Sunday Hiking

With such beautiful weather, it is hard to stay indoors. We have been venturing forth for weekend walks. (We have started calling them walks, because Aine hates hiking. She does, however, enjoy walks.) Last weekend, we visited one of my old haunts in the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy. This weekend, Dave picked the hiking locale, and we explored the White Tank Mountains. He chose the Waterfall Trail, and it was a hit.

The White Tank Mountain Regional Park is located on the west side of town. After a brief detour due to the freeway being reduced to one lane, we arrived in the early afternoon. The Waterfall Trail is approximately 2 miles of easy path and only a slight elevation change. It was a bit slow going at first as Benton has decided he does not like the Ergo Carrier or frame backpack and prefers to walk. We sped up once he removed his shoes and walked. This caused many of our fellow walker/hikers to comment on his shoe situation.

Drawing pictures on the path with a stick he discovered

We stopped at signs explaining the flora and fauna. Aine remembered most of the plants from our trip last weekend. We did not see any animals this week, however this particular trail has amazing petroglyphs along the way. We took a look at them and talked a bit about what they might mean.

Petroglyphs used for telling stories with pictures and symbols

When we reached the end of the trail, we were rewarded with a small pool of water and a slowly trickling waterfall. Eamon and Aine skipped rocks on the water making tiny splashes. We felt the water and discovered it was quite cold. We spent a lot of time in this area looking up and around us.

Near the entrance to the pool are many large rocks and boulders just waiting to be climbed. We found carabiners on some of the rock faces. Eamon and Aine quickly scaled one of the large rocks, and Benton wanted to join them. He figured out a few footholds and was right behind them. Dave followed as he went as the boulder was a bit large. This led to more climbing and exploring.

The walk back was a bit quicker. Benton climbed onto Dave's shoulders, and we set off. We even ran a bit. The visibility was very good, and we could see Four Peaks. We talked about the upcoming spring flowers, and how we need to return to see the waterfall after our spring rains. It was a beautiful day, and we had a wonderful time. We will have to see where our walking takes us next week.