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| Hiking | 18.50 Miles |
1,760 AEG |
| | Hiking | 18.50 Miles | 8 Hrs 3 Mns | | 2.30 mph |
| 1,760 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Rainbow Valley - Toothaker - Pedersen - Gadsden - Butterfield - Coldwater -- AKA an outer loop
Tried this back in June and came up a tad short. Of course, preparation paid off this time around.
All of the obvious climbing was done at the beginning so a lot of the hike was kind of a stroll. Planted some future ankle pain on the last downhill section of Rainbow Valley just like last time, as I recall. Walked by a 30-40' saguaro that had fallen right onto the trail. I found this to be one of the day's highlights.
I'm not in any hurry to get back on the Pedersen Trail. It has some nice views of the Estrella range and some of the mountains to the west, but the majority of it is sandy and boring. The ankle pain really started to set in here. I remembered a perfect "rock chair" in one of the washes, but I forgot how many washes there were. The anticipation was murder. Decided to pull out the camera which seemed to take my mind off of the lousy things. Finally made it to the trail junction and sat down for a snack and a dose of Tylenol. Felt a hundred times better after 15 minutes and began the last 5 miles.
Gadsden was a nice surprise. I'm guessing about half of it was in a wash with tall walls on either side. It was a good place for tons of redundant pictures, and following the horse crap and footprints ensured a subtle way staying on course.
Returned to an empty parking lot, once again. 79 degrees has never felt so hot. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
