Trail Canyon

The trails starts out flat meandering across the vast expanse of Polly Mesa before dipping into the upper reaches of Trail Canyon after about half a mile. You'll mostly hike through the (hopefully dry) canyon bed, but occasionally shorter trail sections will help you navigate around stretches of boulders and pour-offs. When you reach these obstacles, the trail is usually on your left, don't follow the temptation to find a way across the rock bed to the right. The northern side of the canyon is fairly bare, but the southern side features plenty of juniper and pinon pine. The most notable pour-off is at about 2.5 miles, you may need to backtrack a bit to find the trail on the left that will get you past the pour-off. The trail is easy to follow after that. The confluence with Slickhorn Canyon gives you an impression of what Lower Slickhorn Canyon looks like: an area rich with reed grass, willow, and other riparian foliage that is difficult to navigate.