Wednesday, December 2, 2015

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)


3 comments:

  1. Glad to see you are enjoying life the way you enjoy.
    We're staying put this winter to finish downsizing and getting rid of STUFF. We'll be taking the big Fulltiming step next spring. Looking forward to seeing you down the road.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Rick and Kathy, We are enjoying life after retirement. Sorry to hear you will be in the cold this winter. Once stuff is done you'll be on the road. I know we'll see you down the road.

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  2. What a wonderful hike, looks like we need to come up to your place and do some hiking or paddling. We stayed off the trails over the holiday weekend since it was so crowded..the joys of living in the park...we have access all the time to the trails.

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