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| Hiking | 10.96 Miles |
2,691 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.96 Miles | 4 Hrs 40 Mns | | 2.50 mph |
| 2,691 ft AEG | 17 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Okay, people are going to disagree with me, but... I did this hike with the idea that I have always regarded Guadalupe Ridge as the most difficult hike in SM. But the TrailDEX claims this Goat Hill loop to be a higher difficulty. Plus I've heard of Goat Hill and wanted to see it. I've always walked by it in the past without giving it any notice. Out and back on Guadalupe Ridge, with Marcos De Niza thrown in, is 10.6 miles. Goat Hill via Pyramid/Bursera loop is 10.5 miles. So pretty much the same. My body is noticeably more exhausted doing Guadalupe/Marcos, out and back, then today after the Goat Hill loop. Climbing through the boulder fields is harder work than hiking fairly smooth trails. Guadalupe/Marcos (both directions) has more AEG than the Goat Hill loop. I don't understand how the Goat Hill loop is rated significantly higher in difficulty than Guadalupe/Marcos.
Pyramid is rated a 3.0, Bursera is rated a 2.0, the National is rated 3.0 in TrailDEX but when you combine the 3 trails it gets a 4.0. Something doesn't make sense.
As far as the hike goes; I hit the trail about 7:20 AM it was very cool. The wind was wild on the ridges and especially on the top of Goat Hill. I thought I was going to be blown off. And it was a very cold wind. Luckily the sun shown all morning. The National is sure a lot quieter on the west end than it is on the east end. I think I passed only 1 person in the few miles of National trail between the Bursera and the Pyramid. Oh, that reminds me the Pyramid no longer exists, it's now the Gila trail. All signs have been changed. Thanks to our friends at the park service. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
Last several miles were mostly chill. I would give this a 3 for difficulty but I'm a mere mortal unlike 
Traveling north from the Loop 101 on 17th Avenue, I had to abruptly swerve, just missing a stray dog on the street. I think it might have been a rez dog, or possibly a collarless Heeler. Thank goodness I missed it because that would have ruined an otherwise perfect morning. SoMo has really desiccated over the last few weeks. Hopefully the dry grass in the preserve doesn't get ignited by a careless visitor, hobo or dorky pothead who drove over straight from Story. There was one early bird descending the Pyramid Trail, but I didn't see anyone else until near the end of Bursera. An early start going CCW in middle May works well on this loop to minimize the amount of sun exposure. This hike will likely get bumped to third most challenging of the listed South Mountain - Hikes, once the 
