Cactus Flowers on Coffman Trail
3/14/2022: If you want privacy, don't do this hike. But if you want a beautiful stream and waterfalls and palms then do this hike and just accept the fact that there will be people here. At the right time of year, you should see plenty of wildflowers. There is a lot of good shade in the canyon as you approach the waterfalls along the creek. Go counterclockwise.
Marg’s Notes: 88o/62o Got up fairly early again, but we were tired! Headed to Indian Canyons. We went there last time too. It is the Agua Caliente Reservation. Very nice! We did the Murray Canyon-Coffman Trail Loop. Started hiking at 8:50. Lots of people there. Again, not too warm to start. The hike is mostly along a creek. Very pretty! Not too hard! Rod took lots of pics. Crossed the stream multiple times but nice flat rocks to walk across on! Lots of palm trees. Ended at a nice oasis! From the end, we backtracked a bit, then took the Coffman Trail. This was more exposed, but we got some nice views. It got hotter but fewer people! We did see a tour of people on horses 3 times. The guide told us they do 3 trips a day, but none on Wed & Thurs. There are several parking lots, but everyone parks at the first one. When we were done hiking, I grabbed a table at the lot closest to the trail & Rod went to get the car so we could picnic there. Very nice. Came back. I went for a dip in a pool & Rod took a shower. Then nap time! Then we both went for a swim in the big pool!
Soup & Salad
Rod’s Ramblings from the Trail: Starting hike at 8:52. It is already crowded but we expected that. Temperature is 61° at the start of the trail. There is actually lots of parking and you don't really need to park at the first parking area the way we did 😊. You can drive right down to where the trail actually starts. We've seen about three varieties of wildflowers. There are several good opportunities to take pictures along the way of those wildflowers. At just under a mile, you come to your first stream crossing and the palms. I will give it five stars even though there are a lot of people. It's not the trails fault. And since we are some of those people we shouldn’t complain. Otherwise, we're just not paying attention. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to walk to the waterfall at the end of the trail. Two miles. You could do a lot faster, but I stop and take way too many pictures. After seeing the falls, we came back and then took the Coffman Trail. It is far less traveled because there is immediate elevation gain but not really that bad. We saw cacti blooming and more beautiful wildflowers on the Coffman Trail. It is nice to walk on the top of the ridge on the Coffman Trail. It is very “serenique” (serene), and the views are beautiful. Marguerite likes the word “serenique.”