One of the things that appealed to us was the lack of steep climbs - a welcome change from the brutal hike we did last weekend (Peralta Trail) in the Superstitions. We did a loop of about 2.5 miles starting on the Little Leaf Trail and coming back on the Goldmine Trail in about one hour's time. This park has has multiple trails that criss-cross the park offering a nearly endless number of combination hikes of varying lengths and degrees of difficulty.
A unique aspect of this park is that it is shared-use which means in addition to hikers, you are likely to encounter mountain bikers as well as people on horses. We saw a few groups of horses and a couple of bike riders. As a result of this flexibility, the trails are well groomed and anywhere from 8 to 20 feet wide.
One of the constants we have noticed on our hikes is the amount of dogs hiking on the trails with their owners. This is particularly good news for Tommy since he likes dogs so much. It's neat to watch a normally introverted kid go right up to a hiker with a dog and strike up a conversation about the dog all by himself.
Mark's dad Art came along on this hike and had a good time hiking with his grandkids. At the conclusion of the hike we checked out the park's tortise habitat and then sampled a few backpacking meals made by Mountain House Foods, a maker of freeze-dried meals. This time we tried Mac & Cheese and Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce. We also had instant coffee. The food and coffee was really good and we will add them to our list of backpacking foods...They are kid-approved to, enjoyed by Savannah and Sabrina.
Click on the map to enlarge and see the trails we hiked yesterday: The Little Leaf Trail and the Goldmine Trail.
At the trailhead, a hub of sorts, like a bike wheel with trails taking off in all directions.
We got off to a quick start, spreading out at comfortable distances with everyone hiking at their own pace.
Nice wide and flat trails made for an enjoyable day in the outdoors.
Every so often benches would appear making nice rest stops and good picture opportunities.
Marching up a gradual grade with Tommy leading the way.
Tommy and Granddaddy discuss their hiking boots as they get ready to descend into a small wash.
The topography of the park is gentle with mountains framing the park.
In the distance, you can see the Visitors' Center. We hiked in a sea of creosote bushes.
Stretching out on the trail.
Tommy found a nice saguaro.
This park had a decent amount of ocotillos and this was one of the biggest.
Interesting growth in the middle.
Heading back down the nicely groomed trail.
Everyone was excited about the nice weather, including the cactus. In this shot, two barrel cactus flank a small saguaro.
Stag-horn cholla
Great example of how the cholla will stick to anything with very little effort.
Beautiful backdrops all day long.
Beyond this saddle is a whole other world of trails waiting for us.
Sabrina and Granddaddy sharing some time together on the trail.
Tommy and Sabrina examine a creosote bush. Tommy likes this plant because when you crush the leaves between your fingers it smells like the desert after it rains.
Fields of saguaros standing gaurd over the trail.
The trails are signed very well, indicating the shared use.
One of the baby tortises in the habitat.
A larger desert tortise.
Interesting habitat.
One of the other babies. The babies were about 3" across and 5" long.
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