After a round of introductions, I hand out the zoom trail map so everyone will know the trail that we are supposed to hike today. Because we don’t have radios for communication, I require that all hikers stay together and wait for the group at any junction before making a turn.

Harris Hawk. [photo by Wendy]

The rock formations are similar to the Granite Mountain Loop Trail, but an added bonus is the many chollas all around. Maybe this is the reason it’s named the Cholla Mountain Loop Trail.

At the post MV1 we turn left on Watershed Trail. Here we see some birds flying around the trail. We spot a big hawk on top of a tall saguaro.

We continue hiking up to the Amphitheater Rock and take a break at this rock. Some sit and bask in the sun on a winter day while enjoying the surrounding view.

After a break we take a part of Cholla Loop Trail to Cathedral Rock, about 0.7 mile.

At Cathedral Rock we see some big holes on granite rock on the ground. We guess they are evidence of the Native-Americans living here many years ago. We take a moment to imagine that these holes are used for grinding grain. There are also a few large patches of shamrocks on the ground in front of Cathedral Rock.

After taking pictures, enjoying the beauty of this rock and amazing rock formations all around, we hike back to the trailhead by hiking Dry Gulch Trail 0.3 mile to Corral Trail, 0.7 miles.

At the junction of Corral Trail and Browns Ranch road, we stop to have a look at the remnants of Browns Ranch. According to Scottsdale History in Images, Browns Ranch, also known as the Upper Ranch, was a part of the sprawling, 44,000-acre DC Ranch. Browns Ranch cattle operation was established by E.O. Brown and partners in 1916 and later run by his son E.E. Brown and partners.

A voter-approved initiative allowed the City of Scottsdale to buy much of the Upper Ranch land and add it to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in 2000. Archaeologists surveying the site found evidence of human presence at least 8,000 years old, with Archaic, Hohokam and Yavapai people leaving traces of their use of the site as a seasonal hunting camp.

After finishing our curiosity we take Browns Ranch Road to hike 1.3 miles back to the Browns Ranch trailhead.