To finish up the long Thanksgiving weekend we are planning an eight mile hike in Spur Cross Ranch to use our Regional Park Annual Pass. We are not sure if there will be parking as there is a lot of traffic but there is more than enough and soon we are on our way through the park on the longest trail possible.
The trail is initial an old ranch road, it is large and very popular at this in this section. There are many people with dogs as evidenced by the dropping bags by the side of the road. They are waiting for the poop fairy to pick it up…
We soon cross Cave Creek river which is dry now and then reach the first of many trail intersections. At least our trail is easy to follow and we assume it will become less busy as the more popular trails split off.
We then pass an area of ruins, maybe this is where the ranch was previously or at least part of it.
After one of the splits we lose the road and start on an actual foot trail. The traffic also starts to decrease in this section, but there still is some in both directions.
After about one hour hike we see a parking lot below us and after a few seconds we recognize, it is the parking lot we started from. The trail takes more or less the most circuitous route possible and even though we walked for 2 miles it feels we barely left when we look down. And then we find a secluded wash which is great for a lunch to fortify us for the trek ahead.
We continue enjoying the views as we make good time towards the caches that we plan to find. In this section there are no people and it feels we are far away from civilization even though we still see Phoenix far in the distance.
The last intersection is with the Elephant Mountain Trail and then we have two more miles till the boundary finding three caches on the way. We also find a few Christmas chollas along the way, they are always fun to find in December with their red fruits.
And then we are at the boundary and our turnaround point. It is well marked and a sign says to pay the entrance fee but there is no method to do that here, interesting.
And now it is time to return as it is getting dark already. The scenery is quite different now, it is the golden hour and the mountains are illuminated beautifully from the falling sun.
It is another beautiful sunset and we stay for a while enjoying the beautiful colors before taking out our flashlights and continuing to the parking lot arriving one hour before closing. And then we have another hour drive back to our home after a great time out on the trails.
