Spider Eyes in the Moonlight

4.5 miles - 400 ft Elevation

It's that time again - a full moon hike. And if you look ahead about 10 to 15 ft, every now and again you'll see a sparkling green neon dot. That's a spider's eyes looking at you. As you get closer, it will disappear unless you keep your headlamp low to the ground - they don't seem to look up much.

It's a night hike, but the almost full moon will give us some light. You'll still need a headlamp if you use poles. If you don't use poles, you can probably get away with a handheld flashlight, but it's not ideal. No flashlight is not an option! In any case, make sure the batteries are fully charged or new as appropriate. It's a bad idea to run out of battery power for your headlamp partway through (ask me how I know).

We're going back to the tunnel under the Javalina Trail. It's a pretty smooth trail for the most part, but there are a few places where it's rock or crosses rock slabs, so headlamps are important, even with the moonlight.

The moon rises earlier on the days right before the full moon, so we will have moonlight available before the sun sets.

We'll start at the Iron Springs Trailhead West of Prescott 8:00 PM and follow West Side Story over to Tunnel Vision and finish with an uphill on Juniper Gate and Peavine.

Extra points again this year if you ring the cowbell. It's going to be difficult to find in a tree in the dark.