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| Hiking | 12.70 Miles |
1,113 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.70 Miles | 4 Hrs 46 Mns | | 2.66 mph |
| 1,113 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | With the Steelers on a bye week, I had the opportunity to get out for a Sunday hike, which for some football seasons can be rare. Over a year ago I noticed that a new trail was built in the Estrella county park. This finally seemed like the best time to get out there. The temperatures are finally cool enough now to enjoy a 10+ mile hike without being drained and dehydrated by the end of it.
There was a 30% chance of rain for the day, but that wouldn’t happen until the evening. I started before 6am, with just enough daylight to not need a headlamp. It was cooler, but not chilly. The temperature seemed to be roughly the same all morning, maybe even cooling a little. The winds picked up at times, which helped keep everything pleasant. The clouds near the horizon kept the shade around a bit longer, but once the sun got high enough, the direct daylight was all around.
I started from the rodeo area of Estrella park and took the Coldwater Trail south, left on the Butterfield Trail, then left on the Gadsden Trail, and finally left again onto the Desert Rose Trail. It was an out and back hike to PIR. There’s lots of fuzzy green grass that’s a result of all the recent rain. Some hills seem greener than others, but it does look nicer. The clouds made for nice scenery and cast some nice shadows across the mountains.
Saw only 3 bikers and no other hikers. On the east end of the Desert Rose Trail, it connects with the competitive track, which to my understanding is only for the bikers. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen the hiking trails actually connect to the competitive tracks, which are usually completely separate in other county parks. The track/(trails) actually looked pretty nice and possibly a pleasant hike. They seemed to go thru the hills and terrain a bit more, so the hiking and the scenery might be a bit more interesting.
It had been 3 weeks since my last hike and probably since the summer since I had to charge a battery for my camera. When I went to take my first picture, I found out that the battery and the backup battery were both dead. Luckily the phone camera was suitable enough for anything you’re likely to encounter in a local county park.
This hike brings my total mileage for this year the most I’ve posted on HAZ. I may have exceeded this mileage in years prior when I hiked pretty much every Sunday, but it probably wasn’t by much. Still have a few more months to go, so I’ll see how much I can get in a good year.
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
After a 3 course meal at Ruby Tuesday's (love their salad bar!) I went on an unplanned hike with family. They only wanted to walk around the block. I talked them in to going to the nearby trail Desert Rose which I hadn't done yet. They were good for 20 minutes but gave me 40 minutes to do what I could. Started from the east TH, near the ISM Speedway (formerly PIR). Family walked and I started jogging. Let me say that running, or in this case jogging, on a full stomach is less than pleasant. Felt rather nauseous trying to maintain a pace as I climbed to the saddle. The elevation change is not profound but it is steady for the first half mile. However, once I reached the saddle it was all down hill and then flat after that. My stomach seemed ok with that. Got in about 2.2 miles before having to turn around. On the way back I utilized an ATV track I noticed earlier that shaved off some time and distance on the return trip. Did not get the whole trail, but I got most of it. Besides family, I only saw 1 biker while I was out. No wildlife.
