Art Smith Trail - TR

[magikwalt]

Got a late start on Sunday due to Easter. I didn't step off until 10:00am but the weather was great. The desert cactus and plants were blooming and the first 3 miles were filled with "Happy Easter" calls as groups coming down passed. After that it was me and the trail. I had never done the trail before and was looking to fill in a large blank spot in my local trails map.

The first 3 miles gains about 1,500ft or so on steady climbing. Almost every oasis has been torn up by wind or water except for the one at 3 miles. About 4.5 miles there is a large lush oasis at Cat Creek. You have to leave the trail for a 300 hundred yards or so but it was the best of the day. From the 3 mile mark its up and down with two drops of 600 - 800ft before starting the climb up to Dunn's Road. The mountain bikes had soften up a long stretch of wash area which made for "beach hiking".

At Dunn's Road I took a lunch break in the shade of the bulldozer. This point is about 8 miles from the start. Having already done the Hahn Buena Vista trail I decided to walk down Dunn Road to locate the fork leading to Murray Trail just above the Clara Burgess sign. I made it down to the Rimrock shopping center at 4:00pm. Total distance is a little over 14 miles.

There is almost no shade for the entire length of this hike. My guess is that we're reaching the end of its best season.