Not long after we moved to Mesa, Jacque and I hiked part of the way around Woods Canyon Lake. Then we rode a boat across the water and walked back to Rocky Point Picnic Ground. Figured I ought to finish that hike today.

I went clockwise, since we had gone counterclockwise the first time. The trail braids a lot between the dam and the picnic ground, but it is always between the shoreline and the road.

There were dozens of hikers scattered along the trail, all of them going the opposite direction. Did they know something I didn’t know?

Evidently. The trail is well marked for people hiking the loop counterclockwise. But the first two crossings weren’t well marked for me. At the first one, a trail keeps going northwest after the crossing. Then it fizzles out.

At the second crossing, a blue diamond with an arrow painted on it shows you where the crossing is. Well and good. But do you turn left or right on the other side? No signs, no cairns, no trail, no nothin’. So, I tried turning left. After some unscheduled bushwhacking, it became apparent that there was no trail. Then I went back to the crossing and tried turning right. Pretty soon a trail appeared, but you couldn’t see it from the crossing.

The rest of the trail around the lake is well marked and easy to follow, until you get across the dam. Turn right and keep your wits about you, remembering to go in the same general direction and stay between the road and the shoreline.