Among the Spring Mountains, there are miles of hiking trails waiting to be explored. Nowadays if you drive along Blue Diamond Road / Red Rock Canyon Road you will find many bike riders, some joggers, and many vehicles parked alongside the road. More people than ever are taking advantage of the nice hiking back into the Spring Mountain canyons. And with the recent rains, there is more water flowing than ever.
If you're a nature lover then one of the many hiking trails in the Spring Mountains is for you. On hot days the going is a little tough when you first start out, but the cool breezes gently fall from the peaks as you make your way deeper into the canyons.
South Oak Creek isn't a spectacular hike and it can be a little rigorous when you first start out because of the rocky trail. After you've made your way closer to the mountain base you'll find things a little easier. For this writing I'm letting you know I did not stay on the trail all the way into the canyon. Just before the split in the trail at the base of the mountain I diverged slightly left and went off-trail. Sometimes off-trail is more serene with a tad more peace.
Because I went off-trail on the way in, the pictures following will look unfamiliar if you're a regular. You too can go off-trail because once you're at a place where it's either too difficult or you're just ready to get back on-trail you head north (right when facing the mountains) and you'll eventually hit the trail once again.
Pack a small lunch and some water and plan on making this a multi-hour hike. Relax and take your time. There's usually water flowing so you'll want to explore on your way up.
As you can see in these pictures the trail appears to shoot straight back to the canyon. Although it looks easy, the trail is fraught with large rocks most of the way so you'll want to pay attention. It's not a difficult walk, but it can be dangerous when you're looking around at the scenery instead of your next step.
Although they're not visible from the road there are pine trees growing at the base. You wouldn't think so because they are seldomly seen growing in the desert without at least some kind of artificial water source. Off-trail there are a number of very old, dead, fallen trees.
Surprisingly enough, I did run into three people separately on this hike while off-trail. Like-minds, I guess when solitude is in the outlook. The following two shots are panoramas looking back towards the road. It's a couple miles off in the distance so not exactly visible.
For you younger folk you may not recognize the next picture, or maybe you will. I think manufacturers stopped making these cans back in the late 70's or early 80's. They used to have a pull tab which people used to take off and toss. Personally I used to pull it and drop it into the can. Obviously this can has been out here for decades.
Finally when you reach the wash it's a rather welcome site to find water traversing through the rocks and meandering its way until it inevitably disappears beneath the sand. If you have the time follow the water, or trails, far back into the canyon as you can.
This will be the last update about Lake Harriet at Spring Mountain Ranch as the lake is now nearly full. Here are the latest shots from the lake on Feb 29th, 2020. Time to start enjoying the lake once again. Note, the full walk around the lake is still not open and the fence is still in place keeping you about 20 ft from the water's edge.
