Phoenix, Arizona (April 6, 2025) There’s no doubt in my mind: Hawk’s Nest Loop was THE most scenic trail I’ve hiked this year—bar none! I’ll tell you why in a bit, but first...
About My Workout
My past several hikes were invigorating—especially my last one, which was just a few days back: 8 miles at an average pace of 2.8 MPH. While the trail was relatively flat—no challenge there—the distance was the furthest I’ve hiked in years and my pace was well above my normal walking speed. My heart beat faster—in a good way—as I realized I could push my boundaries beyond what I thought possible.
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By comparison, Hawk’s Nest Loop was benign: just 2.8 miles at an average speed of 2.6 MPH, with an overall elevation gain of just under 400 feet.
My heart remained at its usual rhythm throughout my hike—which is not to say I didn’t get a workout. I did, but this trail wasn’t in the same league as my last—or last several hikes. |
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The Most Scenic Trail
I’ve called the trail I hiked “Hawk’s Nest Loop” to simplify its name for my story. In truth, this loop goes by a much longer name because it combines sections of four trails: Hawk’s Nest, Desert Tortoise, Valle Verde, and Dixie Mountain. It was a route with a meandering path, as it twisted and turned around several hills.
Hawk’s Nest Loop, located in the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve—a preserve known for its stunning desert scenery and well-maintained trails—offered a variety of breathtaking features that captured the beauty of the Sonoran Desert: unique flora, diverse terrain, and expansive desert landscapes. It was as if Mother Nature herself meticulously crafted this scenery to inspire awe within us all!
I’ve said this in past stories, but it’s worth saying again: my favorite sight are towering saguaros, the most iconic cacti in the desert—often with long arms that reached skyward in striking poses.
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The three saguaros in the left-hand photo above reminded me of a nuclear family—a father saguaro standing between his child and wife—while the two saguaros in the right-hand photo looked like sentinels of the trail.
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I have another cactus to share with you: the jumping cholla. Despite its name, it doesn’t really jump, but its spines are notorious for detaching easily and sticking to anything that brushes against them, including skin and clothing. So, I gave them a wide berth when I ventured off the trail to snap this pic.
These cacti also shelter small animals and birds—apparently, they are impervious to the spines—and its pink and lavender flowers are an important food source for pollinators like bees and hummingbirds. |
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Here was another sight I loved to see, a fascinating desert shrub native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico: a flowering ocotillo. With their tall, spiny gray branches, they appear to be cacti—but they’re not. Instead, they are one of 11 species of desert flowing plants known as Fouquieria. Their water-storing tissues give them the ability to grow leaves quickly after rainfall—and to bloom tubular, brightly colored flowers arranged in clusters at the ends of their spiny stems.
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I’ll leave you with a couple more photos to give you a greater appreciation of the scenic beauty I saw along the way.
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I Discovered Something New
I love to explore and discover—and I always find an opportunity to learn something when I hike. Take this saguaro, for example.
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I was tickled to find this specimen, which had 11 arms. In fact, I circled it twice to certain make my count was right, because I don’t recall ever seeing a saguaro with as many.
As I gazed at it, I used a “lifeline” to learn about those arms—which is to say, I Googled “how many years does it take a saguaro to grow an arm.” The answer astounded me: It takes a saguaro cactus approximately 70-100 years to grow its first arms, with some taking up to 100 years in areas with lower precipitation. (Courtesy of NCESC Geographic.) Amazing, I thought...and then I read: |
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Once branching begins, a saguaro can develop multiple arms, with some individuals having dozens.
Imagine that—dozens of arms. And I thought 11 arms was a lot!
Well, I’ve taken up the challenge to find a cactus with more than 11 arms, and I’ll let you know when I do.
Imagine that—dozens of arms. And I thought 11 arms was a lot!
Well, I’ve taken up the challenge to find a cactus with more than 11 arms, and I’ll let you know when I do.
A Tale from the Trail
As I trekked along Desert Tortoise, I caught sight of a bird perched atop a saguaro cactus not more than 5 yards ahead. I’m no ornithologist—heck, I’m not even a bird enthusiast—but from reading about wildlife in the desert, I recognized this bird as a Gila woodpecker. Its wings were adorned with striking black-and-white bars, and it sported a small red crown, which meant it was a male.
I stood still and stared at it for perhaps 15 seconds or so, and then I remembered: I was holding my phone, with the camera open. Slowly I raised it to my face, as I got ready to take a photo.
Dang it!
I must have startled it, as it flew away before I could snap the pic.
Oh well, I thought. Sometime down the line.
Until next time, happy trails to you.
I stood still and stared at it for perhaps 15 seconds or so, and then I remembered: I was holding my phone, with the camera open. Slowly I raised it to my face, as I got ready to take a photo.
Dang it!
I must have startled it, as it flew away before I could snap the pic.
Oh well, I thought. Sometime down the line.
Until next time, happy trails to you.