starting fluid - just in case you needed some help. It's no wonder they've gated the access with the amount of trash left around.

My special equipment was in working order, and much cheaper to maintain than a 4WD vehicle.

We've had a bit more rain than normal this year, leaving much of the desert quite green. As usual, I spotted some animal life, but never in time to get a camera ready. On this day it was a roadrunner and a couple rabbits that added extra interest to my self-defined loop.

I tried to get a picture looking back to the Superstitions, but ended up with a lot of sun flare.

There was supposed to be an arch (Keyhole Arch) back here, but it was a very poor excuse for an arch and didn't rate a picture. It was worth getting up close and personal with it since there was a geocache located nearby that hadn't been visited for over 7 months.

The view from the hill off toward Four Peaks was interesting and constantly changing as I traversed the side of the hill.

I really love wandering the desert since the vegetation is open enough that you can pick a relatively straight route, at least until you get to a fence. There were fences everywhere in this area as they try to limit the motor vehicles from areas that have been heavily damaged by heavy-footed drivers.

As I worked my way around the fenced off area, I discovered that the fence wasn't applicable to everyone. One post pulled, two posts bent, the barbed wire cut, and fresh motorcycle tracks headed into the fenced off area.

Some saguaro are stately, well formed, classic specimens. Others clearly have a more interesting story to tell. I listened, but couldn't hear the story...