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| Hiking | 3.03 Miles |
178 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.03 Miles | 1 Hour 19 Mns | | 2.93 mph |
| 178 ft AEG | 17 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Part 3, Completion of Trail and Overview. Walked from 69th Av, starting from behind the Home Depot on Bell Rd, to Union Hills Dr. That completes my "attack" on this flat urban trail, done in 3 segments on separate days. I was way off on this middle segment's distance. My estimate of 9/10 mi came in at 1.38 by GPS. I did trundle over to the N side via Union Hills bridge underpass to be sure I have the track to merge three segments into one. Uneventful walk on 8-foot wide concrete path. Points of interest: Skunk Creek Linear Park playground (Shade and Water, a sign says, but no toilets), interpretative signs and another silted-in concrete dam. Light traffic on a Sunday noon hour.
Overview. This 5.76 mi long path is really two separate trails with an odd transition zone along 73rd Av.
The lower SW segment, from 75th Av down to Rio Vista Park and the juncture with New River, is less urban and less busy. A slender channel of water runs through the streambed, carrying the overflow from the Arizona Canal and, in times of flood, torrents from Skunk Creek and elsewhere. The Peoria Sports Complex runs atop the embankment cross-creek on the N with orange groves and some farmland on the S.
The upper segment, on the NE up to the trail's start at 51st Av, is edged by middle-class houses, apartments and condos and seems to primarily serve nearby villagers out for evening strolls, family bike rides and light jogging.
Who would guess, without pre-walk mapping, that you could ever reach the upper segment from the lower? No signage tells you that. From 75th Av, roll the dice. Straight ahead to the Arizona Canal or do the underpass beneath the 75th Av bridge. Never did I see a sign saying "Skunk Creek Trail." Taking the underpass, you arrive with luck on the N side of the streambed, and there you find a sign, "Skunk Creek Linear Park" with a map how to get there, sidewalk-stepping up through tree-lined Cabrillo Point subdivision (the former Las Brisas, I assume) to a small traffic circle and straight north where you pick up the upper segment. Although coyotes and javelina reputedly venture up into Skunk Creek, I saw only desert cottontails and heard Gambel's quail. Flora? Much brittlebush and palo verde with a smattering of "exotics" like Fairy Duster and Santa Rita prickly pear.
By looking down into Skunk Creek's untamed streambed from 15-25 foot embankments, you can imagine what this area looked like before "civilization." Ultimately you do the Skunk for exercise. Or, in my case, rehabbing a sprained ankle. Serious hikers know this is not really hiking. No adventure, no risk. But not boring -- at least on the initial visit. It is not a walk, though, I would like to do again. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Brittlebush, Globemallow, Fairy Duster. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
