The arrival of family from L.A. for Easter along with the incredible spring weather inspired us to finally take our first significant hike here in AZ. Hiking trails abound out here, and we'd heard numerous ones cited by friends & colleagues, but the Hieroglyphics Trail located in the nearby Superstition Mountains got the nod. Our big crew of ten - 4 adults, 1 teenager, and 5 girls aged 8 and younger - hit the trail around 3:30pm not quite knowing how our little trekkers would fare. The heat took a toll on them early on, but they soon got their second wind and did a great job! Plenty of loose rocks and a slight but steady incline did not deter them (or us!) as we plodded along through scrub, cacti, and an amazing abundance of blooming wildflowers. Ancient petroglyphs (someone misnamed the trail "Hieroglyphics", which refers to a more complex written language used by ancient Egyptians) from the Hohokam depicting antelope, snakes, and people awaited us, but our time to view them was cut short thanks to the presence of a very large rattlesnake that was maneuvering through the boulders & brush right where our crew of girls were. Very top-heavy with Brooke in a backpack on my back while standing on the side of sloping boulder with few good footholds, I was close to the snake, but not in a great position to help out(!). After more than a little screaming, we managed to get everyone past the snake and back down the trail a bit for a snack and an incredibly beautiful hike back down the trail. Someone later informed us that the Superstitions have the highest concentration of rattlesnakes in the world. If that doesn't deter you too much (and it shouldn't - most snakes only strike when threatened), we'd highly recommend the hike. It certainly inspired me to start hitting the trails more often to explore the beauty of Arizona.
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