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| Hiking | 11.99 Miles |
675 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.99 Miles | 4 Hrs 30 Mns | | 2.66 mph |
| 675 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I arrived at the Aqua Fria Trailhead to find that it's closed. It was a pretty long drive up, and at 6:30a, the traffic was beginning to build on the freeways. Fortunately, across the road is a dirt service road with room to pull off on the side. The road into the Agua Fria Trailhead is also closed, with no trespassing signs posted. I quickly hiked down that road to the beginning of the MT and headed south. When I got to the trailhead, there were two pickup trucks pulled off on the road there, so I'm not sure how strictly the closing is being enforced.
The MT heads under the Carefree Highway, then there is a single track that heads up the hill towards the Waddell Canal. Then, it follows a very faint service road that parallels the canal for the next few miles. The service road is faint enough that it's pretty much like hiking a single track. Saw absolutely no one along here at all. For this stretch, on your left is a cylone fence. The service road goes up and down through some drainages, and also passes under a few sets of powerlines. After the powerlines, the views are actually pretty nice here, other than the cyclone fencing. Saw a few of the lawnmower engine gliders flying about and a few planes landing and taking off from Pleasant Valley Airport.
The service road makes a left turn around where the Waddell Canal meets the CAP canal. The CAP appears to come up from underground somewhere , so while the 2 canals meet, it just kind of looks like the one canal makes a left turn. After following another dirt road for about a quarter mile, the trail turns into a single track again, paralleling the Lake Pleasant parkway. After crossing the 303, it turns into a wider landscaped path that looks to be meant for hikers and bikers.
On the way back, saw a group of wild burros.
Getting back to where I parked, I decided to take a shortcut and climb the slope up the Carefree Highway instead of going the long way through the closed area. Kind of tricky getting up the loose, steep slope, but not too bad. Found my car in good shape when I got back, and headed home. |
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