I had Monday off to celebrate Labor Day. It was a nice day in Phoenix when I headed up to Flagstaff to hike the Kachina Trail. I thought this would be a nice trail to get out of the heat, but since there were no significant elevation gains, it would be fairly easy on my knees.
The hike started out nice, walking through the woods and into fields of wildflowers.
Along with all the flowers were bunches of caterpillars.
About 4 miles into the trail, we hit a nice clearing and stopped for a snack. I couldn't resist the urge to hoop down the trail.
I don't leave home without it!
Then scary-looking rain clouds started moving in over the mountains. We decided to cut the hike short and turn around where we were, rather than hiking the full 5.2 miles before returning.
It's a good thing we did! We hadn't hiked more than 5 minutes back when we started feeling sprinkles. Then we heard thunder and it really started raining.
Luckily most of the rain stopped when we were about half way back to the parking lot, and my pants had a chance to dry off before getting to the parking lot. They were a bit damp and muddy below the knees, but quicky dried once I was back in the car.
Even with the cold rain, it was a nice break from Phoenix and a great way to spend the day.
