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| | | Gold Canyon Trail System, AZ | | | |
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Gold Canyon Trail System, AZ
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| Mtn Biking | 24.04 Miles |
2,119 AEG |
| | Mtn Biking | 24.04 Miles | 4 Hrs 57 Mns | | 5.11 mph |
| 2,119 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | 10 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Hip issues have been my nemesis on hikes lately but biking seems to be ok so I figured I'd try a longer ride. But where?
Well, it's been just over a year since I last biked in this area so after catching up on Darth Stiller's triplogs of hikes out here and not recognizing all the trail names I figured it was time to hit it up again.
Wow! What a difference a year makes. While I rode on some of the trails for the first time, almost every trail I had ridden last year has changed, some more so than others. Suffice to say, most have become more technical.
Hmmm... let's see if I can remember all the trails I biked on all or at least part of, in order:
- Old Horse (Relatively smooth, could get some speed)
- K Trail
- Kiki
- Secret (Tight, steep & rocky)
- Snow Bird
- TD
- Outer Limits
- Don't Fence Me In (Did this northbound, would have been more fun southbound)
- Lost Goldmine (Not being a bike trail as such, I did my share of hike-a-bike here)
- TD (Lots of tight turns, regularly picked up cholla balls when I couldn't turn tight enough)
- Coyote (Between TD & Transition is fast & easy. If I recall from last year, Coyote to Don't Fence Me In is more technical)
- Transition (Lots of tight turns and some ups-and-downs)
- TD
- Tech Loop (I didn't spend much time on it, the one-after-another steep & rocky ups-and-downs took tons of effort)
- Old Horse
- Vortex (Getting tired by now so I did a bit of hike-a-bike on the climb to the rocky peak)
- Gila Monster (Tight switch-backs were almost the death-of-me)
- Cougar (A virtual highway compared to the rest of the ride)
Back to the Jeep to refill the CamelBak... drank 20 oz before starting, drained 100 oz completely, added 64 oz,
drove the Jeep a little way into the State Trust Land then embarked on the last trail I had planned on trying out... Quartz Ridge.
It didn't last long... the steep climb with plenty of sharp, loose rocks was a bit much after already riding for 4 hours and almost 20 miles so I turned around halfway up... only to have a few good scares on the descent.
But I'm still not ready to quit, so now what? I followed a road over the ridge and took it all the way over to Peralta Road and back. Although I noted the temp of 105 on the return trip it felt much cooler than when I began almost 5 hours prior. 105° @10% humidity and a slight breeze feels MUCH better then 88° @38%, which is what it was when I started.
I feel great now some 6+ hours later, let's hope I feel ok tomorrow... and the next day. |
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](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
. HINT! The best view is from a location where you can see both sides of the wash at the bottom of the Canyon. 
then it's finished, and the traffic jam begins. 
Hiked the road on the return because the Cougar Trail isn't dog friendly. Too much cholla.
