Article: Where the beetles aren't: Shady Ladybug Trail a lovely trek, even without the ladies.

Byline: Sid Steketee

Jun. 1--Two false starts can disqualify you in track and field. Good thing it's not like that in hiking. I recently went to the Pinaleno Mountains near Safford to hike part of the Ladybug Trail.

But thanks to a couple of somewhat misleading signs, it took three tries before I got on the right trail. I'm glad I kept at it. The upper portion of the Ladybug Trail is a pleasant, cool -- though somewhat steep -- hike through a thick, shaded pine forest. Layers of pine needles and soil make the footing comfortably squishy. I didn't have the time to start at the lower trailhead and climb 3,500 feet on an out-and-back trek of ...