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| Hiking | 2.53 Miles |
144 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.53 Miles | 54 Mns | | 2.81 mph |
| 144 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Wasn’t looking for much, but I wanted to do something more than the short loop that I did with my sister. Decided to drive over to Spur Cross, which I seldom ever visit. Surprised to see that my last stated visit to Metate had been over 10 years ago.  It’s a long drive, but there is no excuse for that. Several improvements to the TH since my last visit, (which was a little over a year ago doing the Elephant Trail). They have installed yellow parking curb-like stops which definitely minimizes the free for all nature of their parking area. They have also created a “picnic area”. They are not using your typical park table and benches. They were circular and looked to be made out of cement - the sort of table you would see in someone’s backyard. There was no shade in the area, so imagine they get hot quickly. Finally, they have created an official trail that goes along side the entry road that takes users to the beginning of the Dragonfly Trail. This is a popular trail and there is only parking for about 6 cars at this TH, so this makes sense.
The hike was uneventful, though I was surprised to encounter 10 hikers (2 groups of 5) on this short loop. Went in on Spur Cross and took Metate back. Spur Cross is not my favorite trail, especially the first mile going north. Basically a wide, rocky road. However, I enjoyed the views looking down on the Cave Creek Wash. Ironically, an hour earlier, my sister and I had just talked about how all the desert color had disappeared on the Ocotillo/Sidewinder Trails. Not the case here, the saguaros, ocotillos and ironwoods were still blooming nicely. The Metate is a much more intimate path offering some impressive views of towering sagauros, an actually metate that’s been there for centuries, a man-made created pond and some old paved foundations from years gone by. A pictorial history of the area. Today I was fortunate to see a doe walking near the old foundations.
Enjoyable hike. Gnats were the only drawback. |
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Cool clear water with a lot of bees
Next we ascended some stairs. As we neared the parking lot, we veered up Metate, followed by the old road back to the parking area.
Huge lot just 300 yards to the north.
The lower areas south of the fence line are still in good shape. The horseback ride concessionaire has been doing some wonderful maintenence on Cottonwood Trail 247 so hopefully they find the time to give 1533 some much needed love.
Common sense is not very common.
Sure hope I'm up there doing that in another 20 years!
