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| | | South Mountain Valley Wander, AZ | | | |
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South Mountain Valley Wander, AZ
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| Hiking | 6.21 Miles |
746 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.21 Miles | 4 Hrs 8 Mns | | 1.95 mph |
| 746 ft AEG | 57 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Hau’pal Loop, Crosscut, Max Delta, Hideout Loop, Las Lomitas, and Ma-Ha-Tuak Perimeter Trails.
Our last time out in South Mountain in the central valley area, we discovered there is a big disconnect between what is signposted on the trails and the available maps. I thought I’d try to sort out what was really going on.
We arrived at the 19th Ave. Trailhead about 7:45 on a Friday morning and got one of the last 2 parking spots. Leaving the lot, we headed up the left fork of the Hau’pal Loop Trail. This is a fairly recent name change for this segment. Some maps call it the T-Bone Loop Trail. The trail climbs steadily south and at about 0.8 mile intersects with the Crosscut Trail. At this intersection, the Hau’pal Loop Trail turns sharply right and heads up the hill, while the Crosscut Trail continues left toward the Big Ramada and straight ahead.
We followed the Crosscut Trail down to its end at an intersection with the Max Delta Trail, about 1.3 miles from the parking lot. We took a right a hundred yards on Max Delta, to find the end of the Las Lomitas Trail, also a relatively new designation for this segment. Las Lomitas crosses the main park road and heads generally southeast. There is no parking here.
We hiked northeast on the Max Delta Trail about ¾ mile, meeting the Crosscut Traill and turning right (southeast) on it. We were now on a route heavily used by horses. In about 0.2 mile we came to some corrals, and the trailhead for the Ranger Trail. There is parking here.
Continuing northeast from the corrals, we quickly came to its intersection with start and finish of the Hideout Loop Trail. This loop appears to have been heavily trafficked by horses in the past, but not recently. Although still signposted, this loop does not appear on any park maps I could find. The Hideout Loop Trail is cute, though, passing through rocks reminiscent of a desert hideout from old westerns.
Leaving the Hideout Loop Trail, we continued northeast on the Crosscut Trail, which drops into a sandy wash and follows the wash, occasionally signposted. This is not a nice walking trail unless you like sand and horse deposits. The trail continues in the wash about 0.9 miles and finally comes out, unmarked, behind the ruins at “Scorpion Gulch” just outside the park main gate. It was not obvious that this was the end of the trail, but we stopped in at the nearby visitor center, and they shared a link to a map they actually maintain, and keep on the wall at the center. Link to the map: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGiZAzjWE ... f0e682ded5
From the visitor center, we headed back southwest on the Las Lomitas Trail. About 0.6 miles, we followed an unnamed connector that heads back to the Crosscut Trail. We then followed the Crosscut Trail up to the Big Ramada, where we found locked restrooms.
Heading out the back of the Big Ramada, we followed the Ma-Ha-Tuak Perimeter Trail back to the 19th Ave. Parking, which by noon was nearly empty. |
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