Hiking time again - and this week is MUCH better than last week's rain and cold. The sun is bright and the temperature is 55F when we begin and 75F when we return to the trailhead at 1pm. This hike will be 5.2 miles (8km) but will have 750 feet of elevation gain.
This promises to be a rocky trail!
With a bit of elevation gain, we can look back and see Canyon Lake. To the left of the black cave-like "hole" you see in the center of the picture is a bend in the lake and the dam that has created this gorgeous lake on the Salt River. There is a paddle boat that tours the lake twice a day in the winter season.
This is Boulder Creek just after it enters Canyon Lake.
And we keep climbing up!
A cairn of rocks marks the top of the climb - but we continue up and over the washes as we hike along the trail to Boulder Canyon
When we get to our turn around place, we can overlook the canyon. Boulder Creek is now just a small stream. If we had elected to hike down into the canyon - another 3 miles return trip, we could have seen a Indian Paint Mine - a pool of deep red mud that the Indians used in their pottery making. But we have had enough and turn around after our snack and head back down the trail.
But heading back was not all down hill!
A special treat awaited us on the return trail - the sun was over head and it had warmed up enough for the Mexican poppy to have opened up fully. This is one of the treats that we wait for in the Spring here in the desert. The 10 little ones we saw today are hopefully the harbinger of carpets of wildflowers that will coat the desert floor in the next few weeks.
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