| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 6.01 Miles |
1,096 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.01 Miles | 2 Hrs 15 Mns | | 2.84 mph |
| 1,096 ft AEG | 8 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Believe it or not, I am actually close to 500 miles for the year. Who knew that back in 2009 when I started serious hiking and could barely do 6 miles, that now a 6 mile jaunt is the least I want to do. I like this hiking thing as it's given me the opportunity to stay healthy, meet new people and see cool places.
Anyway, I am going to try and do the 500. After this hike I have 20 miles to get 'er done. I should get around 10 on Saturday and the last 10 should be easy enough because there is one more weekend before the end of the year.
Oh ya, this IS a trip report. So I decided in the limited daylight after work that I would do the ever reliable Gateway Loop clockwise and see if I could tack on some extra mileage on the south side of the loop. Oh, I had Annie with me and boy was she annoying constantly saying "paused workout, resumed workout" even though I kept a steady pace until I got up to the mine. I think she just likes to hear herself talk. Well she will be silent on my next hike as I will delete  the auto pause updates.
Anyway, it was a delightful afternoon for a hike; especially when I could see the western sky. There was one heck of a show going on. Little did I know it would get even better. As I was walking down the southside of Gateway I noticed what looked like a trail below the mine. I recall some of you hiking over there when I think it was still a trail (or maybe not still a trail) so I decided that is where I would get some extra mileage.
I crossed over on the Paradise Trail and then went SE on what appeared to be an old road. I went up the road and at the fork, I decided the high road would get me to the mine. It was a little hard walking on that road as its rocky. As I got beneath the mine the color of some of the rocks had that coppery green look to them  . The road seemed to fork a little and once again I took the high and steep road right up to the mine. Wow is that adit deep. Of course it's fenced which is certainly understandable. I walked around it trying to get a good viewpoint but to no avail.
I headed off toward Bell Pass direction rather than back down the way I came. I think I was on an old road/trail and followed that 'til it seemed to melt into the hillside. From there I headed down to the road with the thot of eventually hooking up to the Bell Pass Trail. Instead, I ended up in a wash and saw cairns. I followed the cairns on what seemed an obvious route and ended back up on the lower road that had forked from the higher road. WOW was that fun  . I'm going to have to explore over there some more. So I decided to take the Levee Trail.
And remember that "sky" issue I mentioned earlier. Well my God it was just something. Wishing I had a camera I realized KemoSabe was with me and though I haven't used the camera function much, I gave it a shot. The colors of the sky were so intense and with the swooshy clouds, amAZing  . I took as many shots as I could before continuing the hike crossing over to and eventually meeting back up with the Gateway Loop Trail. It actually got a bit chilly so I had to put my shirt on over my top.
On the drive to Basha's for my piece of pizza, the sun setting was still putting on a show. It was heart-stopping. I thot to pull over but then hoped that some of my Facebook buddies would capture it (FYI - nice job Pam). And then I saw some fellow HAZers got some shots too  . I was actually glad when I got to the store and couldn't see it anymore cuz I couldn't get a picture  .
PS this hike did just barely break last year's 479.94 record for me: 480.28 |
| _____________________
For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
