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| Hiking | 3.88 Miles |
1,073 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.88 Miles | | | |
| 1,073 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | | Not a bright idea on the "worst" bad air day in Arizona history. But it was New Year's and there are 364 more days to make up for all the carcinogens now lodged in the lungs. Zillions of cars in the park -- Summit Highway, picnic areas and stables -- but few hikers on the trail. By time MJ and I reached the National Tr, we had seemingly rose above the muck which appeared to have pocketed up against the Phoenix Mtns to the N and the Estrellas on the W and White Tanks to NW. From atop the Goat, we saw summits of Four Peaks crusted with snow and guessed at some other visible summits Woolsey to the W and Black Mtn to the S. I estimated the bad air to be about 1,500 feet to 2,000 feet elevation, or 500 to 1,000 feet above downtown Phoenix which was fairly clear from Goat. The highlight was in finding two "forests" of elephant trees along the National. Had never seen one that I recognized before. The largest (3 trees) stood only 20 paces E of the side trail up Goat Hill. I marked both spots and the mine with GPS readings, and would like to accurately put those waypoints on the route. But, alas, I don't know how. I could guess. But in this day age it seems like waypoints should move effortlessly with the route to this site's Maps section. Maybe I'll figure it out before my lungs go south after today. On return, it was dark when we hit the Summit Highway, only 7/10 of a mi from the TH. Enjoyable hike from there with the supermoon rising and pockets of cool in the draws. |
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Route Editor
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