On April 27, 2004, Ken & I were waiting at sunrise for the Red Rock Canyon gate to open. This time, we were going to Pine Creek Canyon & Oak Creek Canyon which are connected by the Knoll Trail & Arnight Trail. We planned a lengthy loop using all of the trails minimizing walking the same path twice. We decided to do a longer hike since the trails were not rated as difficult. We knew that there would be little shade on this one, so we started as early as possible and wore our hats. We drove to the Pine Creek Canyon trailhead and walked as far as we could without climbing. We don't mind "bouldering" from one rock to another, but we avoid situations where special equipment (or a younger age) are required. The Pine Creek parking lot appeared to be very popular, Though we passed and were passed by others, you seldom see or hear any of the "company" out in the huge conservation area.
Pine Creek Canyon was very serene and quiet. The peaks were beautiful in the early morning light. We could see where water falls occur during storms and the colors revealed some of the geological history of the mountain range. There were exceptional barrell cacti along the slopes. Two weeks ago, I predicted that the desert was about to break out in bloom and I was right. We saw many species in bloom from the big junipers to ground flowers smaller than a dime. The prickly pears were especially actively blooming.
Leaving Pine Creek, we headed for Oak Creek. We encountered unexpected signage for the Arnight and Knoll Trails. At one point, we took a spur trail (Juniper Canyon Trail) by accident and encountered some steeper than planned climbs. We reached the end and returned to the main trail retracing our footprints.
Oak Creek Canyon is approached by a trail on an old road. Sounded easy, but this "road" wasn't exactly I-5! It was rocky the entire way and we took great care not to twist our ankles on this path. The road ended and became red, sandstone soil. We encountered more elevation and were finally bouldering the trail. Much of the trail is marked by the traditional rock piles used to help keep you on the right path. We thought we saw an easier way to return along a parrallel trail. Wrong! I have scratches on my arm to prove this unwise chioce. We got on the right trail and proceeded to the Oak Creek parking area. Clean rest room there! We could see our vehicle almost 3 miles away, but the Arnight trail doesn't fly like the crow. We encountered some loose sand which was difficult to walk through and then a cactus decided it didn't like me as this trail headed west - away from our vehicle. After removing the vegetation from my arm and gaining a lot of elevation, we could see the Pine Creek trail below us. We took the south path of this trail back to our vehicle passing an old homestead along a stream which we crossed by skipping the rocks.
This hike took about 5 hours. Elevation gain was actually fairly moderate. We most likely hiked about 9 miles when you include our detours. Following are pictures with some comments.
I never get tired of taking this picture.
There is good, unobtrusive signage throughout Red Rock.
The desert is in bloom after recent rains.
Briliant colors - and there were more insects this time too..
The buds are red, but the flower opens as yellow..
It's cool and quiet inside the Pine Creek Canyon walls.
We don't mind bouldering ...
... but, no need to break a leg.
The Oak Creek "road" is rocky and hard to walk.