COMMUNITY
Corte Bella Adventure Group Steve Downing Little Jim Trail is a loop trail off of Castle Hot Springs Road, west of Lake Pleasant. Unlike many of our hikes, this trail is lightly used, only marked by cairns, and is very easy to get off-trail. The Trailhead is not marked, which may be why not many hike this trail. It’s very unique as you rarely pass another hiker. It’s wonderful for those that like solitude. The loop is six miles with an accumulated elevation gain of over 800 feet. Bob and Elaine Fletcher hosted a hike in North Scottsdale at Browns Ranch, an area highly used by hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians. This area features rock formations that have taken on names by what they resemble, such as the Amphitheater, Balanced Rock and Cathedral Rock. Standout features are Granite Mountain, Cholla Mountain, Cone Mountain and Brown’s Mountain. Most trails have no large climbs so Brown’s Ranch Hike at the Amphitheater (can you see the face?) it’s great for those shorter, less strenuous hikes. Ford Canyon Loop in the White Tanks Regional Park is challenging if one does the whole loop and not just to the dam and back. Starting from Area 7, we took Waddell Trail to Ford Canyon Trail to
Little Jim Trail - climbing out of a wash Willow Trail, and finally reached Mesquite for the last 1.8 miles to Area 7. This hike is longer than most hikes we do as we reached the 10 mile mark with 1555 feet of accumulated elevation gain. Ford Canyon Trail takes hikers into the heart of the White Tanks, passing through the section of granite with all the tanks (depressions in the granite that hold water) which could possibly be how the White Tank Mountains got its name. This time of the year, the tanks were full of tadpoles; there had to be thousands of them. I know I have to hike this again to see all the frogs they’ve become - there will be tiny frogs everywhere! For those on YouTube, I’ve posted some of this year’s hike videos. This is new for me and I’m still learning the editing software. While not professional, I believe it does give a good sense of what we do and hopefully is a little entertaining. Search YouTube for Corte Bella Adventure Group. If you subscribe to the channel you’ll see when new videos are posted. Ford Canyon Trail – looking back I would like to send my heartfelt sympathies to the Ken Tremaine family. We recently lost Ken, a charter member of the original Corte Bella Hikers (since 2014), a very active participant in our hikes, and on our cycling and Colorado River Kayak adventures. I believe it was spring of 2021 when Ken and his son Jay were able to Kayak the Colorado with the Adventure Group. Looking back, I’m very thankful they had that adventure together. Ken, you are already missed! All photos to Steve Downing
20 | CB Times | The Official Community Magazine of Corte Bella
