Renegade Trail - MSPN • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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trekkin_gecko

Second time hiking out here this winter. We hiked further north than I had been before. Lots of very smooth trails. A bit of frost early on, warming up nicely as the morning unfolded.
We saw three deer, lots of bunnies and birds, a dozen mountain bikers but no hikers.
Good day. Thanks Kelly.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Saguaro

_____________________

“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson

Feb 14 2024

trekkin_gecko

Guides 10
Routes 673
Photos 7,281
Triplogs 4,660

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

MSPN loop, AZ

Hiking		Feb 14 2024
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hiking	11.63 Miles	663 AEG

Hiking	11.63 Miles	3 Hrs 27 Mns	3.44 mph
	663 ft AEG	4 Mns Break

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9 linked trail guides

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johnlp

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

early morning trip to granite mountain trailhead with john
we did a slightly different loop than linda and i did a couple weeks ago
went further west and not as far north, finishing on the 136th street express
visited balanced rock and cathedral rock
beautiful morning, temps probably 35 warming to 60
saw a few mountain bikers and no hikers
two new trails and different parts of old ones
breakfast at butters and some of john's coffee after the hike
good times, thanks lp

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hazhole

1 archive

Jan 28 2024

trekkin_gecko

Guides 10
Routes 673
Photos 7,281
Triplogs 4,660

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

MSPN loop, AZ

Hiking		Jan 28 2024
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hiking	12.68 Miles	733 AEG

Hiking	12.68 Miles	3 Hrs 52 Mns	3.35 mph
	733 ft AEG	5 Mns Break

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10 linked trail guides

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LindaAnn

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

linda suggested another visit to MSPN, and came up with a big loop from granite mountain trailhead
neither of us had been very far north of little granite mountain
we got going around 0715
mid 50s to start, upper 60s by the end
smooth trails, some new scenery
saw a crested saguaro
i like all the granite boulders up this way
the water collection thing near dove valley trail was interesting
pretty busy once we got back on granite mountain loop, nice to be almost done by that point
thanks for the invite, linda - good hike

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hazhole

Jan 28 2024

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

MSPN Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jan 28 2024
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	13.15 Miles	744 AEG

Hiking	13.15 Miles	3 Hrs 52 Mns	3.51 mph
	744 ft AEG	7 Mns Break

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10 linked trail guides

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trekkin_gecko

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Kelly and I opted for another loop in MSPN, this time starting from the Granite Mtn TH. Got started a little after 0715. Warmer than expected temps, but a nice breeze the entire time made for pleasant hiking weather. Did a large clockwise loop around Granite Mtn and towards the north end of the preserve. Excellent trail conditions the entire way.

Kelly and I both seem to prefer the sections of trail that wind thru the boulders, but the entire loop was pretty nice, with some good views to the north and east. The water tank at the intersection of Dove Vly & High Desert was full of clear water. Saw plenty of bikes, not many hikers until the final few miles, then it was a steady stream of them. Great day with some good mileage!

Bootlegger

Saddlehorn

Granite Mtn Lp

Branding Iron

The Divide

Hawknest

High Desert

Renegade

Desperado

Coyote Canyon

Granite Mtn Lp

Bootlegger

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Michelin Man Saguaro

_____________________

Stop crying and just go do the hike.

1 archive

Jan 27 2024

DarthStiller

Guides 27
Routes 669
Photos 12,096
Triplogs 856

56 male

Joined Jul 05 2006
Mesa, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 27 2024
		DarthStiller • Triplogs 856

Hiking	12.30 Miles	564 AEG

Hiking	12.30 Miles	4 Hrs 22 Mns	2.82 mph
	564 ft AEG

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I need to start catching up on chores at home, so I opted for a local hike, which was still over an hour drive to the TH

. 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.

I saw 2 deer as I turned off the Hawknest Trail onto the Stagecoach Trail, but they never stopped at all so I wasn't able to get a pic. Then on the Renegade Trail I saw a javelina and had the same issue. Lots of hawks along the Hawknest Trail, I guess that's why it's called that.

Not much traffic on the trails at all, which was kind of surprising. I saw one other hiker ahead of me on the High Desert Trail, and about 4 bikers.

The ATV TH has some vehicles parked when I got there, but nothing crazy. 2 hunters were field dressing what I think was a dove. Didn't notice a shotgun, which would be the typical tool to harvest one with

.

