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| Hiking | 5.00 Miles |
500 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.00 Miles | 3 Hrs | | 1.67 mph |
| 500 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | | Hi everyone. New to the forum. I thought I would post about my hike today with my girl. Let me start by saying that the end of May is probably too hot to do this trail, as the temperatures in the creek bed seemed about 95 to 100 degrees when the wind wasn't blowing. We began by parking at the lot, and then headed down the right side trail. Massive saguaro, big barrel cactus and prickly pears were everywhere. The palo verdes were a nice mix with the mesquite and other trees that line Cottonwood Creek. After ducking under the rusted barb wire gate, we kept trecking over the zig-zagging trail. The variety of rocks on and along the trail and creek bed were amazing, and I actually found a baseball sized piece of pure white milky quartz. After going over a few hills and winding around what I believe was the end of the barb-wire fence we passed through before, we ended up at the intersection of Little Jim and Walking Jim trails. By this time we had used about a third of the two gallons of water I had packed in my backpack. Soaking our bandanas and hats with a little water, we decided to cut down the creek bed back to the parking lot instead of following Little Jim Trail, since it was getting pretty warm by noon. Around 85 or so on the trail. Not the best idea with the heat, as I said before. However, the hike down Cottonwood Creek was amazing in itself, besides the temperature. At least we had a nice and steady 10mph wind. The rocks lining the bottom of the creek are a myriad of shapes, colors and sizes. From bright red stones to iron pyrite. The boulders are pretty remarkable also, with some of them worn away and shaped crazily. The sandy bottom is a little difficult to trudge through after a while, since the different rocks often cause unsturdy footing, but if you're careful it shouldn't be a problem. I recommend ankle supporting footwear that won't be easily penetrated by the small foxtail plants that crop up. The banks of the wash are carved out in a few places to where they almost look like caves, and we heard the wild burros hee-hawing like crazy up above in a few spots. Keep an eye out for supposed petroglyphs on a boulder on the right side of the creek. Unfortunately, we missed the petroglyphs because by that time it was approaching the hottest part of the day. Passing the third copse of green trees in the middle of the wash, we came back upon the first place that Walkin' Jim crosses Cottonwood Creek. The shade of the trees, and the large flat rocks were a perfect place to rest from the heat before hiking back to the parking lot. While we were resting and rehydrating, a five foot long Bull Snake kind of meandered past us only a few feet from us. He took a good look at us, and then headed back to his dead wood pile when I stood to get a picture. All in all it was an excellent hike, with tons of wildlife. Even if it was a bit warm. I can't wait to hit Big Jim Trail and the peaks when it's cooler out! |
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