Phoenix, Arizona - MLK Weekend - Biking and Hiking

After a week of frigid temperatures in Salt Lake City, it was time to return to Phoenix for more biking adventures with Roger.  The New Year holiday was cool and wet, but we had a fantastic time mountain biking and hiking in several of the regional parks surrounding Phoenix.  We had hoped to do some road biking for MLK weekend, but as so often happens with my trips to Arizona, another cold, wet storm was in the the forecast.  Despite the gloomy weather, I rented a mountain bike on Friday and we headed to the  Brown's Ranch Trailhead in McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Biking from Brown's Ranch Trailhead in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

The mountain biking trails at McDowell Sonoran Preserve are incredibly fun to ride.  Few trails require any technical skill, and most are smooth, fast, and flowy.  The trails are very well marked, and each trail junction has a ID post to indicate your position on the map.  You don't need a route plan or advanced map skills to figure out where you are and where you want to go.  The desert scenery is great along all of the trails, so it's difficult to make any specific trail recommendations. We rode for several hours, from Brown's Ranch  to the Granite Mountain area, and managed to cover the majority of the trails in the network by mid afternoon.  The sun never came out, but we had a great day of biking.

Brown's Mountain

Biking down from Brown's Mountain

Biking at McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Taking a break on Hawknest Trail

Between the rain showers on Saturday, we managed to hike Camelback Mountain from the Echo Canyon Trailhead.  It was a popular trail with a lot of people, but it certainly wasn't easy.  Several sections of the trail required the use of hands to climb, and a few spots had railings to assist with the climbing.  Despite the steepness, the trail was short, and before long, we were standing on top of the camel.  Camelback Mountain is a prominent feature in the Valley of the Sun, and I remember being fascinated by it when I first visited Phoenix as a kid.  It was fun to finally hike to the top!

Climbing up Camelback Mountain from Echo Canyon

Climbing up Camelback Mountain

Rainbow from the top of Camelback Mountain

Top of Camelback Mountain

A brief break of sun and blue sky on Camelback Mountain

On Sunday, despite the rain, we headed to Cave Creek Regional Park for a hike.  Like all of the regional parks in the Phoenix area, Cave Creek had a spacious campground, a visitor center, and numerous hiking and biking trails.  We decided to hike the Go John trail, a 5.8 mile loop through the northern part of the park.  The desert scenery was beautiful, despite the low clouds and occasional showers.  We had most of the trail to ourselves as very few people were out hiking or biking.

Low clouds hanging over Cave Creek Regional Park

Ocotillo leafing out

Hiking at Cave Creek Regional Park

Cave Creek Regional Park

Phoenix, Arizona - Mountain Biking and Hiking

After visiting with family in Massachusetts for the Christmas holiday, I headed down to Arizona to celebrate the New Year with Roger.  We had hoped for a long weekend of sunshine to camp at White Tank Mountain Regional Park, but the forecast was calling for a cold, wet storm to move through.  We decided to cancel our camping plans and try mountain biking instead, hoping for some decent weather to ride.  I flew down on Thursday night and we picked up my rental bike from Arizona Outback Adventures on Friday morning.  Our first ride of the day was at McDowell Sonoran Preserve, starting from the Granite Mountain Trailhead.  The weather was better than we had expected, with plentiful sunshine and mild temperatures.

Biking from the Granite Mountain trailhead in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Bootlegger Trail

Bootlegger Trail

The trail network at McDowell Sonoran Preserve was very rideable, with plenty of smooth, flowy single track to make me very happy.  There were no technical sections that required walking, and the desert scenery was fantastic.  We made a loop of several trails, passing by landmarks such as Cathedral Rock and Balanced Rock.  After a few hours on riding, we decided to hit up the pool to enjoy the unanticipated sunshine before heading back out on the bikes.

Cathedral Rock

Cathedral Rock

Balanced Rock

Large saguaro at McDowell Sonoran Preserve

We finished the day at Phoenix Sonoran Desert Preserve, riding several trails from the Apache Wash Trailhead, including the steep Ridgeback Trail and overlook. The first few sprinkles of the impending storm began to fall as we finished our ride.  Considering the stormy forecast, we were thankful to have had a full day of riding.

Last glimpses of sunlight for the day

Roger enjoying the views at Ridgeback Overlook

New Year's Eve day was a rainy one in Phoenix.  We had planned to ride our bikes again, but the conditions were unfavorable all day with showers and low clouds.  Since the weather wasn't ideal for riding, we decided to hike for a few hours during the afternoon.  We headed over to Tom's Thumb Trailhead in McDowell Sonoran Preserve and began a 4 mile round trip hike to the famous landmark.  The trail was steep, and it wasn't long before the were hiking in the clouds.  A few breaks of sun, along with patches of fog, made for some dramatic views as we made our way to Tom's Thumb.

