DESTINATION Elm Creek Park Reserve 1 Photoset
2016-05-18 | |
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| Hiking | 10.56 Miles |
484 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.56 Miles | 2 Hrs 45 Mns | | 4.20 mph |
| 484 ft AEG | 14 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Lack of mountains, city hiking, ticks, and constantly almost getting run over by mountain bikers are not things I normally tolerate well; however, [given that previous biz trips have resulted in not even having enough time/energy to get the legs moving for 20 minutes on the treadmill], having time/energy to hike double-digit mileage on trails of ANY kind came as a real treat.
I hadn’t had time to research the area ahead of time, and during the final hour of my workday, my manager game me the name of Elm Creek Park Reserve, which she heard was very nice. For what I envisioned of city-hiking, the park definitely exceeded my expectations. After my GPS driving apps routed me to a dead-end road in a nearby neighborhood, I simply eyeballed Route Scout’s trusty topo to locate a parking area for Elm Creek Park Reserve that was nearest to my location.
Although totally flat, [at 70+ min / 4+ miles my AEG was under 300’!], the lush GREEN area and surrounding lakes were very beautiful. The trails also had no rocks, [or at least there were none along the section of the park that I hiked in]. You also had the choice of paved trails and/or hard-packed dirt. The dirt trails were almost as smooth as pavement with some added ‘cushion’.
My route probably looks like total madness, but I was actually on trail for 99% of the time. Given the lack of space in the city, the trail system is very well designed, with trails that weave in and out of the same area but on different segments [which sure beats having to constantly repeat trail to get your mileage in, at least for me].
The one thing I didn’t care for about this park, [or at least the section of it that I hiked in], were the MOBS of mountain bikers. The dirt trails were all extremely narrow – more so than many foot-trails in AZ – and the bikers had the ride of way… which, [in most instances], meant literally jumping off the trail and into the brush in order to not get run over. For a good portion of the hike, I was literally jumping off trail to let bikers pass every 30-60 seconds. The alternative was sticking to the paved trails, [where the bikers went around those on foot]. The park rules also stated that the dirt trails were one way, [although I was later told by a colleague that the ‘one-way’ rule does not apply to those on foot; too bad I didn’t know that at the time, cuz it’s so much easier dogging bikers coming at you vs. constantly having to watch your back!].
Thanks to attempting to follow the one-way trail rule, I had a few panicky moments toward the end where I literally thought I was going to have to phone for help. Not having a headlamp or any of my typical hiking stuff, I had about 55 minutes until pitch darkness and over 8 miles to cover, IF obeying the one-way trail rule. With about 30 minutes till pitch darkness, I decided to break the one-way rule and break out the Route Scout topo… add a touch of bushwhacking and I was back with time to spare, [so I headed down a paved trail to get in some extra mileage]. I never would’ve guessed that bushwhacking & GPS navigation would come in handy in a city park… |
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| God save the Prom Queen, cuz [reality check!] AEG's King...! |
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