Saguaro Lake Hike with friends

Doing a little catching up on the blog today. This hike is one I did with the hiking club here at the RV park last winter. This year we decided to do it again with our friends Ron and Patsy. We also used this opportunity to scout out a place to launch our kayaks sometime this winter. None of us like to get up and going real early in the morning so we headed out about 9am and drove about 30 minutes to the lake. The trail we hiked is the Butcher Jones trail which winds around the west side of the lake. I have the Senior Pass for the National Parks which is like the America the Beautiful Pass for NON Seniors. The trailhead is within the Tonto National Forest which requires a Tonto Pass of $6.00 to park in the parking lot. My Senior Pass allowed us to park for free. One of the perks for getting old. :-) Anyway, we parked Ron's truck and took photos of the pass on the dash in case the ranger didn't see it and gave us a ticket.

We checked out the beach and saw other folks launching their kayaks and canoes there so it looks like a good place to come to when we get ready to take them out. After that we headed to the trailhead right off the parking lot.

The beach

 

As we started out we noticed a number of American Coots along the shoreline. They make a lot of noise as they grunt and chase each other around claiming territory and mates.

 



The trail winds nicely around the inlets and had great views of the lake as we moved along the trail.

Panoramic view(click on the photo to enlarge)

Another Panoramic view(click to enlarge)

 

The trail is about 2.5 miles to the other side of the lake. We took a detour to a water access area along the way. We were able to take a few sots of the greenery near the lake. This year has been rainier in this area than usual so there is a lot of greenery.

 

Very lush foliage

Cattails along the lake

 

After a few photos and some nourishment we headed back to the parking lot. The trail was actually very busy with the Thanksgiving weekend. It seems that everyone has a dog to bring on the trail. I just hope that they are responsible enough to clean up after their pets. It looked like everyone was having a great time and glad to be outdoors. That's what's so great about being here in AZ again this winter. We can continue to get outdoors and enjoy our surroundings......and

 

Got a photo of Ron taking a photo

Love the sun glistening off the water

Ron, Patsy, Glenda and you know who

 

 

our great friends to share our time and experiences with.

 

Tomorrow we get the opportunity to visit with some fellow bloggers and RV'ers.

 

Can't wait.  





P.S.....More hiking experiences to come with our friends Faye and Dave of  The Wandering Camels

 

They have an awesome Workamping job at Cave Creek Regional Park with trails galore to explore.

(I know it rhymes)