Nine of us bundled up in layers for the Skunk Tank/Cave Creek Trail loop. Although the morning temperature was 49 degrees in the Phoenix metro area, it was a sunny but brisk 28 degrees at the Cave Creek Trailhead!

We began the hike at 7:30 AM, and we could smell a campfire as we passed by a campground nestled in a valley below the trail.

Wendy, the hike leader, pointed out a tree full of very large birds, one of which had its wings outspread the entire time we stopped to take pictures.

After crossing a dirt road, we took the right fork to stay on trail #4. We climbed a unique staircase to get over a fence, and continued in the shaded forest area until reaching another fork. Here we took the left fork, trail #247, had our first stream crossing, and then began the short ascent out of the shaded area to the junction of trail #246.

We took a quick break to shed our first layer of clothing.

It was a pretty steady uphill climb with a few small flat spots for breathers most of the journey to the junction of trail #250, which was the highest point on the trail.

Off came a 2nd layer of clothing. We enjoyed checking Randy’s map to see what the names were of the nearby mountains - New River Mesa, Cramm and Humboldt Mountains.

We could see areas of fire damage here and there along the trail, although not as much as on the car ride to the trailhead.

The most colorful spot on our travels was after we passed the #246/ #4 junction, as the steep hillside provided a nice sprinkling of over 20 types of wildflowers.

Among those we saw were California Poppies, Lupine, Globe Mallow, Verbena, Pentstemon, Thistle, Indian Paintbrush, Owl Clover and Desert Marigold, and Randy helped with names for several of the other plants, such as Witches Hair.

We found a nice shady spot next to the creek for our lunch spot. Wendy dipped her feet in the refreshing chilly creek, Eileen found a nice boulder to relax on, and other folks boulder hopped and checked out the minnows. We stepped aside as best we could on the narrow trail for a group of 4 men on horseback, and passed by a few more groups of people.

Our final highlight was spotting two crested saguaros along the way.

We finished the hike at 2:30 PM, at a temperature of around 72 degrees. It was a wonderful day and an enjoyable hike!

We covered 10.20 miles with an elevation change of +-1732'.

Pictures by Wendy Rennert and by Ted Tenny.