Perimeter Loop Trail

I hosted a nine-mile Perimeter Loop trail, repeating the direction from last month when I scouted out this trail. This is a challenging hike only for the many roller-coaster ups and downs and the distance: nine miles on mostly exposed eastern slopes. I had a decent turn-out: Bob, Nina, Cidney and David from Tucson, who was down in town for the day for his wife's job. David saw the hike online via the Meetup and hadn't RSVPed. The more, the merrier, and everyone was in good shape. Today I brought Minnie along for the hike.

I had posted the start time as 9:15am, knowing that Nina arrives late, and wanted to start this at 9:30am. I arrived at 9:20am and she hadn't arrived yet, coming in at 9:40am. We finally got going at 9:45am, walking up the road, stopping briefly at the Carr House, and continuing for two miles before the first turn-off at Clark Springs Trail. Minnie wanted to show off her fetching skills, but by the two-mile mark she was getting tired and focused more on the trail. There was no water the first four miles and keeping her a little thirsty kept her from running amok among the hikers.

We lucked out with the weather, but had it been any warmer, this would have been a hot hike. We started out with 63F but it quickly warmed up. There wasn't much of a breeze, and shade was minimal. Views sure are spectacular along the Clark Springs trail, and for a newcomer to this area this is a nice taste of the valley offerings.

Halfway on the Clark Springs trail, the path descends into Miller Canyon where that section of the trail ends. We could see the clearing in the upper canyon that is now Beatty's Orchard. Here is where we had to cross Miller Canyon road and continue along the creek going downhill. The Forest Service was busy downing some dead trees in Miller creek, but the crew was nice enough to let us walk past safely. This one mile along Miller creek is still mostly shaded, and this was a relief for Minnie who came back to life in the water.

We stopped at the restrooms in lower Miller Canyon. It was now approaching 1pm and the little shade on the northern side of the building felt so good. I could feel the muscles in my legs. I wanted to rest at the rocky overlook on the Perimeter Trail, so I could give the dogs some water and eat an apple. Both Cidney and David, however, just wanted to get done and continued on. We were down to Robert, Nina and me. Even Robert jogged on ahead and I stayed back with Nina, who was starting to slow down. Even Minnie was stopping at every little drainage looking for water. There was more water here than on the Clark Springs trail.

Clouds were starting to move in overhead, cooling the trail down that last mile. We were back at the parking lot at 2:15pm. Robert was waiting in the back of this truck with the tailgate down. Minnie lay in the shade and I sat on a cool rock as we waited for Nina. We ended up eating at the Papa's 50s Diner again, and this time it was Minnie who got a free puppy patty.