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Dec 09 2022

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Granite - Cholla - points north loopy, AZ

Hiking		Dec 09 2022
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	14.13 Miles	827 AEG

Hiking	14.13 Miles	4 Hrs 10 Mns		3.39 mph
	827 ft AEG		8 LBS Pack

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12 linked trail guides

Coyote Canyon Loop MSP

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

With the nice weather, I didn't feel like doing stuff around the house.

I decided I was going to clear my head and churn out some easy miles in the MSPN.

Just a smattering of people out, split 50/50 hikers and MTB'ers.

The Granite Mountain - Cholla Mountain loop gets most of the traffic here having the Balanced Rock, Amphitheater and Cathedral Rock attractions. I do enjoy these trails and they are perfect for flat-lander out of town guests, but I enjoy the relative solitude of the trails north of here.

Add in the sweet rock formations everywhere and a couple of crested saguaros, with the weather and it made for an enjoyable afternoon.

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Nov 11 2022

Yoder

Guides 8
Routes 70
Photos 3,208
Triplogs 273

59 male

Joined Oct 07 2017
Chandler, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 11 2022
		Yoder • Triplogs 273

Hiking	14.00 Miles	950 AEG

Hiking	14.00 Miles	4 Hrs 32 Mns		3.33 mph
	950 ft AEG	20 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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9 linked trail guides

Bootlegger Trail #257

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Wanted to check out the Hawknest trail, but no easy way up there since there doesn't seem to be any trailheads you can park at in the immediate area. So I made up a 14 mile loop that will get me up there to hike a bit of it. Since it's a pretty flat area and temperatures seemed like they should be fine for the day, we headed out early in the morning.

Started off from the Granite Mountain Trailhead, we started our hike about 6:30. Things were pretty uneventful as we made our way up to Hawknest trail taking a variety of trails to get there. Hawknest trail was quite nice and mostly quiet although we did run into a couple of bikers as we made our way. Name of the trail does not disappoint, saw a couple of groupings of Harris's Hawks and got some excellent photos.

As we dropped onto the Divide trail we started to run into more bikers, and the numbers steadily increased as we continued to make our way back to the trailhead. At one point we ran into a group of 12 older bikers, and ended up playing tag with them for the next couple of hours, we must have passed them, and had them pass us about 4 times.....

. Anyhow, as we jumped onto the Granite Mountain Loop trail the hordes of bikers and hikers was on. Glad to get back to the car. Luckly we had a good 70% of the hike to ourselves before we started to run into folks.

All in all a good day.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] American Kestrel Harris Hawk

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Moon

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J. Yoder

Oct 23 2022

ScaredyCat

Guides 2
Routes 207
Photos 93
Triplogs 204

male

Joined Aug 08 2020
Phx az

Powerline Road #1 - MSPN

Powerline Road #1 - MSPN

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Oct 23 2022
		ScaredyCat • Triplogs 204

Hiking	13.87 Miles	1,324 AEG

Hiking	13.87 Miles	5 Hrs 17 Mns	2.88 mph
	1,324 ft AEG	28 Mns Break

no photosets

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linked

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Been sick the last 2 days & still recovering. However, these trails are fairly flat and I surprised myself by keeping a decent pace through this.

Saw many mtn bikers but no hikers. Temps were perf. More of a laid back outing than many of the others.

Jan 14 2022

Yoder

Guides 8
Routes 70
Photos 3,208
Triplogs 273

59 male

Joined Oct 07 2017
Chandler, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 14 2022
		Yoder • Triplogs 273

Hiking	10.70 Miles	720 AEG

Hiking	10.70 Miles	3 Hrs 34 Mns		3.34 mph
	720 ft AEG	22 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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Powerline Road #2 Trail - MSPN

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We decided to put together a loop 10.7 mile that hit a number of trails that we hadn't done yet. This is a nice easy trail. I will upload the GPS route.

