A little off course

While in Cave Creek last week we decided to head out on the Dragonfly Trail for a short 1.8 mile loop through the desert.  Below is the trail we planned to follow.

It started in the Jewel of the Creek Conservation Area.  There was a small parking lot at the trailhead, maybe 8-10 cars could park there.  We got there early enough to grab one of those spots.

We were well prepared with the water and snacks that a short 1.8 mile hike requires.

It was a beautiful, well-maintained trail through spectacular desert foliage.

There are so many types of desert foliage that I know nothing about.  I'm going to need a book before I move to the desert.

Of course, the saguaros are the crown of the desert.

The trail was very well marked (or so we thought).

Beautiful rock formations too!

Irv kept telling me it was too chilly for the rattlesnakes to be out yet.  I chose to blindly believe him.

Look at all those arms twisted around each other.  I think that long spiny thing is an ocotillo.

Saguaros as far as you can see!

Especially beautiful with a creek bed in the background.  Signs were posted warning of javelinas and deer in the area.  The only javelina we saw was a dead one that had been hit by a car alongside the road.  I don't think I'd like to encounter a javelina on the trail.

There's Irv, always 50 paces in front.

Before long we came to the water crossing just as expected.  On the other side of the creek there was a sign posted that indicated the direction of the loop to follow back.  I told Irv we needed to go that way, but he read it different and thought the arrow pointed up the hill on the other side.  I wasn't sure, but once again I blindly agreed.

Before long we encountered another sign that indicated we were still on the Dragonfly trail, but what we didn't realize is that we were entering another conservation area.  We should have paid more attention because the trailhead we started from didn't indicate anything about a required fee.  

We continued on and kept enjoying the foliage along the way and...

....and the beautiful rocks along the way.  Can someone please tell me what this stone is that is copper on the inside and turquoise on the inside?  Beautiful!

After some time passed we realized we should have been back to the car by then.  It was time to open the All Trails app to see where the heck we were.  We then realized that when we crossed into the Spur Cross Conservation Area they had their own spur of the Dragonfly trail.

Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but with my recent knee surgery I was supposed to start by hiking shorter trails.  My surgeon had specifically told me not to get in a situation where my knee failed and I would have a hard time getting out a situation.

We had no choice but to continue on once we knew we were on the correct route to get back to the car.  At this point my only focus was hiking out and the picture taking pretty much stopped.

We encountered a woman cyclist who was on our trail that was clearly marked as hikers only.  Before long she turned around and caught up with us again.  She said the rocks were too slippery.  She continued on and then we encountered her for a third time.  She had fallen into a cactus and needed assistance getting some of the cactus branches and spines out of her back.  Irv had his knife with him and was able to flick the branches out of her back.  Nice gal, but really needed to understand trails are marked appropriately.  I wish I had taken a picture of her back.

So this is the final route we ended up taking--about 4 miles.  A little bit more of an elevation gain, but breathing at this altitude was way easier than where we live.  Another prime reason to live in the desert.

My knee did great.  It was a little sore the next day and it bruised up a little, but it was a great test to see I'll soon be hiking all over the place again.

Have you ever gone off course while on a hike?