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| Hiking | 7.18 Miles |
617 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.18 Miles | 2 Hrs 18 Mns | | 3.12 mph |
| 617 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | From the Taliesin West sculpture, the trail heads north, closely paralleling the road. To the right is a chainlink fence, berm and powerlines. The trail soon turns right across the canal, then immediately turn left, along the powerline road. And there are a lot of powerlines.
Several golf holes are down in the wash. At 1¼ miles, a green and Quartz Trail are on the right.
Just past the paved cart path four-way intersection, the trail does a quick left-right, down into the wash. If you look up, that small building is a restroom. It’s private property, but if you gotta go, you gotta go. The his & hers are single occupancy, clean, flush, running water, with hand cleanser. 
At 1⅔ miles, to the right of the trail, is a cement spillway, studded with “dragon’s teeth” like it’s Omaha Beach. I wonder what the “dragon’s teeth” are for?
At 2 miles, the trail turns right, passing between two golf greens. (This is the other end of Quartz Trail, per signs.) Another restroom building is there. Don’t stray onto any of the several cart paths: Stay on dirt. Again singletrack, the trail hugs a wall for 150 yds., then turns northeast, along the bank of a shallow wash.
The trail remains in that small wash, lined by high-end homes, for the next two miles. I’d only seen one hiker earlier — ironically, the same one at both ends of Quartz Trail — but I saw occasional foot traffic between the golf course and Paradise Ln. After passing through that tunnel, the trail becomes traditional desert hiking.
Though never far from civilization, it is the most remote part of this segment. If you look back, there’s just enough elevation gain you can see most of the northeast Valley, including Scottsdale Airport, in whose flight path this segment lies.
I was going to stop for lunch at the Levee Trail intersection, but after unwrapping my chorizo breakfast burrito, decided instead to eat it on the fly. It paid off in pace (3.12 mph).
Once the rail joins Gateway Loop Trail at the 5-mile mark, it is all downhill to Gateway Trailhead. Tons of foot traffic too.
Four more segments to go!
Rumble Video: https://rumble.com/v45gcq0-maricopa-tra ... lhead.html
Vimeo Video: https://vimeo.com/900372795 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
I think I saw three flowers the whole morning. All along powerline road. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
