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| Hiking | 6.31 Miles |
1,312 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.31 Miles | 2 Hrs 30 Mns | | 2.52 mph |
| 1,312 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I haven’t gotten out of the house for anything more than a spin around the neighborhood since biking the Maricopa Trail three weeks ago. Funeral one week, sick the next. And then my bike got another flat. (Thankfully, not requiring a five mile push like the Pemberton Trail!)
Despite the temperature being unseasonably warm, it felt good to get my feet back on dirt. Today, on the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve's Dixie Mountain Loop.
After picking up my bike from the shop as soon as they opened their doors at nine, and a murderwich from the Stop’n’Rob, I drove up to the Preserve. The roads north of Jomax always confuse me, but for the first time, I didn’t make a wrong turn, either coming or going. 
I hiked the loop counter-clockwise.
At the rusted out car full of bullet holes. I told another hiker, there were three wrecks, including a milk truck, up the little canyon behind my house.
In the densest cholla grove, I posed my hiking beer on a jumping cholla. I'm not sure if it is a measure of cactus needle sharpness, or how thin cans are now, but when the full can fell off and punctured, forcing me to chug it. 
There’s enough shrubbery on the Western Vista summit, that I was able to enjoy my murderwich without getting too burnt. The scenery is not great — lots of concrete things, including the new chip fab — but it is vast.
Back on the Dixie Mountain Loop, heading southeast from the Bobcat Trail junction, I met a pair of hikers who warned be about a western diamondback "about a half mile ahead", in the middle of the trail. I kept moving for a ¼ mile, then slowed, proceeding more cautiously. I'm no @gummo , but I was disappointed not to find him.
Dixie Summit Trail is rocky, twisty, no-MTB singletrack. Despite being narrow, it is grab & stab-free. I took a shade-less break on top, finishing off my lunch, wishing I still had that beer. Dixie Mountain has 360° views — you can see over the top of Western Vista — including Piestewa Peak, Thompson Peak, Four Peaks (directly behind Tom’s Thumb), Elephant Mountain and New River Mesa.
Back on Dixie Mountain Loop again, and my videography complete, I hauled 1⅓ miles back to Hawk’s Nest Trailhead in only 28 minutes.
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/685169559 |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
The creosote along Hawk’s Nest Trail, were particularly dense with yellow flowers. In addition to the creosote, there were plenty of lily and miniscule fiddleneck; scattered small desert chicory, a few annual wall rocket, and some desert globemallow on the Dixie Mountain summit. Mexican gold poppy — which like a little more heat — bloomed later in the morning, and were smaller than normal. There were no cactus flowers to speak of. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
