Properly called the Ma Ha Tuak Perimeter Trail, this western-most section winds around the slopes of the small mountain it takes its’ name from. The full trail starts at the 19th Avenue trailhead (which I described here) and proceeds west until it winds around the mountain to ultimately terminate with the National Trail a mile south of the San Juan Lookout. The portion of this hike I’m about to describe makes about a 4 mile loop.
I was not fortunate enough to choose that rare weekend when Brigadoon appeared San Juan Lookout was open to vehicle traffic. So, we start from the Curtis Saddle Trailhead at the dead end of Estrella Drive just east of 43rd Avenue. The short connector trail T’s with the Ma Ha Tuak Perimeter.
To the east [left] this trail will reach the 19th Ave Trailhead in about six miles. In about a half mile it passes the 35th Avenue “Trailhead” – which is where we turned around for the eastern half. That wee section will remain a mystery for now. The trail straight ahead goes up and over the saddle to San Juan Lookout. That is our return. To start, we go southwest [right] .
The trail for its entire run is new, mostly packed dirt single track winding around the slope of the mountain, with signposts every half mile or so – as if you need them. If you get lost on this hike, you should think about another form of recreation.
What will not happen is you being overwhelmed with natural beauty. Sure, there’s plenty of the usual cacti: saguaro, barrel, chain-fruit cholla, and a fair bit of ocotillo which is not as common elsewhere in the park. And a hawk circled over my head close enough it could have soiled my had had it been so inclined. All of that is to your left. To your right is Laveen then freeway then county island. Above any hawk traffic roars frequent airplane traffic.
This is a fine hike if you want a moderate difficulty you can do in a few hours with no wilderness skills required.
At about a mile (from where you parked) the trail curves to go northwest for a while until turning south around the end of the mountain. This portion overlooks some of the last actual working farms in city limits. Then it overlooks AZ 202.
If you hike in the morning, you might have some shade through the westernmost portion of the hike. I’m fairly certain this is the westernmost portion of the park reachable by established trail. As you complete the U turn around the mountain, you approach a county island littered with micro-estates. Just before that, you reach where the MHT merges with the Maricopa Trail.
A short connector trail winds southwest from the junction to a trail access point about where Ray Road bends into Dusty Lane. While there are no signs telling you that you can’t park on that easement, I lacked the nerve. Google will show you a road closer to that trail access, but that is actually a private driveway aggressively signed against trespassing.
The real purpose of this is to provide a connection for the Sun Circle Trail, a bicycle route that circumnavigates the valley. The Maricopa Trail is part of that, and the part we want continues forward (southeast). That trail takes you through a wash, over a low ridge and then across another wash after which you are heading east, back into the park.
You head east, past these astonishing large houses for just over half a mile until you come to the large white sand wash where mesquite trees will provide shade somewhere anytime the sun is shing. This is the best part of the hike.
A thousand steps farther east and you cross San Juan Road to the T intersection with the National Trail a few more steps beyond. Ma Ha Tuak and Maricopa trails both end here.
National Trail runs the length of the park. We want the short section heading north, [right] alongside the road, to San Juan Lookout/Trailhead. You could take the actual road if that’s easier on your feet. It’s the same half mile.
The connecting trail going north from the lookout is not signed, but fairly obvious. There is a high path and a low path. The lower one is a few steps longer but may dip into shade. They join each other well before they reach the intersection with MHK and the connector road that leads back to your car.
I did this approximately fur mile loop in just over two hours, in no particular hurry. Like all hikes in this park, this is a bad idea if the temperature is over 90 degrees, and illegal if its over 105.
