01/28/2011
Toms Thumb Trail is another one of those places on the "we need to do" list. We see it frequently since it's in the McDowell Mountain Preserve but we just never hiked it until now.
Getting up to the base will give you a bit of a work out because it is a constant elevation gain up to 800 feet, but once you reach that it's a nice combination of flat, up and down. The peak itself is a favorite with rock climbers, and we did see a couple while we were there. We contented ourselves with climbing around its base and looking over the valleys.
Going down, well for old folks like me it's a real knee killer; little break in the decent and lots of that loose sand on the path. However, the breathtaking views and great rock formations make the slipping, sliding and griping body parts well worth the effort.
Trail Sign
The road you drive in on from the trail going up to the pass
There are great rock formations all along the trail. This looks like a link from a chain -
Climbing up the switchbacks
Now, look at the formation in the lower right side and guess the animal
It is turtle. See, the head and shell
More climbing
Lots and lots of monoliths
Looking through a pass to Fountain Hills. You can see the fountain going
George by a great rock
This looked like the head of a Sperm Whale to us
Standing at Lookout Point - a great view of the valley
It is a bit hazy but it is also very primeval. You can just imagine all the volcanoes spew
That big rock sticking out like a, ya, sore thumb is Toms Thumb
Closing in on Toms Thumb
That itty bitty speck on the very top is a climber getting ready to descend