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| Hiking | 4.98 Miles |
558 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.98 Miles | 1 Hour 47 Mns | | 2.79 mph |
| 558 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | My plan this week was to do a warmup hike today, then bike Railroad Grade Trail tomorrow, staying two nights in Greer.
From East Baldy, the wide gravel trail looked like what I was expecting to bike tomorrow. Despite the obvious Crossover Trail sign, I missed it, and had to double back.
This late in the year, at ~9,500 ft. elevation, flowers were sparse. Dandelions were most common. There were small, but dense, fleabane clusters near the West Baldy trailhead.
Descending to the LCR, I slipped and almost fell. My hiking-jitsu must be strong, as I was not using my hiking poles. Indeed, I carried no gear at all: Just my Garmin 62S and a bottle of water.
After baIance-beaming across the shallow LCR, I turned right, following West Baldy Trail a little over a mile to the trailhead.
After finishing my hike, my wife & I stopped at Apache Railroad TH to scout out the beginning of tomorrow’s bike ride. I could see the slightly elevated grade, but Railroad Grade Trail #601 was very narrow singletrack. (As was the end down at Big Lake.) I could do 19 miles of true rail trail, no problem. But singletrack? I made contingency plans to maybe only bike the first eight miles to Sheep Crossing.
After checking in at our lodge, I sat down by the pond to relax and catch up on twitter. I had two bar Verizon LTE, but nothing in the cabin. The lodge’s wifi was protected, and $20 / night. Even after paying for it, my iPhone SE couldn’t even detect the wifi. Worse, I had lost my glasses somewhere outside. I was not happy. 
We had a good dinner, off site at Molly Butler Lodge, sitting on the balcony, watching an elk herd below. Normally, I don’t fiddle with my iPhone while eating — it’s together time — but Molly Butler had open wifi with a strong signal.
Back at the lodge, I barely slept. The next morning I was tired, and still frustrated, and not looking forward to struggling on non-rail trail. Also, it was freezing cold. So I called EndEx and we bailed back to Phoenix. Maybe next year … 
Burbling River: https://vimeo.com/869521560 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Dandelion, a couple of Wheeler’s thistle, one paintbrush, harebell, pleated gentian, a few small western yarrow and some aster & fleabane. |
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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
