Lower Miller Canyon is that three miles of trail beginning at the Perimeter trail parking area and going uphill to the Miller Canyon trail higher up the road (by the Beatty bed and breakfast). This area was heavily damaged in the 2011 fire and flood. Many mature trees were burned and then toppled that summer. The creek suffered massive rockslides. The 1.5 mile of creek trail was rerouted and in parts recreated with help of the forest service. Before the fire and flood, it was a lovely three-mile out-and-back trail popular with BnB guests, equestrians and local dog walkers.
Sycamores and Arizona ash grow along this creek and are now almost past their prime. Since I didn't work today I opted to take all four dogs down to the creek for a quick creekside walk. If too many people were there, I'd just go in the opposite direction. As it turned out, there was no one in the lower parking lot so off we went, following the creek uphill.
And what a colorful walk it was! The sun was high enough to shine through the leaves and emphasize the colors. The dogs were of course oblivious to the autumn display and were more interested in splashing around. No one was on the trail, either, so we had the entire creek to ourselves.
The entire walk took me no more than 90 minutes. I walked slowly so that they could enjoy the walk. I took photographs and stopped a few times by the creek to let Minnie dive in.
It was in the mid 60s, wonderful hiking weather with water nearby, but a cold front is coming that will lower temperatures for the coming week and bring more seasonal weather with it.
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