Wanting to get out of the desert and into cooler temperatures, John suggested that do a day hike in the Mazatzal Mountains - perhaps something that started at the Mount Peeley Trailhead.  After some research, he discovered the Cornucopia Trail #86, which would take us to Thicket Springs.  The two trails would form a five-mile loop through the Mazatzals...and five miles would not be a problem for our little girl to hike, not after she proved herself in Garden Valley!

We decided to get an early start that morning, so we left the house at 7:00 a.m. and drove the rented Jeep Grand Cherokee (as our Jeep was still being fixed) to the Mount Peeley Trailhead.  To get there, we took the Beeline Highway (SR 87) north to the Mount Peeley (Sycamore Creek) turnoff.  We then took FR 201 all the way to the end of the road.

Things had changed a lot since our last trip up to Mount Peeley, many years ago.  In 2004, the Willow Fire had devastated thousands of acres in the Mazatzal Mountains, and as we drove along FR 201, we got a new perspective of the damage.  The once tree-lined road was now a barren wasteland.  We were actually surprised to find a few sections of the road that were still lined by tall pine trees and that the Mount Peeley Trailhead was, too. 

We arrived at the Mount Peeley Trailhead around 8:40 a.m. and started hiking the Cornucopia Trail about ten minutes later, once we were geared up and ready to go. 

The trail began along an old Jeep road that skirted through the tall pine trees atop Mount Peeley.  This part of the trail was shaded and cool, and the trail itself was wide enough that John and Mary were able to play ball.  Just as they had done in Garden Valley, they brought along one of Mary's soft rubber balls - a blue one this time - and they tossed it up the trail for the other one to retrieve.  They played like this for the first eighth of a mile.  Then, Mary came to a stop and started backing up.

"Daddy, snake!" she said, pointing to the creature that was lying in the middle of the trail.

As soon as I heard the word "snake", I cringed, remembering my run-in with the rattlesnake on the Garden Valley Loop - that memory still gives me the willies!  As I drew closer to this snake, however, my nerves calmed down when I noticed it did not have a rattle.  In fact, he didn't look venomous - or even dangerous, for that matter.  It was still cool outside, so the snake was very sluggish and hardly moved as he passed by him.  He did even budge as I took pictures of him so that I could identify him later.  I found out that he was a Sonoran gopher snake...perfectly harmless!

Even though the snakes were not bothering us on this trail, that didn't mean that we didn't have other pests.  There were flies and other buzzing creatures everywhere, darting in and out of our ears and flitting around our faces as we hiked.  It was the one time we wished for a windy day, just so that the flies would buzz off!

Just under a half-mile into the trail, John and Mary's ball game ended abruptly when the blue ball that they were playing with fell over the side of the trail and into the brush below.  John was not able to get it, so we had to leave it there.  Mary wasn't happy about it, so John assured her that he would attempt to get it on his way back.  "Okay," she said, but you could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't convinced.

At the half-mile mark, we reached the trail junction with the Mazatzal Divide Trail; from there, it was another mile to Thicket Spring. 

The next mile of this trail was all downhill and exposed; as we left the tall pine trees atop Mount Peeley, we found ourselves hiking among the manzanitas and scrub oak that lined the old Jeep trail.  Although it meant that it would be very hot by noon, it also meant that we would have some very spectacular views of the Mazatzals.  At one point, we found an incredible panorama that included the Mazatzals, the Superstitions, and even Four Peaks!

The trail continued to descend all the way to Thicket Spring, for a total loss of 600 feet over one mile.  During the hike, Mary managed to slip and fall twice, scraping each of her knees; she was getting frustrated with every step.

It took us an hour and a half, but we finally made it to Thicket Spring, where we actually found water flowing in the creek.  At Thicket Spring, we found a trail junction - it was the beginning of the loop!

Now, we had not brought a map with us on this hike, but John had been certain that he knew which way we were going.  As he looked at the trail signs, though, he wasn't so sure anymore.  We started down the Thicket Spring Trail just for the sake of entering the Mazatzal Wilderness Area, but after hiking five minutes, we decided that we should turn back and return the way we came, just to be on the safe side.  After all, we didn't want to be five miles from the trailhead when Mary had a meltdown!

As we left Thicket Spring, we came across a wonderful site.  One of the trees next to the creek was covered with spiders' webs...and those webs were covered with fuzzy caterpillars!  There had to be twenty or thirty of them on each of the nests.  One of them was eye level with me - just low enough for Mary to see them.  She was completely fascinated with them.

It soon came time for us to hike back uphill again...and hiking uphill with a four year old is no easy task.  It only took her a quarter of a mile to become completely frustrated with the hike...and it was only a few seconds after later that she began crying about her blue ball.  We assured her that we would look for it when we got there, but she would not let the subject go!  Her sadness over the ball slowed her down considerably, because she was spending all of her energy on crying about the ball. 

Getting her back up the hill meant taking a lot of breaks - one every ten minutes, or at the end of each uphill stretch.  Taking the hike one hill at a time was what helped Mary succeed in making it all the way to the trail junction, where we finally entered the tall pines again.

With only a half of a mile to go, the three of us finally sat down to have lunch, under the shade of a pine tree.  Coincidentally, we were next to the spot where John had lost Mary's blue ball.  After he finished his sandwich, he climbed down into the brush and found her ball; she was so happy that she didn't complain again at all after that!

The rest of the hike was an easy stroll back to the trailhead.  En route, we looked for the snake that we had seen earlier, but he was already gone.  We also raced back to the Jeep, and Mary won.

We finished hiking at 1:00 p.m., at which time, we left Mount Peeley and started driving home. 

As we drove down the mountain in the rented Jeep Grand Cherokee, we discovered just how much we missed our old Jeep.  This Jeep did not have 4WD Low; even in first gear, the Jeep kept gaining speed as it went downhill, and John didn't like that at all.  "I'm going to fry the brakes on this thing before I have to give it back!" he said. 

We did make it down the mountain safely, and we soon made our way back onto SR 87.  With Mary asleep in the backseat, we drove home in peace and quiet.  She was tuckered out from the long hike - although he had only hiked three miles, it was a difficult three miles for her.  John admitted that he had misjudged that trail and knew that next time, he would not pick something that difficult for her to hike.  Despite the elevation gain, though, she proved herself to be quite the trooper again, and we rewarded her for doing so well.

And so, as we arrived in Phoenix, another adventure came to an end...

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