Dispatch From the Desperados

Bob Borsch, Troy Gillenwater, and Craig Mitchell

Founders of the Desert Mountain Trails and the Desperados

2020 was a record breaking year for outdoor recreation enthusiasts!

While popular trailhead parking lots like Pinnacle Peak, Gateway Desert and Tom’s Thumb were mired in gridlock, Desert Mountain members and residents enjoyed fresh air, solitude and a soulsatisfying sense of community on our hiking trails. Come join us, everyone is welcome! View a video of the Skull Mesa Shadow hike (https://youtu.be/c26pz_RyKS8), a favorite on The Trails. Video produced by Desert Mountain Club. Desert Mountain Trails Hikes Taken by Year 30,000 Outdoor Recreation Is Exploding In Popularity And Hiking Records Continue To Be Broken. Get Out There, Experience Something Magical.

25,000

Sky Register and Windbreak

20,000

15,000 For many, our trails afforded us badly needed relief from the pandemic.

PROJECTS UNDERWAY: 11,476 10,000

Completion Summer 2021

Butte Peak at 4,890’ of elevation is the highest point in Desert Mountain’s wilderness preserve.

Frequently cold in winter and spring seasons, it is also the windiest. The current plastic bench will be replaced with a stacked stone windbreak, patterned16,515 after prehistoric Hohokam designs that will offer four to six small seating positions sheltered from the 14,266 Up 26% Up 16% wind regardless of its direction. A builtin location for the summit register, popular with hikers, will11,340 Down 1%

Two New Trails!

awardwinning system. Though each trail links to the other, each has a distinct personality. Meandering through spectacular quartz outcroppings with stunning views of the Mazatzal Wilderness, the Quartz Quarry Trail may be Desert Mountain’s most tantalizing trail. Hikers will marvel at the panoramic views from Quartz Quarry’s “Grand Balcony” that give us a center stage seat to our own 3,000,000acre Tonto National Forest wilderness theater. Meanwhile, for trail runners and longdistance hikers, ascending Saddlehorn’s “Sunrise Summit” will be like following a golden pathway to the heavens. For anyone standing on the summit, as daybreak streams across the eastern horizon and floods the sky with light, nothing will seem impossible.

Completion Summer 2021 The Desperados are pleased to announce imminent 5,000 construction of two new trails within our magnificent 3,000acre wilderness preserve. This project was funded by a family legacy donation. The Quartz Quarry and Saddlehorn stacked looped trails will be 0 located in the northeastern quadrant of our preserve.2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Source: DM Club Together, these trails will add nearly fiRanch Activity Report ve miles to our

The Sonoran Arts League Arizona Game and Fish Quiet Places International McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Mosaic Plaza Rendering Tate Studio

allow hikers to record their hike. This project was funded by a family legacy Desperados donation.

The Mosaic and Mosaic Plaza

Completion Summer 2021 The 100footwide mosaic, Desert Mountain’s community monument to the Sonoran Desert, is nearing completion. To complement the mosaic, construction of an adjacent seating and viewing plaza is now complete and available for your enjoyment. The mosaic was funded by multiple donations, while the plaza was funded by a family legacy donation.

REGIONAL PHILANTHROPY CONTINUES:

Desperados make for good neighbors beyond our gate. We support regional foundations and institutions that make our unique desert foothills location a better place. It’s part of our mission. Throughout the years, using funds raised by the Trail Scounts 501c3, a fund of the Arizona Community Foundation, generous donations were made to the following:

Friends of the Tonto National Forest

Desert Foothills Mountain Biking Association

Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center

Arizona Trail Association

Wild At Heart Raptor Rescue

Cave Creek Museum

International Dark Sky Association

Friends of the Agua Fria National Monument

WHO ARE THE DESPERADOS?

Shortly after the 2011 club turnover, Desperados recognized the tremendous value in our community’s 3,000acre wilderness preserve. They saw the opportunity to create a fourth amenity pillar—outdoor recreation—to complement our community’s championship golf, fine dining, and spa/fitness.

Ten years and 25 miles of trail later, with the support of the Desert Mountain Community and Club, we have succeeded. Today, outdoor recreation is the strategic differentiator between our community and all other north Scottsdale golf communities. Our outdoor recreation amenities and programs captivate new members’ imaginations and spark enthusiasm for the healthy, active outdoor lifestyle that has become a magnet for new Club members and residents.

As the trail system nears completion, the Desert Mountain Club has created new staff positions to program and enhance Desert Mountain’s outdoor recreation experience for all members and residents.

The Desperados are a fund of the Arizona Community Foundation, a qualified 501(c)3 charitable organization. Going forward the Desperados will turn its attention to assisting the Club with boots on the ground when needed. We will continue to leverage our outdoor recreation knowledge and relationships with other wilderness charitable foundations to elevate Desert Mountain's reputation as the most environmentally and socially responsible community in the region. And, most importantly, we will continue to enjoy the great outdoors by hiking, biking and exploring all this community and the great state of Arizona have to offer.

If you are interested in more information, please contact Bob Borsch, Troy Gillenwater or Craig Mitchell at: dmdesperados@gmail.com.