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| Hiking | 16.00 Miles |
2,680 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.00 Miles | 10 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.52 mph |
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| 2,680 ft AEG | | | |
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| no partners | | What a great hike! Up at 0430, on the road before 0600, on the trail at 0700. A cool, comfortable morning. As I headed out of the parking lot, I smugly congratulated myself on being the first on the trail that morning - however, as I rounded the first big curve and started downhill on the Dutchman trail, I encountered a young man standing atop the rocky outcrop to the left of the trail. Smoking a cigarette, he asked me about a prominent outcropping across the valley. He had no map, so we looked at mine which did not identify the feature. His plan was to set out cross country; that was the last I saw of him.
As the sun rose, the rocks glowed in the morning light and the hike to the Whiskey Springs trail was great. I descended into Whiskey Canyon still wearing shorts. I strongly advise wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirt for the Whiskey Canyon-Red Tanks Trail-Dutchman segment until you ascend out of the canyon. This section of trail is very overgrown with every imaginable sticker and spike grabbing you. I waited too long to zip on my pant legs and have the bloody legs to prove it! Songbirds were abundant at Whiskey Spring, flying and singing all around me as I hiked through.
I took a lunch break at Charlebois Spring in the shade, then finished the loop using the Von Schliemann Variation (Dutchman-Terrapin-Bluff Springs). The last few miles can be a little discouraging as there are repeated ups and downs; just when you think you're topping out for the last time, the trail dips then climbs again. I heard, then saw a red-tailed hawk as I ascended the Terrapin trail from the Dutchman intersection.
I did not see a single person anywhere on this hike - hiking weekdays is the way to go! When I arrived at the parking lot around 1730, the register indicated at least twenty people had been hiking, most around Weaver's Needle. I didn't see any of them which made for a great solitary hike.
There was plenty of water on the route: all the springs were flowing strongly and most of the streams had adequate flow to provide water for hikers and campers. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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Oak Spring |
Gallon + per minute |
Gallon + per minute |
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| Posted from my turquoise Princess rotary dial phone. |
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