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| Hiking | 8.36 Miles |
34 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.36 Miles | 2 Hrs 36 Mns | | 3.22 mph |
| 34 ft AEG | | | | |
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| Linked |
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none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | Once Consolidated Canal crosses Lindsay Rd., the Maricopa Trail is a concrete path, on the east side of the canal, the remainder of the way to Park of the Canals. The next major road crossing — Guadalupe Rd. — is also busy, unsignalled and unprotected.
Past that, every major street crossing is signalled and protected. I used the signal to cross Baseline Rd., but after that waited for breaks in traffic, then jogged across, rather than make the vehicles wait another 20 seconds afterwards. 
In the early Gilbert miles, the west side had small horse properties. Yet, every time I switched sides, so would the corrals. Doh!
I never did share this segment with horses. Bicycles were another story: There were tons of them, often in groups of a dozen or more riders. Some even being pedalled. I have no love for “eBikes”, but an even worse phenomenon is small, gas-powered, bikes that zip along at 30 mph. After one blasted past me, he turned left on Brown Rd. It was so loud, I could hear him for a minute after he disappeared! 
Meadowgreen Park and Blue Moon Park had trailside cabanas and water fountains. There are no rest rooms, unless you count the Whataburger on Broadway Rd.
On the far side of Blue Moon Park, Consolidated Canal terminates at a large division gate. Tempe Canal continues west, while the cement Maricopa Trail path turns north along the east side of the South Canal. Because I was not continuing ten miles to Granite Reef Dam, I crossed to the west side of South Canal for the final short stretch to Park of the Canals. (SRP History of Arizona Canals)
I’ve now completed 161.94 miles of the Maricopa Trail.
Hiking Video: https://vimeo.com/813832847 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Not much grows in the vicinity of a canal, other than occasional creosote, brittlebush and African daisy. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
