It was a very wet day and lots of overgrown plant life meant we were fighting back a lot of wet brush and branches. There was a fair amount of bird life and a lot of wildflowers.

We arrived at 9 AM and hiked the trail with 70 oz waterpacks. The trail was in good shape except that it was overgrown in places and there were some dangerous branches hiding in the thinner cover in the trees. We saw 3 or 4 snakes that were likely rattlers based on the colors, but they weren't hanging around to be a problem. The area requires a NATIONAL PARK PASS not a Discover Pass as the trail description says and a $5 parking fee. I would recommend the hike to anyone looking for a quick stretch. We were done in just over 2 hours including stops.

Got out of the Seattle rain and headed east for an early spring hike along the creek and up the canyon. Apparently this is the perfect time to hike this trail if you are a bird watcher. One Seattle man told me he had seen 50+ different types of birds this day. Not sure if I should believe him, but the sounds of many birds were in the air. The trail is relatively flat and has two creek crossings that aren't challenging, but do have risk of getting your boots wet. We had seen previous reports of rattlesnake sitings, but none to day (whew). We were disappointed in not seeing any of the big horn sheep that herd in the canyon. Overall, it was a nice day to be out on a easy desert trail in early spring.

The wild flowers were in bloom, so things were really pretty. We saw one small rattlesnake along the trail, but it didn't bother us as we skirted around it. We did come home with a bunch of ticks on our dog that we hadn't thought about. So, before you head home make sure to brush down everyone for ticks and use some tick repellent on your dog before you hike.