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| Hiking | 5.50 Miles |
1,320 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.50 Miles | 3 Hrs | | 1.83 mph |
| 1,320 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Because of the nice weather (65F) here in Phoenix, South Mountain was pretty packed today @ 130pm. I decided to try this trail and am glad I did. Not sure if we made it to the destination mentioned in Teva's write-up, but enjoyed it none-the-less.
I found it to be a good workout with all the up and down terrain along the ridgeline as mentioned by others. The Guadalupe Ridge-Ridgeline trail is pretty well defined, so no route-finding is really needed. There are only a couple spots where you have to watch where you are going (e.g. Beverly Canyon descent).
The second part of the hike (beyond the Beverly Canyon trail) I enjoyed much more...there is more green vegetation and the rocks turn from sharp jagged white to much more larger darkened variety, some pretty huge!. We found the two large boulders that were mentioned, and some cairns as you begin to descend to the WNW. However, I'm not sure we found the actual destination. Never did see a sign. Forgot to take the printout or pics....arrggg...Anyways, we eventually found ourselves climbing down big boulders, into the mouth of the Pima Wash. The rock canyon views here was impressive. In the center of this small valley was a large Ocotillo and large Saguaro, along with a pretty large eroded rock "table" (no more than 2-3' tall), near the Saguaro. Recent rains created many small pools of water both iin this little valley as well as other spots along the hike.
From here we took the Pima Wash all the way back two a large stone building near the National Trail. Quite a bit of route finding was needed to get from our turnaraound to the National Trail. There are quite a few 20' drop-offs along the way, but nothing that required aditional equipment.
Did the trip with wife and dog right at 3 hours, which also included several 2-3 minute rest stops along the way. I recommend this to anyone who wants a good somewhat low-impact, scenic hike. The second part is well worth a return visit. I'd like to know who else has been to the small valley I turned around at.
 Thumbs up!
SenorCampbell |
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