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| Hiking | 8.34 Miles |
600 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.34 Miles | 3 Hrs | | 2.78 mph |
| 600 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | First part of a daily double. With the long drive across town wanted to explore two different areas. Started the morning around 5:30am from the Bulldog Wash TH. Fourth car in the lot. Getting there early is the best way to void parking and trail traffic.
I took the Lance Trail to the Alp d’ Huez Trail and took that up to one of the higher level hills. The Alp Trail is a “valley” trail - enclosed on three sides. It is not until you reach this upper hill that you get some nice views to the north and east. I had studied the Hawes trail system map prior to the hike so I had a good idea on the route I needed to follow to reach the Lower Gidro Trail. Took the Iron Goat Trail briefly to the Goat Trail and took this west for about .5 miles. Great views of Red Mountain as the sun rose! Noticed some annoying inconsistencies between the trail map and the trail signage for the High Ridge, Alp ‘d Huez and Iron Goat Trails. The area of confusion is this upper hill area and where these three trails officially end. It’s the .15 mile stretch from the hill to where the Goat Trail begins. The map indicates one thing but trails signage says something else. Not a huge deal.
A more significant discrepancy was with the Lower Gidro Trail. The trail map indicated that the Cactus Garden Trail connected the Goat Trail to the Lower Gidro. I was surprised to find that the Lower Gidro was signed juncturing with the Goat Trail, (no mention of the Cactus Garden). This is a fairly big departure from the trail map, but it made connecting to the Gidro easier. From this juncture you get a decent view to the southwest. Mainly homes below and the business valley further out. The Gidro Trail is pretty nice. A solid single track that has a moderate grade with a few steep and flat sections thrown in. I could see some of the steep sections with embedded rocks, being challenging for bikers. The signage for this trail needs to be improved! About .33 miles down you reach your first official split in the trail with an old sign that doesn’t jive with the current signage. (Turns out that the trail that splits to the east is the Cactus Garden Trail, though there is no indication at this end of the trail). I took the western split (Lower Gidro) and a little later came upon another, unsigned split in the trail. Took the eastern split to stay on the Gidro Trail. (I think the western split was the Boulderdash Trail). Eventually the Gidro switchbacks down to the Hawes Trail. And again this connection is unsigned. Really surprised at the ambiguity of the trails. My reading about this system made me believe they were more established. From here I took the Hawes Trail east and connected to the Cactus Garden Trail. (This was the only signage for this trail, so I am not sure where it official ends). Took this trail up to where it connects to the Gidro and then I retraced my steps back to the TH.
I really enjoy the trails out here. They are single tracks that offer some nice views. I hope the maps and trail signs can get on the same page. Great temps. Actually wore a jacket for this first hike. Traffic was as expected for this system….57 bikers, 2 hikers and 2 runners. No wildlife. |
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