Along the trail to Tom's Thumb

Tom's Thumb in the fog

Tom's Thumb

Last sunset of 2016

Roger decided that we should welcome the New Year on North Top peak in North Mountain Park.  It was the last hike of 2016, and it was perfect.  We started the steep climb to the summit around 11:40pm, quickly ascending the poorly paved road in darkness as views of the surrounding city became more spectacular.  Just before midnight, we found a viewpoint with panoramic views of the entire valley.  At midnight, we were treated to dozens of firework displays as the city celebrated the arrival of 2017.

Waiting for the New Year on North Top Peak

Welcome 2017

We decided to hike at White Tank Mountain Regional Park on New Year's Day since the weather continued to be too wet and stormy for mountain biking.  A few breaks of sun and a brilliant rainbow encouraged us, but the storm clouds returned by the time we reached the White Tanks.

New Year's Day rainbow

We had planned to camp at White Tank Mountain Regional Park for the New Year holiday, so it was great to explore the park despite our cancelled plans.  Our first hike was to Waterfall Canyon, a short and relatively easy trail that passed several petroglyph panels along the way.  Thanks to recent rainfall, the waterfall was flowing, and it was a popular destination for many families out on their first hikes of the year.

Petroglyphs along the trail to Waterfall Canyon

Petroglyphs

Waterfall Canyon

Leafy ocotillo

Despite the cool, cloudy weather, we decided to hike a portion of the Mesquite Canyon trail before heading back to Phoenix.  The trail took us up over a saddle, and then along a rocky wash containing numerous, water-filled potholes.  The White Tank Mountains are named after these pockets of water, a critical resource for animals during the warmer months.  As we finished our hike, the sky began to clear, and the surrounding mountains became illuminated with a warm glow.

Water in Mesquite Canyon

White Tank Mountains

With the sun finally shining, we spent Monday morning and early afternoon biking at McDowell Mountain Regional Park.  Starting from Tom's Thumb Trailhead, we rode a majority of the Pemberton Loop, along with some additional side trails.  Again, the trails were fast, flowy, and smooth, making for a fun day of riding.  I headed back to the airport later that evening, marking the end of a great Christmas and New Year holiday with family and friends.

Biking at McDowell Mountain Regional Park

McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Riding at McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Moab, Utah - Mountain Biking

Roger and I took advantage of the perfect autumn weather and made a quick mountain biking trip to Moab this past weekend.  We decided to camp at the convenient Horsethief campground near Dead Horse Point and chose four riding locations that were new to both of us.

The bikes at Horsethief campground

After setting up camp on Friday morning, we were off to Dead Horse Point State Park.  Last year, we rode a portion of the Intrepid Trail system located on the east side of Highway 313.  The trail network has since been expanded to include several trails on the west side of the highway.  We were surprised to see so many  bikers in the parking lot when we arrived, but most people were finishing up their rides for the day by the time we were ready to start.  We did a great 11 mile loop that included Prickly, Twisted Tree, Whiptail, Crossroads, Raven Roll, and Great Pyramid trails.  None of the trails were particularly challenging or technical, but the views were fantastic!

Twisted Tree Trail

Great Pyramid Trail

 Biking at Dead Horse Point

We started our Saturday by riding a loop near Gemini Bridges, not far from our campsite at Horsethief.  There were a lot of bikers in this area as well, but many of them were riding the mostly downhill Magnificent 7 ride from the highway down to Moab.  We chose a short 7 mile loop that included Great Escape, Little Canyon, and Arth's Corner.  The ride was more technical and the views into the Moab slickrock area were fantastic.  We did a short hike to the impressive Gemini Bridges after the ride.

Great Escape Trail

Gemini Bridges

We spent the afternoon riding at Moab Brands Bar-M Loops.  This trail network is located north of Moab on Highway 191 and contains many loop options that range from easy to technical.  We were most interested in riding the Circle-O trail and this was definitely the highlight of this trail network.  The Circle-O trail was nearly all slickrock, but it was not as challenging to ride as the famous Slickrock Trail.  The views into Arches National Park were also excellent.  We finished the day by riding Deadman's Ridge, the most challenging trail of the weekend, before riding the rolling, relaxing Lazy trail back to the car.

Circle-O Trail

Circle-O Trail

 Circle-O Trail

Deadman's Ridge Trail

Sunset at camp

We did a mellow but gorgeous ride through Onion Creek on Sunday morning before returning to Salt Lake.  The trail is actually the 4WD road that follows and crosses Onion Creek numerous times as it travels through the canyon.  This made for a wet ride, but the weather was sunny and mild and all of the mud added to the fun.  We found a great spot to have lunch under an enormous cottonwood tree before turning around and coasting down the canyon.

 Onion Creek

 Roger riding through Onion Creek

Onion Creek

Taking a break in Onion Creek

Onion Creek