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| - Even though this hike is listed as moderate, you can make it a little easier by taking the well worn path of least resistance or you can make it a little more difficult, by straying off to challenge yourself. In the end, you'll be rewarded with an outstanding view of the valley.
After studying the map to get an idea of the general direction and parking at the Sandstone Quarry lot, my wife, my daughter, her friend, and I set off. There are a couple of signs to help you make a series of right turns to get to the canyon and everything is pretty leisurely until then. Once in, there's pretty much only one direction to go, the terrain changes and the elevation gain begins. There is an easier path with more cleared areas and rock steps to help with elevation. Or you can choose to navigate through on your own.
There is a large tank toward the end that's a good photo op and with the area being enclosed you can play around with the acoustics and find that spot where you whisper and can be heard from a distance. From this tank, there's your last bit of climbing and then you can have a seat and enjoy the view.
The normal hike is about 2.5 miles round trip, but after we got out of the canyon we headed north for a little bit to do more exploring and ended up going around 4 miles. Elevation gain was around 500 feet for us with most of it coming in the last half mile. I felt I had good footing with my running shoes and the heat wasn't too bad for April but we had plenty of water. This was a good, short hike for the family and good stepping stone for some of the more challenging ones.
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