Vent: people keep saying the mesa trails are 'too crowded' but they're all at the same 3 spots
I walk my dogs out at the Elena Gallegos trails 4 or 5 mornings a week around 6:30am and I swear 90 percent of the foot traffic is crammed into the same two parking lots. Last Saturday I counted 23 cars at the main one and maybe 4 at the trailhead off the other side, and both connect to basically the same loop. Everyone pulls in, sees a full lot, and either leaves mad or squeezes in, when a 3 minute drive puts you on the same dirt with nobody around. I've been going out there 6 years now so I know how the mornings shift by season too, summers it's dead by 8 because of the heat, spring break week it's nuts no matter where you park. What bugs me is people posting online that the trails are ruined when really they just never walked 10 extra minutes in either direction. So am I wrong here, or does anyone else park at the far lot just to skip the mess?
Park at the far lot every single time. Ten extra minutes of walking beats circling a full lot and getting mad at strangers. Six years out there means you've watched this happen over and over, so the crowd problem is really a parking problem. People want the easy loop and never bother to check the map.