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| Hiking | 6.70 Miles |
929 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.70 Miles | 2 Hrs 58 Mns | | 2.26 mph |
| 929 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Saturday night we had to take my daughter to the airport to be there at 10pm for her one week field trip to Washington DC with her school. This would preclude me being able to get up at my normal 4am time for a longer morning hike, but we were also due for a family hike. I had a loop planned out that was around the 7 mile mark, which is at about their limit. Between the longer drive and the longer hike, an early start was necessary, which would be rough after leaving the airport after 10:30pm. Fortunately, it was nothing that some caffeinated drinks and a 7am Slayer CD wouldn't solve.
My Camelbak bladder had been developing a small leak since Saturday morning and it decided to break loose on the ride out to the trailhead. By the time we got there, water was leaking out of the back before I even opened the hatch. The bladder was half empty. Luckily I had enough extra water in bottles that was enough for our hike.
We started from the Spur Cross TH and paid $3 for me and my wife (Dmitri is under 16, so he hiked for free). At the TH, I saw one other vehicle with a HikeArizona.com sticker. We headed north on the Spur Cross Trail, hiked the Fairy Duster Loop, then did the Mariposa Hill Spur (which is actually the beginning of the shortcut to the Skull Mesa Ruins hike, FYI), then headed back south on the Metate Trail, taking the Towhee side trail and headed back to the parking lot after hiking the Dragonfly Trail.
The solar oasis along the Metate Trail was interesting as it had a manmade pond with water lilies. The Metate Trail especially was the nicest being mostly level and smooth, with a lot of vegetation that gave moderate shade. Heading south on the Dragonfly Trail towards the Jewel of the Creek Preserve I stopped to wait for my family and just happened to notice a petroglyph. It was nice to see that kind of stuff out here. I really think this area is very underrated, I'm always impressed with the scenery even after seeing it several times.
The weather was kind of warm, but not too bad. We averaged well over 2 mph, which is amazing for Dmitri. I was thinking this hike might be a bit overambitious but they all kept up very well. Everyone was pretty spent by the end of it, however, and ready for lunch. I hiked the last 3+ miles without taking a sip of water since I didn't have my Camelbak bladder. Nice to get out on a Sunday morning for a quick hike that pushed the boundaries a little bit.
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