Javelina Canyon Trail, AZ

Overview
46th St TH to Mormon Loop Trail. Javelina is a strong odored hog that roams South Mountain. This trail is a popular loop with Beverly Canyon Trail. Listed as Javelina-Ridgeline-Beverly Loop.


Hike
From the East
Javelina takes off like a Highway with nothing exciting to match. Once past what appears to be City of Phoenix water tanks, a ravine cracks open. You are in Javelina Canyon. The trail weaves up the south bank of the canyon.

The subtle weaving and gentle ascending canyon is cool terrain. Even without wildflowers, I can see why this is a popular hike for locals. Continue up to Javelina Saddle. Ridgeline Trail is a left. Javelina Trail dips 0.1 mi to Pima Wash. Check out the rock art.

Tread is good to very good throughout, except for the Western 0.1 mi from Javelina Saddle dropping to Pima Wash. Fear not, I passed a 60-year-old man in granny-gear crawl that up on a mountain bike without putting a foot down.

Synopsis
Aside from the brittlebush explosion, this was one of the better mixes of wildflowers I have seen in the valley. Poppies were in the mid to upper canyon, blue lupines, red desert globemallow, a hint of purple scorpion weed. Rather colorful for what I anticipated to be a total drag.

Quite a few little to medium Palo Verde trees. A Lycium variety bush looked loaded with the mini acid berries. Stinknet was most notable in the lower canyon.

No sign of Alfred Hitchcock or Allen Funt, and chicks seemed friendlier than average. The lower east 0.65 mi is blah. The rest of the trail is a solid hike in spring with all the wildflowers.

Check out the Official Route and Triplogs.

Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community.

2020-04-02 joebartels