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| Hiking | 5.36 Miles |
262 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.36 Miles | 1 Hour 21 Mns | | 3.97 mph |
| 262 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Early morning hike at SoMo. The plan was to hike the Crosscut, but I’m having a hard time keeping up with the Crosscut’s development. It has transitioned slowly over the years to what I think is its final alignment. I started from the horse corrals where the Ranger Trail starts around 6:30am. On my last visit (in 2022), this was also where the Crosscut began.
I started off by taking the Ranger south to where it connects to the Lomitas and then took the Lomitas west over to the Max Delta. Thinking that this was going to be a short loop, I decided to take the Delta out to where it meets the Alta Trail just to get a little more mileage. I then took the Delta back to where it intersects with the Crosscut Trail.
Like I said, the Crosscut has changed over time. The location of the Crosscut is a relatively new development that has occurred in the last three years. Prior to three years ago this was the Ma Ha Tauk Trail. And then, the park renamed it the Crosscut Trail. Same trail, different name. The Crosscut does a little bit of climbing before holding its elevation and going along the lower base of the slope. This is one of my favorite sections of the trail. (It doesn’t take much to please me  ). When the Crosscut meets the Hau’Pal it will follow the ridge north and drop down to the Ramadas. As it reaches the base of the ridge the Crosscut will split off towards the east. The signage for this split is not placed ideally and is a little further down the slope, but the split is obvious and if you are looking you’ll see the trail marker ahead. The trail will continue to follow a new cut (about three years old) around a small hill and then east as it briefly reconnects to the Max Delta Trail. This merging is well signed and only last for about 20 yards until the Crosscut continues east crossing Stephen Mathers Dr. (the road that brings you into the park). Shortly thereafter the Crosscut comes to the horse corrals. Two years ago, this is where the trail ended. There was no signage for the Crosscut beyond this point.
Now, the trail turns north and cuts between the corrals before crossing a small wash. The change in this area is radical and it is hard to believe how far the park has gone in trying to return the desert to its natural habitat. There use to be a paved road adjacent to the wash which the park has torn up. This stretch is still very flat so you can imagine where the road must have been aligned. Just past this point, the trail splits with the Crosscut veering off to the west. From this point forward the trail becomes a horse trodden spiderweb. The trail will quickly drop down a very eroded gulley that leads into the main wash that parallels Central Ave. as it enters the park. You enter the wash directly across from the parks maintenance yard. The trail turns to the right, heading north, but behind you, is some park history from the 80’s and before. Old buildings that have been forgotten with time. The amount of history (both Indian and modern) that has been pushed to the side is truly amazing. And time continues to march on as is evident with this trails metamorphosis over the last decade. The trail will stay in the wash until it reaches Scorpion Gulch, where it exits just to the west of the stone wrought buildings.
I followed the trail to where it ends at Scorpion Gulch and returned to the horse corrals where I started. An ok trail. Some parts more enjoyable than others. Definitely need to get a trail description created. I would love to be a tree on a slope and watched how this area has changed over the last 500 years. So much history and change in such a short time. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
HAZ ROCKS!!
Route 
at the road changes that have occurred since my last visit. They have actually torn out a section of the road and filled the the dip (wash) that occurred just prior to the 4 way intersection (now a 3 way). WOW! Where have I been? 
