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| Hiking | 7.72 Miles |
1,746 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.72 Miles | 5 Hrs 38 Mns | | 1.47 mph |
| 1,746 ft AEG | 23 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | The Heart Trail has been rerouted to favor the needs of mountain bikers, with a lot of very long switchbacks that don't gain you much elevation. I am told by a long-time local hiker that the Coconino Dry Hills plan, long-term, will favor mountain bikers, and no amount of input that he or other hikers have offered for the plan has been listened to, not even safety concerns. He is very angry about this.
I followed the old trail, which is becoming very washed-out in spots. They have also removed the sign where you would turn off of the Sandy Seep Trail. I guess there is a new sign further down now, where the new trail starts. At one point I accidentally got off onto the newer trail, missing a place where the two trails cross. I realized right away that I wasn't in the mood to do those long and VERY BORING switchbacks, so I decided to bushwhack up a ridge and meet up with the old trail, which I could see above me. This was a bit of a slog, and I probably would have been better off to stick with the biker trail.
I missed another connection when I got up on the side of a steep grassy slope, where there are a lot of competing switchbacks (old trail and new), and they share tread for a short distance. When I neared the top of the ridge I realized my mistake. I was super annoyed, because there was going to be another very long set of switchbacks to reach the ridge, or, I would have to bushwhack straight up. I was getting tired, so I turned around in disgust. On the way down I did make note of where I had missed the last connection. Won't make that mistake again, if I ever bother with this trail again. Some places it is so washed out it has become a gully, and you have to walk alongside of it.
I imagine the new trail is built on better principles of trail-building, because I noticed that instead of going up constantly it has dips in it to prevent it becoming a creek. Nevertheless, I prefer the old one.
I didn't get rained on this time. The weather was warm and humid. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life. |
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Route Editor
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