Boulderdash Trail - Hawes, AZ

Prologue
Yesterday, I had a great time sauntering in the Hawes System. I started by parking at Thomas Road and Hawes just outside Las Sendas, where there is no parking allowed. From Thomas, I hiked north past the Hawes Loop Trailhead and over to the Mountain Wash Trail which leads just one-half mile north to the Tonto Forest.

Entering the Tonto National Forest, I first hopped on the 52 Trail westerly into the Lower Gidro which was amazingly scenic, wildflowers were super blooming everywhere from the abundant rains from early 2023! My goal was to transition From Lower Gidro into the new Boulderdash Trail and check it out.Hike
Boulderdash was a white-knuckle scramble for any hiker not to mention a crazy insane route for any mountain biker!

I was the lone hiker the entire Saturday afternoon and one out of about 10 mountain bikers face-planted in a ten-foot wipe-out drop, but somehow shook it off and continued. Believe it or not, there are plenty of 20-foot boulder drops that challenge even the best of hikers. The springtime scenery was totally mind-blowing including views into DTPHX South Mountain, Papago Buttes, Camelback and McDowell Mountains, and Red Mountain with the Salt River flowing past Granite Reef Dam. All visible towards sunset.

Note
Exiting Boulderdash I circled back south on the Magic Mountain Trail until it junctioned back to the Hawes Loop Trail #52. From there I turned the circle loop back east the way I came completing the loop after dark when the East Valley of the Sun turned into a brilliant night light show especially hiking the well-lit sidewalks back to Thomas Road.

2023-03-19 BACKROADER & HAZ_Hikebot