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| Hiking | 9.35 Miles |
1,100 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.35 Miles | 3 Hrs 25 Mns | | 2.74 mph |
| 1,100 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Afternoon hike in the Estrellas. Purpose of hike was 3-fold. On a previous Gadsden hike I noticed what looked to be a hitching post on top of a mountain near the northeastern edge of the Gadsden trail. I wanted to check that out. Also, about 10 years I came across and followed for a short duration a user trail that took off from Gadsden Wash and headed up into the foothills of the Estrellas. I wanted to see if I could find that trail for a future hike. And then of course, I needed to knock out a trail while doing all of this.
Got to the Coldwater TH around 3pm. Decided to check out the “hitching post” first. Went in on the Butterfield and then east on the Gadsden. The mountain is at the northeast end just before the trail crosses the Gadsden Wash. (Not sure if the wash is officially called the Gadsden Wash, but since the trail plays with this wash, I’ve always thought of it as such). I “picked” my way up the mountain following the path of least resistance. Nothing too crazy. Disappointed to find that it was nothing more than posts for a fence. Noticed there was a definite user trail on the other side of the fence. Heading back down, I then entered the Gadsden Wash looking for the old use trail from years ago. I stayed primarily in the wash, though I did follow a couple of potential paths up the east and/or southern banks. Spent quite a bit time looking, but none of the paths felt right. Very disappointing. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the wash. In my opinion, hiking the wash is much more entertaining than following the official route that parallels the east side of the bank. Finally, I headed back east along the Gadsden to hook up with the Flycatcher Trail. This is the newest addition to EMRP system and provides a nice loop option involving the Gadsden. Once I reconnected to the north section of the Gadsden, I then retraced my route back to the Butterfield which I then took back to the TH.
Scratched a couple of “itches”. But nothing too exciting. Nice hike. Weather was great! Met 3 hikers early, but had the park to myself for most of the hike. Wildlife…quail and chipmunks. |
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