The Lakes are Full of Water

The upside to the epic Winter we recently experienced is the tremendous amount of snow melt that filled many of the lakes across northern Arizona. Over the past several weeks we have visited several of these by car, mountain bike, running, and hiking.

Upper and Lower Lake Mary (27 April 2023).
Upper and Lower Lake Mary (27 April 2023).

This is one of my favorites. It shows Upper Lake Mary, a portion of the spillway, and Lower Lake Mary. It’s also nice that there is a nice mirror reflection of the trees in the water. This shot is only possible when both lakes are full.

Earlier we had visitied Marshall Lake. It’s not as full as it was a few years ago but considerably better than the past several years.

Marshall Lake, Coconino National Forest (20 April 2023).
Marshall Lake, Coconino National Forest (20 April 2023).

We did a trail run along the Arizona Trail on top of Anderson Mesa and visited Prime Lake and Vail Lake, both with lots of water.

Prime Lake, Coconino National Forest (24 April 2023).
Prime Lake, Coconino National Forest (24 April 2023).
Descriptive sign at Prime Lake.
Descriptive sign at Prime Lake.
Vail Lake on Anderson Mesa, Coconino National Forest (24 April 2023).
Vail Lake on Anderson Mesa, Coconino National Forest (24 April 2023).

Here are some additional images of Lake Mary taken on various days in April.

Upper Lake Mary.
Upper Lake Mary.
The outlet on Upper Lake Mary and inlet on Lower Lake Mary.
The outlet on Upper Lake Mary and inlet on Lower Lake Mary.

We rode our mountain bikes up Schultz Pass Road to Schultz Tank. It has been a small puddle the past two seasons but is once again full.

Schultz Tank is full (01 May 2023).
Schultz Tank is full (01 May 2023).

Finally, we did a short hike through the upper portions of Pumphouse Wash to this set of cascades.

Cascades along the upper portions of Pumphouse Wash, Coconino National Forest (03 May 2023).
Cascades along the upper portions of Pumphouse Wash, Coconino National Forest (03 May 2023).
Pumphouse Wash.
Pumphouse Wash.
Series of cascades that terminates in a large and deep pool on Pumphouse Wash.
Series of cascades that terminates in a large and deep pool on Pumphouse Wash.

The snow melt is done and we are now in our dry season. Lake levels and stream flows will diminish until the summer rainy season starts in July.