| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 5.49 Miles |
723 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.49 Miles | 2 Hrs 16 Mns | | 2.59 mph |
| 723 ft AEG | 9 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Cousin Jaelyn (JL) was in town tending to her mom, my cousin Connie, so we had another opportunity to get a hike in before she heads back to HI. Another mutual friend was in from MT so I went down that way for the nite and this AM, we did this hike that I did last March with my other MT friend. You do have to get a day permit as you enter the Park. You can scan online to pay your fee altho the process is longer than it should be. It's electronic as the rangers just verify plates. We were surprised at how few people were in the park camping. There is no water, but there are nice ramadas/bbqs and bathrooms.
I decided we would hike the loop I hiked in March but in a counterclockwise direction as I thought it would be better views; that was indeed the case. So we headed ENE on the Desperado Trail. The desert feels and looks so dry, even though I think they get more rain than the rest of the Valley. We went past the no longer existing Owl Clover stream as we made our way through the bouldery section. We continued north until we arrived at the junction of the North Star Trail that takes you up to the bottom of a small butte.
The North Star takes a bit before it starts heading up. I followed JL up for about 2/3 of it; altho she jetted ahead. I wanted to get high enough to get some photos of her. She said going up the rest of the way wasn't too steep, only the last little bit just before reaching the bottom of the butte. Lots of cholla up here as well and nice views. The lighting wasn't the best for this hike, being mid-day. A little slippery in places on the way down.
We joined back up with Desperado Loop north until we came to the sign for the Saguaro Loop. Here you have a choice of continuing north or east. JL chose east and I think that is the correct way to travel this loop. I did see two people well below us. So we hiked east and then the trail eventually loops around westward where it joins up with a road. We hiked up the road but I missed the trail that takes you west to the Star Gazer Trail so we did a pretty long road walk and gawked until we came to the carsonite on the SW side to get back on the Desperado Trail.
From here you head north for a bit before heading east and up and down a few times. You are pretty close to the fence line. You can see where they've blocked off other tempting routes. You finally top out for a bit of a hike before heading down the hill to where you started. I talked to her about doing some hiking on the islands with them or going to Costa Rica early this spring. I'm hoping she'll send me some links.
We had a oatmeal maple beer I picked up from Trader Joe's, not very good. But we didn't care as we were headed for Los Gringos where we ordered Grande margaritas. I tried the Pina Colada margarita; different. JL made some cute comment to a few guys passing by and we got another order on them. The Christmas spirit is alive and well in Apache Junction. Oh, we did have a late lunch too.
WATCH 5.19 mi, 11:19AM-1:32PM, 140 avg bpm/176 max burning 962 calories, 2108-2442 elevation. Starting temp 70.8, sunny, not the best air quality, 17% humidity. |
| _____________________
For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 