Tucked away in north east Mesa is a nifty little 5+ mile downhill run, the Hawes Loop Trail.   Since there was no parking at the trail head we had to park at the Basha's located on the south east corner of McDowell and Power Roads.  From there we traveled east on McDowell Road for a few miles until McDowell intersected Hawes Road.  At that point we made a left onto Hawes, traveling north.

Now the problem is, or was, finding the trailhead!  No doubt a new-gated development closed off the documented access to the trail, so it was up to us to locate by the old "I think it's this way" method.   We came upon two others bikers also looking for access to the trail but they too were mystified.  We pushed on and came upon the Hawes Trail Loop sign and just to the right of it was a narrow steep winding uphill trail.  I think it's this way? Only one way to find out, so up we went.  As we entered the trail we found a sign stating the trail was under construction.  Great, was this really the way or would we come upon a dead-end after expending valuable energy? The trail was no friend of ours, we were forced to walk quite a bit.  Are we really going the right way?  We continued up the narrow winding trail for around 45 minutes or so.  Then, near the top of the hill, the trail leveled off affording us the luxury of riding.  Travis forged ahead while I mounted my camera to the handlebars.  I filmed some  video (link below) near the end of our first riding segment, prior to re-joining Travis at our first vista break. I think the trail in routed us to the original Hawes Loop Trail due to the fact the trail now looked heavier traveled.

After taking a short break at the vista we continued to meander hoping to find the trail or some sign we were going in the right direction.  As we took off Travis quickly pulled away from me on his Iron Horse as he usually does.  I must admit I am not as aggressive when the camera is mounted on the bike.  I damaged one camera from a crash so I exercise a little caution whenever I am filming. Now where did Travis get to?  Maybe not only would I need to find the trail, I would need to find Travis too! Low and behold, after awhile I came up over a hill and there he was, leaning against and pointing to the Hawes Loop Trail sign – Well done.  (See video below.) Having now found the trail we set off anticipating a great downhill rush.

The Hawes Loop Trail downhill run is a roller coaster with the emphasis on the downhill.  Mostly single track, it is loaded with ruts, small boulders and of course lots of loose rocks.  Zigzag was the key word of he day.  You could gain enough speed going downhill to easily climb any uphill section at a descent speed.  I do not remember crossing any significant washes   which to me is a good thing. (I hate sand!) The sight seeing was pretty good except for the aforementioned new housing developments which popped up on our left during some parts of the trail.  When we finally bottomed out we were approximately a mile or so from Power Road, now all that needed to be done would be to carefully navigate the remaining part of the trail which was found clinging to the side of a hill with a real nasty descend on the right. We finally exited the trail onto Power Road and then made a left and started our 3-4 mile ride back to our truck. Of course it was all uphill!

This is a great trail and we just need to find easier access to it (there has to be one?). We had noticed a few bikers coming the other way when descending and one day we have vowed to do the uphill version although riding uphill over a nasty track may not be my cup of tea.  I would like to do just to say it was done, leave no stone unturned!

Great trail, great ride, great day!

Click on the below links if you wish to view some of the video I filmed on this ride (all music is courtesy of Travis' band - Some Never Sleep).

Please allow a minute or two for these videos to download if you wish to view.

• Finding Hawes - A video (20Meg) at the end of our first riding segment, finally Travis at a vista.
• Finding Travis - A video (33Meg) after leaving the vista and starting the downhill run then finding Travis at the trail sign.
• Hawes Downhill - A 9 minute video (102Meg) showing a good representation of what the terrain is like.