At the start of the upper Ballantine Trail 283, shown on some maps as the Pine Mountain Trail, from the Cline Trailhead off of Four Peaks Road.
Near the start of the hike the trail crosses the small sandy and boulder strewn Pine Creek.
Purple Nightshade (Solanum xanti) growing beneath branches of a dead shrub.
Rock formation along the Ballantine Trail.
Rock formation along the Ballantine Trail.
Pine Mountain behind a trio of Desert Spoon (Dasylirion wheeleri).
Purple Nightshade (Solanum xanti).
Galls decorate the branches of a shrub oak.
A view looking back across a dry valley toward Mine Mountain.
Another rock formation along the Ballantine Trail.
The trail climbs up through a pass on the eastern shoulder of Pine Mountain (on the left).
Stemless Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa).
Closeup of the heart shaped petals of the Stemless Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa).
Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatum) added a splash of color along the trail.
I had fun photographing this Euphorbia (Euphorbia lurida) and the ants with pollen covered heads feeding on it.
Euphorbia (Euphorbia lurida).
Euphorbia (Euphorbia lurida) and pollen covered ant.
Euphorbia (Euphorbia lurida) and pollen covered ant.
Ant on Euphorbia (Euphorbia lurida).
Ant on Euphorbia (Euphorbia lurida).
Ant on Euphorbia (Euphorbia lurida).
An old dry agave flower head reaches into the sky.
Closeup of agave flower stalk.
Closeup of a thistle bud just beginning to open.
Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum).
Closeup of Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum).
Dried flower stalks of agave (on left) and desert spoon (on right).
A view of Four Peaks with a bit of snow still left on the northern slopes.
Seed filled scat almost matches the granite rock it sits upon.
Boulder covered hill to the east of Pine Mountain.
Looking back out over the valley I've climbed out of toward the Superstition Mountains on the horizon.
The Balantine Trail as it nears the top of the pass.
Believe it or not there are a few pine trees here on the slopes of Pine Mountain. This one loaded with pine cones.
Desert Spoon (Dasylirion wheeleri) among the rocks.
Pine cone.
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A circle of lichen makes its home on a granite rock.
The trunk of an old Alligator Juniper (Juniperus deppeana).
A pile of boulders near the top of the pass.
A balancing rock in a field of boulders.
Lichen covered boulder.
Lichen covered boulder provide a foreground for this view of the forest on the north side of the pass.
An old decaying log along the Ballantine Trail a short ways below the pass. I ate lunch here before turning around and heading back.
A lot of quartz rock was found along the upper parts of the trail.
A dead tree alongside the Ballantine Trail.
Teeth line the edges of agave leaves.
A view of Four Peaks.
A dead tree alongside the Ballantine Trail.
The flowers of Gregg Ceanothus (Ceanothus greggii). Also known as desert ceanothus or wild lilac, it is a member of the buckthorn family.
Boulder covered hillside.
An old cement water trough.
Four Peaks towers above the surrounding landscape.
Lesser Yellowthroat Gilia (Gilia flavocincta).
Purple Nightshade (Solanum xanti) mingle among charred branches.