DESTINATION Cactus Wren Trail - Sonoran Preserve 1 Photoset
2015-02-10 | | -
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| Hiking | 5.76 Miles |
695 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.76 Miles | 3 Hrs 43 Mns | | 2.34 mph |
| 695 ft AEG | 1 Hour 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Cactus Wren, yes, but I was on it for only about 6/10 of a mile. I used it in hopes of getting to my target, Cave Buttes Dam, just beyond the NE corner of the preserve.
Started at the Desert Vista TH and followed the Hawk's Nest, Desert Tortoise and Valle Verde trails 1.75 mi to the Cactus Wren (C). From there, I hiked eastward .56 mi to an unmarked trail to the dam. I could see the dam about a mile out to the N. The trail leaves the C on the left and was little used. Saw only tracks for a dirt bike and a shod horse. As I got about 200 yards from the dam, a "No Trespassing" sign appeared on the left side of the trail. No fence, just the sign. Won't say whether I proceeded past the sign. A helicopter was flying to the N near Black Mtn and Cave Creek, and I thought it might be patroling the area. Eventually I turned back, going off trail to the W.
Rambling, I wandered onto a faint wagon or jeep road that runs NE to SW. I figured by staying on it, I would eventually reach the Valle Verde Tr (V V) again. I could see Dixie Mountain on my right. The road led into a lush desert landscape and a large rocky wash shaded by trees. A pair of phainopeplas scolded me from the top of a mesquite. Probably had a nest close by. On the other side of the wash there is an old sealed shaft mine. Someone had layed what I thought was a crude cross over it. So I dubbed it the Crucifix Mine. Along the road was the most unusual cairn I've ever seen and I took a photo of it. It was made of wood and rocks. Also stopped to take a shot of a Desert Christmas Cholla. It sported some red berries. The road, as suspected, came out onto the V V trail just S of the junction with the Desert Tortoise Tr.
For more than two hours I had seen no one, heard only the sounds of birds and the occasional crunch of rock beneath my boots. It was wonderful. Then civilization struck again as I headed W on the Desert Tortoise. Eight bikers and a hiker broke up the afternoon's solitude. Still, one of my better hikes on a beautiful day. |
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