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| Hiking | 13.22 Miles |
1,605 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.22 Miles | 5 Hrs 56 Mns | | 2.29 mph |
| 1,605 ft AEG | 10 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I decided to do the Little Pan Loop plus a little extra on the north side to make it easier to get from the north end from Rock Springs on a later date. This meant that the hike would be over 13 miles, but the forecast was under 100 degrees, so I decided to go for it. I still got an earlier than usual start to gain an extra hour on the sun and hike in a little cooler weather.
I did the loop portion clockwise. Starting at the Agua Fria crossing, there were cattle pretty much everywhere. Quite a few bulls in addition to the cows. Fortunately they would take off once they saw me. The crossing of the Agua Fria isn't marked very well. There is a green trail marker at the mouth of a slot canyon. Do not take this canyon. the trail is south of that, to your left. At this point the trail starts a steady climb for the next 4 miles.
Once I started the climb, the sun came out and started to heat things up more than I expected. At the top of the loop, I kept going north. After another mile and a half, the trail crosses a dirt road. Up until that road, the trail keeps up with the steady climb. Not steep, but it adds up after a few miles with the sun beating down. I hiked a little further past the road and turned around. The views of Williams Mesa from this northern vantage point are pretty nice.
On the way back, I took the road to the top of the Little Pan Loop, saving myself a half mile and quite a lot of time. Once I got to the road on the way back, I was at the top of the loop in under a half hour. Saw a few ATV drivers and two jeeps. The one guy in the 2nd ATV asked me if I needed any water. I told him I was ok.
Cottonwood Gulch on the way back was kind of nice. More vegetation than anywhere else and some standing water in the Agua Fria. It was really sandy, though, which made it a little slow going. After that, the trail climbed up to a saddle before it descended to the bottom of the loop, which was a bit of a slog after the 11th mile. The clouds covered the sun for most of the way back, making the temperature much more bearable than normal this time of year for a longer hike like this. There were even a few breezes here and there.
Saw the 3 palm trees in the wash near the trailhead on the way back. Missed them on the way in, probably due to the dimmer lighting. Monsoon clouds were visible to the north, but weren't anywhere near close enough to create the 30% chance of rain after 11am in the weather forecast.  |
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