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J. Yoder

Apr 19 2020

Nightstalker

Routes 189
Photos 7,236
Triplogs 1,740

57 male

Joined Apr 25 2011
Goodyear, AZ

MSPN Fraesfield Loop, AZ

Mtn Biking		Apr 19 2020
		Nightstalker • Triplogs 1,740

Mtn Biking	17.20 Miles	915 AEG

Mtn Biking	17.20 Miles	2 Hrs 54 Mns		6.93 mph
	915 ft AEG	25 Mns Break	13 LBS Pack

no routes

no photosets

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Whiskey Bottle Trail - MSPN

Watershed Trail - MSPN

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Fantastic follow up to our Sedona ride yesterday. SCA and I started at a nearly deserted Fraesfield trailhead at 6:45 this morning on an ambitiously planned tour of some of the lessor reported trails in the eastern side of MSPN. A wake up climb west on Whiskey Bottle followed with a seemingly endless trudge up Watershed and Cholla Mtn Loop to El Diablo. A large sign warning us of the mistake we were making should we continue loomed over the entrance of El Diablo. Interesting detail about black diamond trails in MSPN, not only are they not really all that hard, but the hard sections all have bypasses. Carey entertained herself from the bypasses as I (mostly) rode the difficult sections. El Diablo proved to be a fun distraction, but the real prize of the day were riding High Desert and Renegade. Those trails are just so much fun on a Mtn Bike! Once we got on 136th Street Express, it was a straight shot back to Fraesfield. Only saw one snake today, green in color, close to Granite Mountain trailhead near the end of our ride. Lots of rabbits everywhere. Saw a deer on Whiskey Bottle that could have cared less of our presence.

Wildflowers Observation Extreme

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Mar 01 2020

Nightstalker

Routes 189
Photos 7,236
Triplogs 1,740

57 male

Joined Apr 25 2011
Goodyear, AZ

Mspn Mtb, AZ

Mtn Biking		Mar 01 2020
		Nightstalker • Triplogs 1,740

Mtn Biking	16.20 Miles	1,083 AEG

Mtn Biking	16.20 Miles	3 Hrs 16 Mns		7.42 mph
	1,083 ft AEG	1 Hour 5 Mns Break	13 LBS Pack

no routes

no photosets

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10 linked trail guides

Upper Ranch Trail - MSPN

Corral Trail - MSPN

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Mountain bike ride at MSPN today with 100's of my closest hiking and mountain biking friends ;)

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

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May 12 2019

Crzy4AZ

Guides 31
Routes 135
Photos 2,699
Triplogs 615

52 female

Joined Apr 02 2007
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		May 12 2019
		Crzy4AZ • Triplogs 615

Hiking	4.04 Miles	311 AEG

Hiking	4.04 Miles	1 Hour 49 Mns		2.40 mph
	311 ft AEG	8 Mns Break	52 LBS Pack

no photosets

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linked

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Baby4AZ

LilGuy4AZ

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Mother’s Day hike with the kids! Had just rained. Saw double crested saguaro and Michelin Man cactus. Best gift I could get is a hike together !! I carried George for a little bit - has strep throat.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Thistle, buckhorn cholla , datura with purple blooms

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Apr 01 2018

mt98dew

Guides 69
Routes 37
Photos 3,010
Triplogs 2,387

55 male

Joined Oct 24 2010
Phoenix,Az

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Apr 01 2018
		mt98dew • Triplogs 2,387

Hiking	9.79 Miles	187 AEG

Hiking	9.79 Miles	1 Hour 49 Mns	5.39 mph
	187 ft AEG

no routes

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Happy Easter all! Early morning run at my favorite trail system. Went out to the Sonoran McDowell Preserve and did a loop with the intention of incorporating the Renegade Trail. Started from the Granite Mountain TH and went ccw starting with the 136th Expressway. Took that for about 2 miles to where it connected to the Renegade. The Renegade Trail goes east to west and is a veeerrryyyyy gradual climb. Ideal for jogging (as are all the trails). Then connected to the High Desert Trail for a short time. From there it was on to the Great Divide for an even shorter time. Without realizing it I had gained a little elevation. The next two trails were nicely downhill - Branding Iron and then the western part of the Granite Mountain Loop. For the last leg I took the Powerline Trail back to the car. Nice cloudy day. Beautiful temperatures. Saw 4 bikers in the interior but no one else until the Granite Loop when I encountered about 20 hikers in various groupings. Popular trail! No wildlife.

