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| | | Maricopa Trail - North of Dove Valley, AZ | | | |
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Maricopa Trail - North of Dove Valley, AZ
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| Mtn Biking | 32.53 Miles |
1,526 AEG |
| | Mtn Biking | 32.53 Miles | 4 Hrs 56 Mns | | 6.59 mph |
| 1,526 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | My friend Nick joined me to explore some more trails in the Granite Mountain / Brown's Ranch area on Sunday.
In order, I rode: Bootlegger, Granite Mountain Loop, Branding Iron, The Divide, Hawknest, Dove Valley, Maricopa Trail (in Tonto National Forest, to Cave Creek Ranger Station, and then somewhat beyond, out and back), Dove Valley, West Express, Malpais, Hawknest, Buckshot, Corral, Dry Gulch, Cholla Mountain Loop, Balanced Rock, Granite Mountain Loop, Granite Mountain, Black Hill, Monument, 136th St Express, Cowpoke, Granite Mountain Loop, Saddlehorn, Bootlegger.
Nick rode all of the above with me, but returned via a more direct route when we got to the intersection of Granite Mountain Loop & Granite Mountain. My wife joined us for the first part of this ride, but ended up returning early as she whacked her shin just below the knee with a pedal. (It was quite swollen; she returned home to ice it.)
My main goal for the day was to look at more of the Maricopa Trail north of the Preserve Boundary. I rode some of it several weeks ago by myself. This week we rode it all the way to the Cave Creek Ranger Station - there is a spur trail which goes there - and then slightly beyond.
The section of the Maricopa Trail from the northern Preserve boundary to Bartlett Dam Rd is a fairly mellow singletrack. It's also fairly well beaten in, though not quite as well as most of the trails in the Preserve. It's mostly an easy uphill as you work your way north, with several wash crossings along the way. It crosses the powerline road three times. However, it also crosses several other roads and trails which seem to be popular with the OHV crowd. We saw (and heard) several motorcycles while we were out. There are a total of six road crossings (counting the powerline road, but not counting Bartlett Dam Rd) in the last mile of trail south of Bartlett Dam Rd. While there should not be any motorized traffic on the Maricopa Trail, there is definitely motorized traffic on these roads which cross the trail, so it's important to watch for cross traffic.
Nick and I rode to the ranger station in hopes of getting a map, but it wasn't open.
We started riding the next segment that goes northward, but we only rode out perhaps half a mile. In that half mile that we rode, the trail stayed close (even under) the powerlines and had numerous wash crossings, perhaps as many in that half mile as we had encountered during the entire 3.3 mile stretch from the Preserve boundary to Bartlett Dam Rd. These seemed deeper too, and the track was not beaten down enough for me to feel comfortable taking the downhill at speed so that I could coast up the other side.
When we returned to the Preserve, we took Dove Valley to the West Express Trail, which was new to me. West Express felt like an old motorcycle track (which it probably is). It was okay, but I like the new section of Stagecoach (which I rode last week) better. They both intersect with Malpais too. (I haven't ridden West Express south of Malpais yet.) The West Express Trail is more direct (shorter) than the new section of Stagecoach. Stagecoach is, IMO, better constructed and a lot more fun to ride. The other really nice thing about the new segment of Stagecoach is that it provides a bit over five uninterrupted miles of trail - there are no other intersecting trails from where it crosses the powerline road until it terminates/intersects with the Malpais Trail.
Towards the end of my ride, after leaving Nick, I rode north past the Granite Mountain Trailhead on 136th St Express and then took Cowpoke over to Granite Mountain Loop. I rarely ride these trails; in fact, I don't think I've been on them since another friend showed them to me several years ago. Cowpoke definitely goes uphill, but it's a surprisingly gentle grade to get up to Granite Mountain Loop. Cowpoke is also a very scenic trail with interesting rocks and numerous saguaros along the way. I should endeavor to ride it more often. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
. Anyway, I started from the ATV trailhead at the north end of 136th St, which serves just as well as a TH for hiking into this north part of the MSPN. I did a loop of 136th St Express-Hawknest-Stagecoach-High Desert-Renegade-Dove Valley-Barb's Trail-136th St. Just over 12 miles. Made great time since the trails are level and smooth. Started at 6:30am in the dark and took the headlamp off before the first mile was completed.
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) The Granite Mountain Loop was the plan but it was an absolute zoo. I've never seen that parking lot so full and on a weekday no less. We have seen a lot of HAZr's posting the trails to the north of the mountain so that's what we did. This loop came up on HAZ's "Auto Route Display" feature and Cathy gave it the thumbs up.
. The hike itself was fabulous as well. I'm at a crossroads where I can't decide if I want to hike for speed or for the experience; it's hard for me to do both. Now that I'm retired, one of those decisions I didn't think I'd be facing.
. It's one of those things that if you don't look the right way you will miss it. I eventually came around to its other side and there is a path up to the area. It's also interesting that there are signs up on old trails that basically say, travel at your own risk. I would see four of these.
. It is a nice healthy specimen. There is also another trail junction here. This trail was a continual surprise. I don't know who designed this route but it was a delight. And they call this a Canyon for a reason. Apparently on the previous trip reports/pictures, I must have missed this or forgotten what a treat this was, certainly unexpected for a desert hike. 
