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| Backpack | 13.09 Miles |
1,690 AEG |
| | Backpack | 13.09 Miles | 2 Days | | |
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| 1,690 ft AEG | | | |
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| partners | | Recently hiked this section of AZT as backpack with FOTG and we blazed through the area not stopping to enjoy the scenery. So Kathy and I decided to return for an easy overnight and enjoy the area. But first we had to get through Fountain Hills....protestors against Trump had blocked Shea Blvd trying to keep people from getting to his rally. We probably missed getting through by about 5 minutes but the protesters were not going anywhere. After waiting 20 minutes we decided to go around back to 101 and Beeline. Approaching Shea on Beeline we could see that the protestors had sealed off anyone turning left into Fountain Hills. Fortunately we stayed right and were able to get by the chaos.
Arriving at Bushnell Tanks turnoff 2 hours later than expected we still had plenty of time to hike about 6.3 miles in to nice camp spot. This would also be our dog Frank's first overnight so he was still getting used to hiking that far in one hike. Along the way we hit several spots where the trail runs close to Boulder Creek and gave Frank a chance to cool off. There is a large pool about 6 mile mark we spent time cooling off and ate lunch. We continued less than half mile up trail to our camp which had good proximity to collection of small pools. Unfortunately while looking at the pools I dropped the camera in the water  So I didn't get any pics but based on riparian appearance this area probably has water year round. Also ran into a thru hiker from Illinois who was hiking northbound about 20 miles per day and said would probably take him 45 days.
Next morning had a leisurely breakfast with no hurry to head out. Checked out the nearby pools again before leaving. Once back on trail Frank wasn't as enthusiastic as he was hiking in. So we took several breaks along the way to let him rest. Once we got to the Sycamore Creek crossing I decided to take the road along the creek instead of AZT back to Bushnell TH. The road follows Sycamore Creek and has a few more crossing than the trail so more water stops for Frank. Made it back to the vehicle by 1pm...nice leisurely hike but Frank was wiped out! |
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