HIKE OF THE MONTH Tonto National Forest

hike of the month BRONCO CREEK TRAIL Radiates WINTER COLOR in Tonto National Forest

THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY the solitude of a wilderness hike just a few miles from metropolitan Phoenix lured my buddy, Ernie, and me north of Scottsdale, headed for the Tonto National Forest's Bronco Creek Trail. But, as it turned out, the moderately difficult 8-mile round-trip hike would pay an unexpected dividend for mid-February and offer a bit of a challenge, thanks to a wet winter.

Driving north on Cave Creek Road, I noticed a swath of golden color at about the 4,000-foot level on some distant ridges. Wildflowers rarely bloom that high at this time of year. Shortly after I pointed out the sight to Ernie, we left the pavement, which turns into Forest Service Road 24, and its washboard surface rattled my brain enough to make me forget all about wildflowers.

At the trailhead, we set out in a southerly direction under skies filled with wispy clouds. Bronco Creek Trail begins on the remnants of an old jeep road that starts out flat before veering left, to the east, and heading directly up a steep but easily climbed grade for about 100 yards. Topping out on a mesa, we passed through a rich growth of yuccas, prickly pear cacti and juniper trees. We stopped to enjoy a view of distant Weavers Needle in the Superstition Mountains, some 40 miles to the south.

At a mile in, the trail comes to a clearing that resembled a grassy meadow following recent rains. From there, we headed east and onto a newly cut section of the trail marked by a large rock cairn. Just wide enough for one hiker, this narrow new section already showed the effects of a wet winter. A throng of 6-inch-deep hoofprints-the only sign of other "visitors" we saw that day-marked the passage of numerous horses, making the trail somewhat difficult to walk.

Winding around the side of the mountain, we followed the track down to the bottom of an unnamed canyon. This is when it happened. Looking across to the sun-drenched other side of the canyon, we spotted another broad band of floral gold. Step by step, for 10 minutes, we climbed up the mountainside and reached a tumbling cascade of Mexican goldpoppies stretched across an expanse roughly the size of a football field. Who could have possibly planned this, I wondered? I didn't care. I was happy.

From the flower field, we hiked on between more junipers and prickly pears to an overflowing stock tank on the far side of a pass, then up and down again until, at a point about 3.5 miles along the trail, we reached Bronco Creek, still dry despite a recent rainfall. Following roughly along the creek bed for a half-mile farther, we reached a junction with Cottonwood Trail 247. Following Trail 247 north (to the right) for 3.2 miles would have taken us to the Cave Creek trailhead in the Seven Springs Recreation Area. We hadn't arranged for someone to pick us up there, so Ernie and I turned around to retrace our steps, and how glad we were of that. Now we could walk through the poppies again. We didn't want to pass up that unusual treat.