Pass Mountain Hike

Hi Blog!

We are all settled into Usery Mountain Park in Mesa, Arizona. The park sits at the western end of the Goldfield Mountains and is adjacent to the Tonto National Forest. There are a number of trails both in the park and the adjacent national forest. For our first hike, we decided to test our mettle on the Pass Mountain Trail.

This popular 7.5 mile trail (8.1 according to our GPS) circles Pass Mountain offing spectacular views of the Goldfield Mountains.  Here is a peek at Cat's Eye Peak.

The Geology of Pass Mountain is primarily volcanic. The lower slopes and flats of Pass Mountain are alluvium from adjacent volcanic rocks. The base of Pass Mountain is ancient weathered granite and then there is a cap of yellow and brown volcanic tuff/rhyolite. Here Dave inspects some weathered granite.

As we looked up the draw, it was easy to see the cap of yellow and brown volcanic tuff.

Tuff is tuff stuff. We were able to hike right up and over it.

This monolith marks the pass which took us from one side of the mountain to the other.

Here's Kathy taking in the views.

As we reached the saddle, we looked north into the Salt River Valley.

The trail on this side of the mountain is not as rocky.

There are also fewer cactus and more bushes and grasses. You could almost say the vegetation is lush. Well, lush by Arizona standards.

As the miles ticked off, we began looking for a scenic spot for lunch. A side trail led to a scenic overlook and stumbled upon a Geocache!

Spring is definitely in the air. We had to be careful where we stepped because the fire-colored beetles were busy getting busy.

As we descended back down toward the valley floor we encountered more and more saguaro. This guy may just hold the record for most arms!

Once down in the valley, the trail went in and out a number of washes.

Before long, we were back at the trailhead. We are looking forward to hiking and biking a few more trails before we leave. Stay tuned.