Usery Mountains: Pass Mountain-Maricopa Trail

 

When flying into the Phoenix area, the "<Phoenix" white sign in the Usery Mountains points the way to Sky Harbor airport (lower left photo). The Usery Mountains are also a great spot for hiking. This week's hike took our group to the Pass Mountain Loop.

This trail starts with the Maricopa Trail, which branches off to the left shortly

after the parking lot. After about a mile there is a junction for the Maricopa Trail. Do not go left or right. Continue straight ahead and you'll be on the Pass Mountain trail. Another mile or so the trail goes over a ridge, exposing a beautiful wilderness vista that stretches for miles. This loop continues around the mountain. 

We opted to turn back at about three miles. The side of the mountain we were on provided some morning shade from the sun. Although our temperatures have moderated, the sun is still strong and drains the body in prolonged exposure. We figured we had two hours of hiking to finish the loop and only about one and a half hours if we returned.

We also received a nature lesson on this hike. As we were hiking up, we came upon equipment and two rangers working on creating a new trail. While trying to hike around the equipment, one of the people in our group had a too-close encounter with a cholla cactus. Those puffy bunches of thorns seem to jump up and latch onto skin like a magnet. Of course there are several thorns that lodge into the skin. Our friend had tweezers with her to pull every little thorn out one-by-one. The ranger suggested a hair comb. He said that you can release the bunch of thorns quickly with a quick swipe of the comb.

We have not had the opportunity, thankfully, to try that out yet. I am more conscious of carrying a comb with me going forward, however.