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| Hiking | 5.30 Miles |
649 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.30 Miles | 2 Hrs 28 Mns | | 2.43 mph |
| 649 ft AEG | 17 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Jason called me and asked if I wanted to squeeze in a quick hike on Thanksgiving Eve. I was slow at work and said, "sure".
Garden Valley Loop seemed like a great choice for a quick hike, and we met at First Water Trailhead. The lot was mostly empty as we headed out. The weather was perfect.
What I have noticed while starting off on this one (and other hikes starting from this trailhead) is the grass. Anywhere that suffered from the fires in the past years is now turning into a grassland. The native cacti have been roasted beyond repair and what has come back to replace those is grass and other nasty plants like catclaw and a reddish weird looking ground cover that is everywhere these days.
The trail is in good shape, in spite of the 3'-6' tall Serengeti-like grass everywhere. It is also extremely dry out there as well. Usually not a good combo. One unfortunate lightning strike or careless idiot's campfire and we could see some more massive burns out here.
It's not all doom and gloom out there, as this little loop (and the extended Hackberry Springs Loop) are still a nice little hike. We stopped by the arch for the great views.
We got in our hiking fix and finished up quickly for a return home in a reasonable time.
We came across a group of lady backpackers heading out to the wilderness and returned to a virtually empty parking lot. I am guessing that will be a different reality in the coming days.
Let's all do a Raindance and pray to the sky Gods for some big -time precipitation soon. We need some gully-washers to hit this area, big time.
Thanks for the invite, Jason. And, Happy Thanksgiving to you all! |
| _____________________
"Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul."
instagram: @andydilling |
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