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| | | Buckhorn Campground Nature Loop - Usery, AZ | | | |
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Buckhorn Campground Nature Loop - Usery, AZ
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| Hiking | 6.00 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 6.00 Miles | 3 Hrs | | 2.00 mph |
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| no partners | | This was a bittersweet trip to Usery Mountain Regional Park that is likely to be my last for a long time...
The sweet part was finally getting to complete all the trails in the park. I intentionally sought out the Nature Loop on the south side of Buckhorn Campground. I also went searching for the Coleman Trail, an unmarked and by all accounts unofficial trail that connects the group area with the Wind Cave area. Then I went up the Vista Trail, which I may have been on in the past as it seemed familiar, before returning to my car via the Crismon Wash Trail.
Then came the bittersweet. When I got to my car there was a warning on my windshield from the park. I figured it must be a misunderstanding, possibly my own fault for not filling out the envelope before paying the entrance fee. Sometimes I do that if I don't have a writing utensil and just risk that the park ranger will match up the serial number on the envelope with the one on the tear stub.
I drove up to the visitor's center to get it sorted out. The park ranger said it had nothing to do with not filling out the envelope. He issued the warning because I parked at one of the trailheads outside the park and walked into the park, therefore only paying the $2 entrance- by-foot fee. Apparently, the outer trailheads (there are seven not including Meridian TH or anything north of the park entrance on Usery Pass Rd.) are for "community access" only. I explained to him that I'm a Mesa resident and therefore a member of the community; one who comes to the park on a regular basis and never fails to pay the entrance fee. He said by "community access", he meant those who walk from the nearby neighborhood. He also said that Maricopa County can ticket anyone parked at one of the outer entrances. The "warning" he gave me was to "encourage" me to drive into the park the next time and pay the full $6 entrance fee so I don't get ticketed by Maricopa County. That seemed like a racket to me and I told him so. The park and the county have basically teamed up to intimidate people in paying the full fee. If that's the case why not just close the outer trailheads? Plus, if I was parked outside the park what jurisdiction does he have to even issue me a warning? The way he described it made little sense. As a result, I told him that I will miss coming to the park.
On the way out I drove past the outer trailheads. Some have "No Parking" signs, some don't. None of them have any signage saying "Community Access Only". A couple of the trailheads had cars parked at them. Either way, if those are the rules of Usery Mountain Regional Park, I can either abide by them or go somewhere. Since I completed all the trails, I will likely go somewhere else. |
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"I've driven across deserts, driven by the irony, that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
- Frank Turner "The Road" |
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