We start our hiking day with a breakfast at a Mexican restaurant as tomorrow we have a fast day ahead of us, at least one of us. The GPS brings us to the back of the restaurant with no access but we make it it to front and assume it is closed, there are no cars. However it is open but there are no other customers. At least the palm trees have Monk parakeets, cute!
The food is reasonably good and served fast and refreshed we are ready for the trails in the Regional Park nearby.
The GPS takes us this time correctly to the parking lot, while it is large most cars park one behind the other reducing the space available for parking. Still it is remote enough that we have enough space to park and then we are on our way.
The first trail is aptly named Rock Peak Wash even though it starts as a normal trail with some nice views before descending into the wash.
But when it descends it stays there for the duration so by the time we reach the first trail intersection our shoes are full of sands and pebbles. Still on this section we see a few typical Arizona birds as they are attracted by the wash environments.
The San Tan Trail is next for a short portion and this is a major trail in the park. As such the trail is well maintained and there are no washes no follow for a while. There is even a crested saguaro which are always nice to see.
And then we have the last major trail change as we start on the Malpais Trail, a loop trail of about four miles where we will be spending about half of our hike. This trail follows the foothills of a cliffside sometimes on foot trails and roads but mostly in washes, again.
There are no other people on this section of the trail and we enjoy the greenery and nice weather as we make good time and also find a few caches on the way.
As the trail loops around back towards the San Tan Trail we pass through a saddle and take a side trip to the top of a mountain to find a cache that is quite rarely found. There are some great views from the top and we enjoy them before moving on.
There are lots of helicopters and planes circling around at low altitude throughout our hike and we start making elaborate fictions regarding what they are looking for or doing. They become even more interesting when we add the lone raider we notice on the trail to the storylines that at this point involve alien abductions, foreign invasion and other more benign reasons for the fly bys.
After the saddle the trail si quite nice and flat for a while as it follow the park boundary. On the other side is city property and behind as is the Indian Reservation, the park is quite hemmed in by the expanding city and the reservation.
We reach the San Tan Trail earlier than expected so we take our time back to the car enjoying the weird cacti formations and the sunset in the distance. And then we are back at the car after an eight mile hike that was quite enjoyable in good weather and with few other people on the trail, except on the San Tan Trail section.
