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| Hiking | 13.35 Miles |
1,385 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.35 Miles | 3 Hrs 46 Mns | | 3.54 mph |
| 1,385 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Early morning hike in Flagstaff. I decided I would try to knock out a part of the Waterline Trail. This was not a trail I was really looking forward to, but I hate leaving uninspiring trails to the end of “get er’ done” list. I was hoping to hike in to the Inner Basin Trail and then knock out the back end at some later date.
Got to the Weatherford TH around 4:30. Daylight was just starting to color the sky. Hiked in about .9 miles to reach the gate. The road/(trail) was probably the best dirt road I’ve ever hiked on. It looks like a lot of work has been and is being done to fortify the road from future run offs. I hiked in a little under 7 miles and I counted over 50 rock mesh and cement barriers to help try to control rain run off. As soon as I passed the gate I started seeing machinery that was being used to construct these barriers. Most of it looked done, but about 6 miles in there were signs of obvious ongoing construction. I wasn’t sure how active this ongoing construction was, but I definitely didn’t want to be in the middle of it. This, plus the fact that Velva was waiting back in Flagstaff for me caused me to turn around sooner than I planned. This turned out to be a good decision. My legs were chaffing at the end and as I hiked out I passed a couple of workers who I think were warned about my approach and waited for me to pass before hopping on their equipment.
The area is incredibly barren. The fire devastated the mountain. This does allow for some nice distant views. Not much was noteworthy about the trail and the immediate area. The trail did have a very mild grade. Ideal for bikers or runners. At 2.85 there was a neat rock arch that the road cut through. At 4.7 i actually found some live trees, though that only lasted for about .3 miles. It was jacket weather, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I didn’t see anyone else on the trail except for a handful of construction workers. Open views equaled abundant wildlife. Saw 36 deer and I’m sure there were a few I missed. |
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