Hike #26 - Poland Creek, Crown King, AZ

Approximately 3 miles from Crown King, AZ at mile marker 25, is the Poland Creek trail head.  The 3 mile RT trail drops 1,000' into a canyon that leads to a refreshing creek, pool and waterfall.  The trail is easy to follow with prickly cacti, rattlesnakes and typical dry desert environment until reaching Poland Creek.  Once we reached the creek we headed down stream, boulder hopping 4/10ths of a mile to a large pool with a water fall called the Big Dipper.  We didn't swim in the pool but I am sure some people do.  It is a steep and dangerous climb down to the pool so a rope/ harness would be helpful.  After hiking the trail, we drove into Crown King and had lunch at The Mill.

Hike #25 - Barker Dam Nature Loop Trail - Joshua Tree National Park, CA

This 1.5 mile nature trail provided lots of photo opportunities. The large boulders stacked everywhere were inviting to climb on and interesting to look at. The trail is mostly flat and the reservoir was dry. We loved looking at the various Joshua Trees and Petroglyphs.

Hike #24 - Skyline Trail or "Cactus to Clouds", Palm Springs, CA

Paul and I returned to Palm Springs in May of 2015 to hike the Skyline Trail to the Tram also known as Cactus to Clouds.  We had hiked from the tram to the top of Mt. San Jacinto last year and loved it despite a lot of snow and ice. The 8 mile Skyline trail has the most elevation gain of any trail in the United States!  Both of us being avid hikers with multiple work outs per day/week, felt we were in decent shape to do this trail. The initial ascent was very steep and we were both breathing hard in no time! We started out around 6 AM since the temperature that day would be near 100 degrees and we always like to get an early start. We had 3 litres of water each and were aware of there not being any water after the first mile. We took several breaks and had the surprise of our life when a coiled rattlesnake came out from behind a rock after mile 3! We continued on and decided to turn back at mile 4. Our water was dwindling fast together the heat and sun zapped our energy. The hike down was awful with the temperature at 97 degrees! We both ran out of water at the last mile. We had one more surprise, this time a naked man came around the corner! I could not believe he was hiking in the middle of the day and fully exposed. Really not a smart thing to do even clothed to be starting this trail at 1 in the afternoon.

Hike #23 - Waterslides Canyon, Sierra Ancha Wilderness, AZ

For the second day of the 2015 Rendezvous Paul Pastore and I met up with our fellow canyoneers to hike and rappel Waterslides Canyon.  This canyon is best know for it's many waterslides which are best experienced in the Spring when the snow melt creates good water flow. The total distance of the hike/canyon is approx. 5 miles one way.  We parked 3 vehicles at the end so that when we finished we could shuttle everyone back to their cars.  We had a group of 16 people so it made for a very long day!  The rappels were fun and we usually rigged up two lines so we could get all 16 of us down safely and more quickly.  The slides were incredible!  Long, steep, fast and dangerous! With so many of us there it was easier to get the courage up to go down after watching several others make it down alive.  The water was cold and we all wore wet suits.  We made it to our shuttle vehicles around 8 PM and then it took 2 hours to shuttle everyone back to their cars (10 miles on a dirt road).  One car had a flat tire which seems common at this canyon.  A high clearance vehicle with good rugged tires is recommended but not entirely necessary.

Hike #22 - Parker Creek, Salome Wilderness near Globe, AZ

This was our 3rd time hiking and rappelling this picturesque canyon.  We met up with fellow canyoneers in March as part of the 2015 Rendezvous. This is a popular canyon in the Sierra Ancha wilderness with several waterfall rappels, slides and stunning canyon vistas.  The final rappel is 80' and is usually very windy at the top.  To get near the trail head, a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle is necessary and preferably one that you don't mind getting scratched all to heck since there are many desert tree branches to drive through.  For more info on this canyon see: http://www.toddshikingguide.com/Hikes/Arizona/Tonto/Salome1.htm

Hike #21 - Hamburg Trail, Ramsey Canyon, Sierra Vista, AZ

Ramsey Canyon has been on my bucket list for several years mostly because I had heard all about the hummingbirds.  Paul and I headed to Sierra Vista on a week day in early March. When we arrived at the trail head we discovered the small parking area already full with no options but to come back another time. That wasn't an option for us after driving from Phoenix, so we drove around and finally landed a spot in a very nice gentlemen's driveway.  We were encouraged to ask him for permission to park and he kindly accepted.  We didn't realize that the hummingbird season didn't start for 2 more weeks so unfortunately we did not see any hummingbirds.  The Nature Conservancy Preserve is fantastic and we enjoyed following the self-guided hike which included the largest Sycamore tree I have ever seen.  The Hamburg Trail is approx. 5 miles RT.  It parallels a spring fed stream in the Coronado National Forest. We criss-crossed the stream several times which was delightful.  The views of Ramsey Canyon and the San Pedro Valley were quite picturesque and well worth the drive from Phoenix/Chandler.  Once we arrived at the abandoned mine, we turned back the way we came.