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| Hiking | 18.77 Miles |
2,474 AEG |
| | Hiking | 18.77 Miles | 10 Hrs 1 Min | | 2.07 mph |
| 2,474 ft AEG | 56 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | These were all familiar trails today, but we hadn't hiked this specific loop before, and it looked like a nice option with some good mileage and scenery. We got a later start than planned thanks to a closure on Highway 60, a detour on the surface streets, a long wait at a train crossing just before we could get back on 60 in Mesa...then we got stuck behind a slow-moving truck and trailer on Peralta Road. There were a lot of vehicles at the trailhead already, but at least it was a sunnier morning than forecasted, and we were happy to get away from most of the crowds as we left the Fremont Saddle traffic behind and turned onto Dutchman.
I was pleased to find that the trail maintenance work along Whiskey Spring Trail last spring hadn't become overgrown again...the catclaw along the trail was terrible in late 2021, but it had been trimmed way back as of last March, and it was still in pretty good shape today. We passed a Forest Service worker trimming brush and hauling it off the trail just before Whiskey Spring, so it's an ongoing effort and saved a lot of time and scratches on the section of that route, though Red Tanks had some spots that could use some work.
The sun continued to break through the clouds on and off most of the morning, and we took a short break near the water crossing at the west entrance to Trap Canyon before continuing on past La Barge Spring, Oak Spring, and the third one near Music Canyon. There were pools and a decent flow of water at most of the crossings today, and we had the sound of tricking water almost all day.
We had Charlebois Spring to ourselves, and we took a break there in the shade. We were there almost exactly a year ago and heard a lot of frogs that day, and today we saw two frogs mating at the side of the spring. They were clearly distracted and made no effort to move as we got closer, so we were able to get some Discovery Channel-worthy pictures before we started back.
[ youtube video ]
I took a quick detour over to the Master Map before we continued along the east side of Bluff Spring Mountain on Dutchman. The clouds got a lot thicker in the afternoon, and we started to see more people on the trails, including some groups of backpackers and occasional campsites. On the way out, we stopped for a final break near Peralta Rock, which I'd passed many times without ever noticing...this time I finally saw it  . We saw one more large group coming down from the Cave Trail, and we finished a little before sunset.
There were a lot of hikers on the trails, probably 15+ different groups/individuals over the course of the day...likely a combination the long weekend and people trying to get outside before rain starts tomorrow. But, as expected, this was an enjoyable, straightforward loop with plenty of water, good mileage and scenery, and a few bonuses between the frogs/spring, Master Map, and Peralta Rock. |
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