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| Hiking | 8.89 Miles |
2,535 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.89 Miles | 4 Hrs 3 Mns | | 2.24 mph |
| 2,535 ft AEG | 5 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I like this trail, but haven't hiked it in a long time. I got in the car and got on the 202 to head to the Bursera trailhead, but decided to keep going and park at the NW end of South Mountain and hike Alta instead. The was plenty of parking on Estrella Drive. This was my first time starting from here.
It was maybe a half mile to the San Juan lookout and Alta trail. It was a steep little walk and I was already feeling winded by the time I got to the Alta trail. Luckily Alta doesn't start out very steep. Brittle bush were all done blooming and their flowers were all wilted. Ocotillo were in full bloom. Hedgehog and Cholla were blooming too.
It was a warm hike up, but there was a light breeze that made it very pleasant. I kept going until the Crested Saguaro near the east end of Alta. I thought about going all the way to the end but decided to turn around there and head back. The Crested Saguaro isn't looking all that great these days. Not too far along on the way back I spotted another mutant Saguaro. This one has that mutation that makes the trunk look like a spiral. Definitely looked spiral like a big barber pole initially, but just looked lumpy from the other sides at trail went around it.
Lots of lizards on the trail. It seemed like a lizard ran across the path every few seconds. Saw lots of squirrels and a couple of road runners too. I had the trail to myself. Only passed two other hikers all day. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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