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Dec 11 2016

mazatzal

Routes 36
Photos 2,658
Triplogs 1,347

67 male

Joined Jul 28 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 11 2016
		mazatzal • Triplogs 1,347

Hiking	10.00 Miles	900 AEG

Hiking	10.00 Miles	4 Hrs 45 Mns	2.31 mph
	900 ft AEG	25 Mns Break

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Back to the McDowell Preserve!
Hawknest-Stagecoach-High Desert-Renegade-Dove Vally-Barb’s-136th Street
Saw a coyote, a couple of hawks and jack rabbits.

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1 archive

Dec 06 2016

Sun_Ray

Routes 144
Photos 1,145
Triplogs 1,238

77 male

Joined Sep 09 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

North Diablo Trail - MSPN

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 06 2016
		Sun_Ray • Triplogs 1,238

Hiking	5.60 Miles	237 AEG

Hiking	5.60 Miles	2 Hrs 31 Mns	2.75 mph
	237 ft AEG	29 Mns Break

no routes

no photosets

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I'm an All Trails member in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, which means I've hiked all 200 or so miles of trails. To keep up my membership I need to hike the trails that are added over time. This in one of those trails and it's now one of my favorites :y:

. It's on the North side of Granite Mountain away from the crowds... from 10 AM to 12:30 I saw no other hikers and 4 mountain bikers. There are two short ridge line areas that give you an excellent vista view to the North and South. Interesting rock formations and flora. We have had reports of mountain lion sightings in this area once and a while so I found myself looking up at the top of rock formations.

AVE HR:108
MAX HR:132

_____________________

Brian
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday......there is no SOMEDAY!

2 archives

Nov 27 2016

DarthStiller

Guides 27
Routes 669
Photos 12,096
Triplogs 856

56 male

Joined Jul 05 2006
Mesa, AZ

North Diablo Trail - MSPN

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 27 2016
		DarthStiller • Triplogs 856

Hiking	13.20 Miles	784 AEG

Hiking	13.20 Miles	5 Hrs 5 Mns	2.60 mph
	784 ft AEG

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7 linked trail guides

South Diablo Trail - MSPN

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Went back up this area to do a few more trails I haven't hiked yet. Took 136th St. to Barb's Trail, Renegade and High Desert and The Divide Trails. Then I did the North and South Diablo Trails, including all the inter-braided loops marked "most difficult", which they weren't really at all. At the end of the South Diablo Trail, I was on the Divide Trail headed north when I saw the junction for a trail that cut across the unmapped area. I decided to take this as it was headed in the direction I was going (back to the car) and it looked like a shortcut. It junctions on the north end with the High Desert Trail again, which saved me probably over a half mile of hiking. From the High Desert Trail, I took Dove Valley back to the east side via Barb's and 136th St. again.

didn't see any other hikers, and even the number of bikers was pretty low. I think I've seen more people out there in the heat of the summer. The temperature was much cooler than it has been recently thanks to the clouds. No interesting wildlife spotted, barely even chipmunks or rabbits.

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Nov 13 2016

DarthStiller

Guides 27
Routes 669
Photos 12,096
Triplogs 856

56 male

Joined Jul 05 2006
Mesa, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 13 2016
		DarthStiller • Triplogs 856

Hiking	10.60 Miles	622 AEG

Hiking	10.60 Miles	3 Hrs 55 Mns	2.71 mph
	622 ft AEG

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8 linked trail guides

Old Paint Wash - MSPN

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Got out for a quick morning hike with a later kickoff for the Steelers, doing a few more trails I haven't hiked yet. Right at dawn I saw another saguaro with about 5 hawks sitting on the tops of all the arms.

I took the 136th St. Express Trail and finished of the last section of that I hadn't done, then did a figure 8 of the Dove Valley, Cowpoke and Old Paint Wash Trails, the took the Old Paint Wash Trail up to the Soapberry Wash Trail, Desperado Trail, then went east on the Coyote Canyon Trail, back to the Dove Valley Trail, and did a section of the Renegade Trail. I circled back taking the Renegade-Soapberry Wash connector to Soapberry, then got back on the Renegade eastward again to 136th St and back to the TH.

