It has been close to 9 months since I have last posted anything in this blog and since we plan on spending a number of months in Arizona this year, I’ve decided to write a little about every hike that we take.
I have always enjoyed the desert vegetation and never seem to tire of it, and the hike to the Petroglyphs was no acception. The Hohokam petroglyphs date back over 1000 years, well before European settlement, and give you a peek into that magic connection to the ancient dream world of cave drawings and hunting with spears.
There is a parking lot located at the east end of Cloudview road and the hike begins right behind the main sign. I would recommend a good pair of hiking boots because there is a lot of loose rock and some sections of the easily followed trail can be a little steep. Bring lots of water, even in November it got really hot. We only hiked to the petroglyphs and back, about 3 miles, which took us about 2 hours, with one stop at the top.
The scenery along the way was amazing, with views to the east, south and west. Many types of cholla, lots of the dreaded “jumping cholla”, prickly pear and many large saguaros. Large rock formations and other vegetation such as ocotillo could also be seen. Unfortunately I did not see any flowers at this time of the year.
Once we reached the petroglyphs a number of Hieroglyphic Pools could be found in the smoothened rock, but they appeared quite polluted and hordes of yellow jackets hovered around them. The drawings are easy to find and interesting to look at. A rock cave was also nearby, which I’m sure was well used hundreds of years ago.
After a quick snack we headed back down, which was a lot easier than the hike up. We passed many hikers on the way up and down, obviously quite a popular hike.
Great views, great variety of vegetation, and petroglyphys all in one hike. I would recommend this trail to anyone.
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- Saguaro with Marlies and Sherry
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- beginning of hike
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- Carl holding up the sign
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- Rock formations
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- Petroglyphs
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- One of many great views
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