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| Hiking | 7.19 Miles |
3,497 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.19 Miles | | | |
| 3,497 ft AEG | 5 Hrs Break | 10 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | I live in the area but was unable to find the start of the route. I stopped in the general store in Vallecito and a man there told me how to find it. If you are standing in front of the store and look about 40 degrees to your left across County Road 501 there is a dirt road. Drive (slowly, respectfully) up the road about a mile. Near the end of the road you'll see a green USFS gate on your left. Park well off the road, the neighbors have been complaining about parkers.
From the gate walk up an old ATV road perhaps 1.5 miles. I have no GPS, just a compass. Passing 2 further gates will bring you to Freeman Park. An open mountain park/bowl.
Go left/south at the lower end of the park. There is a trail but it is not obvious. Continue in that direction out of the lower end of the park where the trail will become more obvious.
You will come to a T junction. At this point is the only trail sign I saw. It points right for the Endlich Mesa trail.
This portion of the trail is mostly but not always obvious. There is a fair amount of deadfall to be negotiated as you climb up the steep mountain. This gets easier to navigate as you progress.
Eventually you will top out on a ridge which is essentially the lower end of Endlich Mesa. I did not know of any destination but I followed the trail up the mesa until I decided to turn around due to the prospects for rain. The hike on the mesa was very pleasant with a mixture of Ponderosa, Aspen, burnt trees from the Missionary Ridge fire, and lots undergrowth much of it with flowers though I was a bit late in the year for the flower peak.
I am not a mountain runner or young but I still found the decent substantially faster than the climb. I suspect following the trail up the mesa further and with less clouds than I had today would provide further and better views.
Enjoy! |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Harebells, Yarrow, Lupine, Fireweed, Paintbrush, and more |
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