Today we decide to escape the Phoenix heat and to explore a hike near Payson that we never tried before. Soon we settle on the Monument Peak Loop trail which seems perfect, not that popular, a little out of the way, good length and a few caches, some even on mountain tops. The drive is uneventful and soon we are at the parking lot which is small and mostly full. We somehow find a place to park our car but are surprised at how many people are here, as we later find out most are just hiking a short way in with their dogs and then return to the car.
In fact we encounter very few people on the trail away from the parking lot. What we encounter is one ATV later in the day, as most of these hiking trails are used (officially or not) also by ATVs.
What we really like on the trail are the creeks that criss-cross or follow the road. It is quite unusual to see that much water in Arizona for certain which makes it really special to us. Otherwise the flora is still desert like with many cacti in bloom along the road-trail.
About one third into the loop we finally find what we were looking for, a track going up towards a saddle between the three peaks towering over the loop. And up we go and lo and behold the track is quite a good trail leading us nicely towards the saddle.
The saddle itself is more interesting than we expected. As we eat our snacks we notice a couple ruins and even lots of pottery shards, what an interesting find!
From the saddle we explore both peaks that are accesible with some nice views and well worn paths up to the top. This is quite unexpected as neither of them seemed to have any trails going up, no complaining from us of course.
What we really like are the lichens, they can be quite beautiful and colorful and as we relax we take our time trying to take artistic photos of them and capture their beauty.
And then it is up to the third peak. This time there is no trail so we bushwhack which is quite difficult and we even leave a few blood droplets on the way as the cacti and catclaw try to stop our progress. Still we persist and finally make it to some nice views and also a rarely found cache, for good reason….
Then it is back to the main trail passing some interesting rock formations before splitting for a short while us one of us goes up to find a cache and the second one daydreams beneath the pines. Daydreams until some loud noises scares them up the mountains before carefully peaking back and noticing the young elk passing by, phew no bear.
In the third quarter of the hike, the opposite side of where we started, it becomes even more green with pastures fed by the creeks next to the trail.
In fact not only next to the trail, also on the trail, in the middle of the trail, blocking the trail, water is seemingly everywhere on this stretch. We do our best to avoid getting wet and do a good job of it with only the shoes absorbing some moisture.
And then after another snack break on a beautiful meadow we pass by a few houses and then return to the parking lot after a really nice hike with a few surprises. Luckily there are no surprises on our way back and we make it safely home after a nice day at higher altitudes.
