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| Hiking | 7.80 Miles |
263 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.80 Miles | 3 Hrs 5 Mns | | 2.53 mph |
| 263 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | The weather is nice for hiking and Radmila and the kids were wanting to get out. After seeing the heavier traffic on the Scottsdale trails and seeing even worse on various social media around metro Phoenix, the only reasonable option seemed to be hiking part of the Maricopa Trail, a lot of which is along the various canals. We hiked a section of this 2 years ago from the Granite Reef rec area, so this time I decided to pick a spot from where it crosses McDowell Road and head the other way. We parked at Sheepherder's Park, which provided secure parking and is very close to the trail.
I spotted the markers right away and we followed the arrow, which directed down the bank to an underpass. I realized that this would take us in the opposite direction I planned, so we headed back up to the top of the canal and quickly saw more markers with an arrow pointing to where I planned to go.
The trail follows the north side of the canal. For nearly the first mile, there's a subdivision full of McMansions. I was surprised how big this subdivision is. After that is a big rock quarry, then some citrus groves. On the other side I spotted the beginning of the upper canal that heads south and goes past our house. I jog this canal once or twice a week and spotted where I usually stop and turn around.
Crossed under the 202 and got to our turn around point from 2 years ago, at Thomas Road, right at the entrance for the sand and gravel company.
Saw a lot of bikers and a few other hikers. Probably more traffic than is normally here, but the canal offers a wide berth for everyone for the safety distances needed to prevent the virus spread. Also saw some fishers along the canal. Not the greatest scenery, but not the worst. It was making due with what we could. Might be a nice time to continue sections of the MT along these canals for a while as all other trails seem to be too crowded for comfort. |
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