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| Hiking | 20.71 Miles |
1,279 AEG |
| | Hiking | 20.71 Miles | 9 Hrs 37 Mns | | 2.15 mph |
| 1,279 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Belated post. Another invite from Chris got me one stage closer to completing the Arizona Trail. Headed up to Payson with Chris and Wally to do a shuttle hike. Chris dropped his vehicle off at Doll Baby and then Wally did some serious off roading to get us as close to the AZ Trail as vehicular possible. (We were trying to save a few miles and start a little further south from the Pine TH). And as we were driving there Wally decided that he would do a simple in and out and not hike the whole section. Sad that he wasn’t there for the long haul, but this was a big deal in the sense that it saved at least an hour of drive time to an already long day.
We started from a powerline road around 7am. It took about 1.7 miles to reach the AZT. We did a little backtracking on the AZT so that Chris could connect to where he had left off on a previous hike and then we were southbound. The trail was easy to follow, but annoyingly rocky at the start. It wasn’t so much the loose rocks as the embedded rocks that caused you to keep an eye on the trail. Not that we were missing any great views. The landscape was dotted with junipers and pinions that blocked the views (and didn’t provide much shade). And when the views did open up all we had were hazy conditions which was caused by controlled burn in the area. Wally was feeling festive along the way. Halfway through the hike he came upon a semi inflated Happy Birthday balloon which he proceeded to tie around his backpack. However, breezy conditions made it a choking/tripping hazard as it kept wrapping around his neck and blocking his view. Wally went in just over 6 miles before turning around at a gabion gate.
Chris and I continued on, taking a break at the Saddle Ridge junction. This junction was surprisingly unsigned though you could see the split in the trail. (There was an AZT arrow pointing the direction, just no trail names). After that, the trail was incredibly flat, straight(ish) and (relatively) smooth for the next 5 miles. I’m sure there was some change in elevation, but it was very mild. There was a very steep descent to the Verde River. No fun going down and I’m sure twice as bad for those going up. Easy crossing of the Verde; able to rock hop across. There had been a couple of climbs along the way, none of them serious, until we left the AZT and hiked a use trail and road back to Doll Baby. No wildlife on the hike, but must have seen close to a 100 elk on the drive to the TH’s. They were everywhere! Encountered 2 solo hikers heading north around the Verde River, but otherwise had the mountains to,ourselves. Very nice hike. Great company. A big shout out to Chris and Wally for setting up a shuttle and making a potentially difficult section doable. |
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