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| Hiking | 12.70 Miles |
308 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.70 Miles | 5 Hrs 7 Mns | | 2.50 mph |
| 308 ft AEG | 2 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Got an early start at 6am in the dark. Lots of vehicle traffic on Armhurst Lake Road, which turned out to be hunters. the trail is single track for a few hundred feet north of the Horse Lake TH, then 4.5 miles of dirt road until the singletrack picks up again. Scenery was downgraded much from the day before on AZT34 by the SF Peaks, but still nice at times. Horse Lake had some water, but very swamplike.
Only saw 3 other hikers, all backpackers. Talked with some hunters on the way back who asked if I saw any deer. I did, but it was an hour+ earlier and it was in full speed gallop.
Weather was cold at first, and lingered even after sunrise. Seemed like I might dodge the forecasted messy winter weather until the last 2.5 miles. The sun has come out for an extended bit, which made me think I would have to worry to cover up to prevent sunburn. then the clouds rolled in. It tried to snow twice and stopped. Then the big flakes started and didn't stop. At first the dry road got wet enough that the mud started to cake on my boots so bad that my feet weren't level. soon enough the snow was thick enough that it washed the mud off my boots. then the road was totally white, then the trees were frosted. Then visibility was getting gradually worse.
the Xterra had a layer of snow all over it once I got back. did my usual change of shirt and socks with the heavy snowfall and now newly dropping temperature. The snow on the dirt road was a good 2 inches or more. Lake Mary Road also had quite a bit of snow. The yellow line was barely visible at times and in a few spots the entire road was white. Past one intersection with recreation area there was a yellow "RIGHT LANE ENDS" sign, which in this context was particularly amusing. I was worried about a road closure at some point and how far south this would last. Then, within a mile, it was gone. Then in a few miles it was back again, and then in another mile gone again. By the time I got to 87, it was all gone, and the road even dry in some areas, and sunny all the way back to Mesa. Made for a bit of an adventure to end the weekend. |
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