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| Hiking | 7.00 Miles |
667 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.00 Miles | 6 Hrs | | 1.17 mph |
| 667 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Ranger guided hike. Ranger Kevin spent 10 years at the Desert Botanical Garden so he knew all of the plants and that made this trip particulary great for me. There were about 14 of us that met at the trailhead at 8:15. We had a mix of ages from probably about 20-60. Tammy, from Pinnacle Peak park, was also along.
Our first stop was to see some petroglyphs to the north of the trail just as you start down the first hill on the Spur Cross trail headed west. They plan to make this area a non-obstacle trail in the future. And once again, the creek had changed up a little bit at the first crossing so they had the stepping stones placed when you first enter the creek bed.
Our second stop were some ruins along the south side of the trail. When you look over there you just think there are a pile of rocks but these are actual home sites; you can see the divided rooms and courtyards. When you pass by an area that is empty of plant life and just has those small grasses on it, those were probably the court yards.
Once you take the left onto the Elephant Mountain Trail, it will start to descend down to the creek bed. Ranger Kevin and a group of boy scouts and their parents put in some steps with rebar and small blocks of wood which made the descent, and later the ascent, much easier as it is quite a hill.
We took a small break in the creek bed and then started our ascent to the trunk of Elephant Mountain; although I think it pushes the level of imagination a little to envision this topography as an elephant - especially when I don't think there were any elephants in AZ. It was interesting to see the change in flora as we changed elevations. The mariposa lillies & dudleya were scattered here and there as were other flora.
We got to the saddle and took a couple deep breaths to climb onto the trunk which is technically closed unless ranger guided. Once on top you can see all of the rock formations for the little fort that had been constructed. And of course you can see all the usual landmarks such as Weavers Needle and Tom's Thumb.
On our way back we did get to see a pretty salmon-colored gila monster. I got a couple pics but it was pretty fast to get back under cover.
There weren't very many people out on the trail, maybe the warm temp forecast scared some folks off... but at the higher elevation, it's not as hot as the forecast. It sounds like they have some great plans for the Spur Cross area including hooking up this trail system with the Cave Creek trail system (Go John, etc)and to do a couple hook ups with the Jewel of the Creek Preserve. They also hope to build a visitors center in a couple years. Anyway, there are lots of guided hikes out here if you just go to the webiste for Maricopa County Parks. And if you want to know about all those plants out there, Kevin is definitely the ranger to hook up with. I'm just glad there wasn't a quiz afterward as there was a lot to remember. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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