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| Run/Jog | 11.27 Miles |
158 AEG |
| | Run/Jog | 11.27 Miles | 2 Hrs 2 Mns | | 5.54 mph |
| 158 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | | Kind of funny how this hike worked out. My plan was to get a 10 mile run in involving the Broken Spoke. Driving out to the trails, I was really looking forward to the trails I'd be doing but I was dreading the conditions. I noticed as I was getting ready to go that the air was heavy and still and I thought for sure when I got to the TH that the weather would be warm, humid and no breeze. Much to my surprise when I got to the TH a little after 6am, there was a nice breeze with temps, that felt at worst, to be in the low 80's. With conditions like that the humidity never felt bad. I took the Brown's Ranch Road Trail north with the intention of tying into the Corral Trail. Unfortunately, I missed the turn and ended up going out to Powerlines Road#1. Realizing that I had missed the turn, I decided to follow the Powerline Road until I ran into another trail. I was still seeing McDowell Sonoran Preserve signage so I knew it was just a matter of time before I had options. Sure enough, about a mile into the Powerline Road I came upon the Old Camp Trail. This is supposedly where the Broken Spoke Trail terminates as well but I missed that. (I was missing all kinds of things today...first the turn for the Corral Trail and then the back end of the Broken Spoke Trail). I was fine with doing the Old Camp. I just wanted to incorporate a trail that I hadn't done before. Followed the Old Camp Trail until it tied into the Hawks Nest Trail. (This was a smooth transition, so this means the GPS info is a bit off for one of these two trails. The HAZ map has the Old Camp Trail ending in the desert with no tie in. But it ends at the Hawks Nest Trail). Since I hadn't planned on doing Old Camp, I didn't have an idea of what laid further east. So I backtracked .5 miles and took the StageCoach south. This brought me into areas I was familiar with and I was able to complete my loop via the Cholla, Dry Gulch, and Corral Trails. The Corral Trail got me back to Brown's Ranch Road which I took back to the TH. I have to say, that I wasn't as thrilled with some of these as I have been in the past. These trails are more functional - get me there trails - and some may even have quite a bit of history. But they are not the trails that make me appreciate the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The Brown's Ranch Road Trail, Powerline Road#1, Corral Trail and Old Camp Trail are all more roads and/or washes than they are trails. Not that enjoyable to hike on, but the scenery was nice. (They do drain well though, recent rains did not negatively impact them at all). I really enjoyed the StageCoach and Cholla. Nice, single track meandering trails. Ideal for biking and running. Funny how things work. Weather was great, but trails not as much as anticipated. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
, to name a few.
2 hikers, 4 bikers and 1 equestrian.
)
