Goldwater Lake Trail #396

A streetcleaner coming too close to the van got the dogs barking at 4:45am. All the cars around me had left except for two motorcycles to my right. It was ten degrees warmer this morning than two days ago. I let the dogs out to pee, grabbed breakfast at the McD's, answered some email and took off for the Goldwater Lake Trail just outside the White Spar campground on AZ89. I was the first vehicle at the trailhead parking lot. It was 7am and the sun was still trying to climb over the mountains. I had the trail all to myself as I watched the rising sun strike Thumb Butte as I came across a stone memorial on the ground, dedicated to the 19 firefighters who died fighting the Yarnell fire three years ago.

Trail #396 begins by meandering just outside the campground, making an abundance of needless turns before it moves away from the campground. It was quiet out, and the morning sky was overcast. Northern Arizona was forecasted for a quick-moving storm "north of I-40" with high winds in the afternoon. I didn't want to be around when that storm blew through, so I kept at a good pace for the four miles it took to get to this small lake. The water surface was peaceful. A few grey herons flew overhead. Mallards and a few other waterfowl glided by. The dogs drank from the lake water but kept the birds alone. The only noise was from a house across the lake; people were busy renovating the roof.

I didn't stay for long at the lake because of the long drive I had to make back home. We rested above the dam and then returned the way we came, along the rollercoaster of a trail. I like this trail, as it meanders around mostly healthy Douglas firs. I had to keep Zeke on a leash to avoid him chasing squirrels. Woodpeckers were out tapping on dead trees for bugs. Now people were coming out on this trail: mountain bikers and two groups of dogwalkers from the campground. When I got back to the van at the 7.9-mile hike, the entire parking lot was full. Since there are three trails starting from this parking lot, users could have gone in any of three directions. The 54-mile Prescott Circle trail also goes through here. The campground and parking lot are right off AZ89 and easy to get to. I turned south on AZ89 and was quickly out of town and on my descent from the high forest. It was just before 11am.

I wanted to stay in town for lunch as I dreaded the drive back, but the weather had other plans. It was a comfortable 67F when I left town. An hour later in Wickenburg and it was already 80F, then 90F when I got to Phoenix via AZ89 and US60. I stopped in Yarnell to look at the Memorial Park still under construction and dedicated to the fallen firefighters, then walked around historic Wickenburg for a bit, but drove off to avoid having the dogs suffer in the heat. I expected traffic through Phoenix on a Friday afternoon to be a real pain, and it was with the constant stop-and-go, construction sites, and rude drivers cutting off others. It was worse than attending a Trump rally!