I was hoping to finish up a section of the Cholla Mtn Trail, but if I did that, it would have been over 15 miles, which is more than I wanted to do today. I also forgot to take my snacks, so I was ready to get home for lunch.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Michelin Man Saguaro

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Oct 04 2016

mazatzal

Routes 36
Photos 2,658
Triplogs 1,347

67 male

Joined Jul 28 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Renegade - Diablos - Desperado, AZ

Hiking		Oct 04 2016
		mazatzal • Triplogs 1,347

Hiking	10.20 Miles	556 AEG

Hiking	10.20 Miles	4 Hrs 30 Mns	2.45 mph
	556 ft AEG	20 Mns Break

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11 linked trail guides

North Diablo Trail - MSPN

South Diablo Trail - MSPN

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Back to MSPN :roll:

Barb’s

Dove Valley :next:

Renegade

High Desert :next:

The Divide :next:

N. Diablo

S. Diablo

Branding Iron :next:

Granite Mountain Loop :next:

Coyote Canyon :next:

Desperado

Renegade

136th Express :next:

Barb’s

Saw 2 mountain bikers and some evidence of motor bikes coming in from 136th St

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Humboldt Mountain

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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1 archive

Aug 21 2016

Crzy4AZ

Guides 31
Routes 135
Photos 2,699
Triplogs 615

52 female

Joined Apr 02 2007
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Aug 21 2016
		Crzy4AZ • Triplogs 615

Hiking	6.50 Miles	376 AEG

Hiking	6.50 Miles	3 Hrs 34 Mns	2.47 mph
	376 ft AEG	56 Mns Break

no routes

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linked

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Last night had a hike rained out - was determined to get in a good hike this morning. Set alarm for 4:30am. Got close to Tonto on 136th St by 5:45am. Was spit raining - huge wall of rain over Brown's Mtn. MyWeather radar app showed it moving away from my planned area. I basically didn't care - was getting this hike in.

Plan was to do entirety of Renegade now that signs are up. Last times on Renegade I did the "Heaven Hill" portion but didn't know how it connected to other trails on either side. Knew generalities but not names or details. So I used TrailForks map to see where I was going when I wasn't near a sign since the new City map won't be out for another week or so.

136th St Express down to start of Renegade :next:

to the end of Renegade and backtracked to Desperado :next:

down to Soapberry Wash (and intersection with Michelin Man cactus) :next:

Soapberry to Renegade connector :next:

Dove Valley :next:

Barb's

136th.

Temp was 73 at start and low 80's when I finished. I took 56 minutes of break. Mostly laying around on top of Heaven Hill watching sun break though cloud layers and thinking how much I loved the quiet and solitude but simultaneously wished I wasn't alone. I haven't had a drink in 42 days and feel so much better - skin/hair/clothes fitting so much better. Nothing horrible made me stop. Just felt like need for alcohol was escalating and was using it to get dissociative from daily life. Not healthy. And not drinking on Fri/Sat nights makes it much easier to get up crack of dawn for hikes.

Because of the rain and storms - I was the only human out on trails for at least two hours. You get panoramic views from the three bumps/hills on Renegade - - cloud cover was just wonderful. Bugs were intensely awful and I had to keep a rag on my nose/mouth for most of the hike to keep from vacuuming them up as I walked. Still worth it to get out on these trails before word gets out how great they are. Rain+alarm clock+bugs == no one else out there LOL.

I am posting a crap ton of photos because it was just so beautiful. Side note: I am far behind posting triplogs from spring. I know how to make it not show up on main page. Will slowly get those filled in. And somehow I need to get motivation to write up these hike descriptions.

Route Scout app rocks. I love uploading to HAZ. And TrailForks has one mislabeled section of Renegade and is missing two short connectors.

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Xenolith

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Michelin Man Saguaro

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
white ratany, desert senna, barrel cactus blooms

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Feb 07 2016

Crzy4AZ

Guides 31
Routes 135
Photos 2,699
Triplogs 615

52 female

Joined Apr 02 2007
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 07 2016
		Crzy4AZ • Triplogs 615

Hiking	7.00 Miles	250 AEG

Hiking	7.00 Miles	3 Hrs 35 Mns	2.47 mph
	250 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

Linked

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none

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Wanted to get back to Renegade trail (did not know name at the time - and won't be on maps until fall 2016).

Barb's :next:

Dove Valley :next:

Renegade

Soapberry Wash (Michelin man cactus) :next:

Coyote Canyon :next:

Dove Valley :next:

High Desert :next:

Hawknest

136th St Express back to Barb's intersection.

Cold. Sunrise. Light incredible up on hill of Renegade.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]