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| | | Goat Camp - Ford Canyon Loop, AZ | | | |
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Goat Camp - Ford Canyon Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 18.20 Miles |
2,941 AEG |
| | Hiking | 18.20 Miles | 8 Hrs 5 Mns | | 2.50 mph |
| 2,941 ft AEG | 48 Mns Break | 18 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Expectations for Mule Deer Trail were ultra-low on the foothill location. Odds of enjoyment bottomed out upon visual realization... 50 acres torched by a wildfire earlier this year on May 21st. Turned out to be a pleasant surprise on a relaxing sunrise stroll with cool views, friendly fellow hikers, one-stalker, and a delightful tread to boot.
The Bajada Trail was considerably nicer than anticipated too. Nice washes, trees, saguaros... then again, it was morning light laced with cool jazz temps, so let's not get carried away. Bruce corrected my rookie Okie fumble pronouncing bajada. I appreciate it in hindsight, flipped my frown, and added a helper to the top of the related guide pages for the next guy.
Heading up Goat Camp Trail is a medium never-let-up grade. Cool massive boulders in an intriguing pocket of Sonoran love is cool being so close to the city. Tread in the upper reaches is y-bar ankle busters, so it's likely deemed horrible by some on the surface. No biggie ascending. Total misnomer, we did not observe any goats camping or any goats period... alas.
Goat Canyon had me at hello, views casting from upper Goat seals my four-of-five ranking for Goat Camp Trail. An abundance of dry grass in the entire range is an unavoidable nail in the Sonoran coffin, so enjoy before forever changed.
Bruce re-suggested Barry Goldwater Peak. With time and resources, it seemed worthy. We settled on halfway, saving the elusive western views for another day. Instead, we admired the 270-degree views from the old purple-dashed jeep trail on topo. That musta been one gnarly pioneer ride.
We set 3032 as the target for a lunch break but mutually settled on a nearby unofficial 2974 sub-highpoint. Back on trail we crossed paths with Betty Boop and company, took a wrong turn, and passed Betty backtracking.
I sincerely enjoyed all of the above. That said, the dryfall in Ford Canyon is the most spectacular impact most will remember.
Despite rare visits for such a nearby option, the White Tanks never disappoint. |
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