On a warm summer morning I took my grandson up the Mara Canyon Trail, his first time on this intriguing route.    The trail is also called the Cinnamon Ridge Trail or the Hoodoos Trail.   We parked at the end of the dirt road, an extension of Ord Road, past the golf course.    We hiked up into the dry hills.    There was a small herd of bighorn sheep rams on the slopes.

The route follows a narrow single track up past the lower part of the canyon which has a dryfall as it crosses uplifted basalt columns.    We went over a ridge, then descended into the floor of the canyon.

The “trail” is really just the stream bed that is dry for most of the year.     Hoodoos stand above the route on either side.

We hiked through the narrows, then climbed higher towards the upper part of the mountain.    More hoodoos can be spotted along the way.    With a bit of scrambling up either side, we can spot more interesting rock features on either side of the canyon.

My grandson dubbed this hoodoo “The Corncob.”

We hiked up and back the same way.    The loop route is longer and requires a steep climb to the top of the ridge on the east side.    We left that hike for another day.

We have done this hike many times (over 50) and we do it every year, usually in the spring.    On this second time this year, it was rewarding to see my grandson enjoy the rugged and interesting hike.