Backyard and Backcountry: Tom's Thumb

Hiked Tom's Thumb this morning, one of my favorite trails in the McDowell Mountains. Located northeast of Phoenix, the McDowell Sonoran Preserve is a 30,000 acre park focusing on conservation of desert plants and wildlife. There are several trailheads throughout the McDowells, with access from Scottsdale to the west and south and Fountain Hills to the east. The Tom's Thumb trailhead sits on the east side of the range. Tom's Thumb, a large granite boulder resting at the top of the ridge, is the end point of the hike, a 4.2 mile round trip trek with 1,000 ft. elevation gain. Although the trail can get very crowded on weekends, early morning hikes on week days have much more solitude and provide great opportunities to see desert wildlife, including desert tortoise, coyotes, gambel's quail, and tarantulas like the one we saw this morning. The trail is also marked with signage that points out a variety of desert plants and some interesting facts about them. During the spring wildflowers can be seen here as well. The views are spectacular along the trail. Watching the sunrise over four peaks to the east and looking out at the valley to the southwest was a great way to start the day.