| | -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
-
-
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 10.15 Miles |
732 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.15 Miles | 2 Hrs 54 Mns | | 3.50 mph |
| 732 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Early morning hike in the Sonoran Preserve. Got on the trail around 5:15. Still dark out. I had to use my phone for the first 30 minutes. The plan had been to do Cactus Wren. I got to the Wren and embarrassingly took a wrong turn about .5 from the Verde Valley juncture. The Cactus Wren flowed smoothly onto this use trail and this “use” trail showed a lot of activity. It took me a few minutes to figure out that I was on the wrong trail, but by then I was curious to see where it went. One of the dangers about social trails is that frequently there is a lot of “threading”, where the trail starts to split in different directions. This “use” trail wasn’t that bad. There was one split at .76, but otherwise the trail was a solid single track. At 1.56 the trail left the Preserve. Shortly after, the trail crossed a dirt road and continued on to where it appeared to end at the Dove Valley/Sonoran Desert bridge (around 3 miles from the Verde Valley Trail juncture). This is very close to the Sonoran North Preserve and it looks to be very easy to connect to that trail system. I kind of thought it would go under the bridge to do that, but there was no indication of that. There is construction occurring in the area, so I didn’t bother exploring to see if I could pick up the trail on the other side of the road.
I feel kind of fortunate stumbling onto this trail. I always enjoy doing new trails and this one, not only makes sense (connecting the two preserves), but is (unofficially) signed. In the middle of the trail someone had created a very well made trail sign declaring it the “Dirt Devil Trail” in honor of a vacuum cleaner found on site. Pretty funny  The trail is solid, I would be tempted to do a description for it, but with all the construction that is going on on the area I’m afraid that this trail will have a short shelf life. The trail sign says it was created in 2017. Who knows, it might have another 7 years of life before the homes come.
I took the trail back to the Preserve and then proceeded to do the Verde Valley up to the Dixie Mine Loop which I took back to the TH. Not a bad outing. Weather was great. No wildlife. Encountered 6 hikers, 4 runners and 3 bikers; (2 of the users were on “use” trail).
I’m always trying to take credit for trails that I haven’t done in a particular month, which is why I chose the Desert Tortoise for this write-up. I did take the Tortoise on my way to the “use” trail. I did part of the Tortoise with a phone light which was a different experience, but the trail hasn’t changed much. It’s a nice way to get back into the preserve with only mild elevation change. The trail is wide and easy to follow with no side trails that can lead you astray. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
