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| Hiking | 17.18 Miles |
1,233 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.18 Miles | 7 Hrs 1 Min | | 2.60 mph |
| 1,233 ft AEG | 25 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Wally and I started from Bargaman Park from where we left off 4 weeks earlier and continued southbound for another 8.5+ miles near Gonzales Tank before turning around. FR294 from Lake Mary Road takes you right to Bargaman Park, where the AZT crosses the road. A little north of FR294 is a large AZT kiosk and sign in box, so this is basically a full on trailhead which is shown on the map of this passage on the AZT website. The ride in on FR294 is very smooth, with a couple spots with some ruts you have to slow down for. This is very useful to help break up this passage into doable dayhikes. 
There seemed to be less people in general around for this hike. A month earlier in Bargaman Park there were a few campsites. Where I parked was under some trees and is obviously used for a campsite fairly often. The lack of people made things very peaceful walking thru the pines. The colors in the trees are starting to fade, but there still is quite a bit left. 
Where we turned around is where I had tried to hike the old alignment of the AZT back in 2019 before I realized they had just re-routed it. I loaded my track from then and I could see at one point we crossed it on what is a dirt road. I have virtually no memory of hiking that road now. I have one more spot to fill in for the new alignment, which I’ll access from the south end on another hike.
We started out in the shady pines with a gradual climb. The high point of the hike was close to the middle of what we hiked for this day, and it was at that point that the ponderosas faded away and the junipers and other scrubby vegetation was more prominent. This made for more exposure to the sun, but also a few glimpses of the hills in the distance.
It was a little cool to start, but warmed up very quickly. After we stopped for lunch, I took off my sweatshirt, which I hadn’t done a month earlier in this area. Saw only one biker and one hiker on our way back. Wally spotted 3 deer, but they were running so fast I missed them and he couldn’t get any pics. |
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