[danny burrows]

My wife and I are looking into a overnight backpack hike at the Barnhardt trail on Memorial Day weekend. I was wondering your opinions on this hike this time of year. We are pretty avid hikers and hike a bit but this will be our first overnight. We plan on taking our dog and have him stay with us. Any suggestions or is this a good place to start? Also, we do not have a four wheel drive, I will be driving a front wheel drive car. Will I have any issues getting to the trail head? Thanks for any help and suggestions!!!

[joe bartels]

Aside from being a tad warm and buggy out I think you'll be fine. There's a couple Mazatzal pros here that will know better, definitely check back. Hope you post up a triplog on your return, we all like to read about the adventures.

[danny burrows]

Another addition: Does anyone know if any of the streams around Barnhardt and Y Bar have water in them? We are trying to decide if we should pack in all our water or pack in some and hope on the streams. Any help would be awesome!

[Winnie Y Chin]

Judging from the map of the area, you might want to pack some water and bring a H2O purifier in case. We (3 of us and a dog) are also doing overnight backpacking on the Barnhardt trail and making a loop with the Y Bar trail via connecting with the Mazatzal Divide. Does anybody have any idea of which direction we should tackle this from the trailhead i.e. clockwise starting on Y Bar or counterclockwise from the Barnhardt?

Any other tips would be very useful...thanks in advance!

[te-wa]

counter clockwise. going up barnhardt is much easier and more scenic.
as for water, you better bank on bringing containers so that you can fill up at the second waterfall known as the "big kahuna". There is usually water in Barnhardt canyon but it is mostly inaccesible so you'll have to pack in enough to get you to the fist source, the waterfall at 2.5 miles.
the next water source is in Ybar tanks. Sometimes there will be some where the shake tree/y bar trail crosses the drainage coming from Mazatzal peak but most likely location for water is a short bushwhack downstream to the official tanks. SO, expect a good amount to be on your back. Chilson spring is also supposedly reliable but I saw very little indication of water last month.

[danny burrows]

I appreciate the help all. To you Winnie: We are going clockwise, starting with the Y Bar, connecting to the Divide, hiking up to Rock creek, and finally down to the half moon trail. It seems like the way to go (this has been given a nice hike in a book we have). As for water, I think we'll pack for a dry camp, just to be safe. Seems that there may be some water available, but I'd rather not take the chance. As for getting to the trailhead, does anyone know if we can get there in a passenger vehicle, or do we need a 4 wheel drive? The last trip we attempted, we drove an hour and half only to find a 5 mile drive on sand. Needless to say, we didn't go . I appreciate all the help!

[te-wa]

nothing on that road a car cant handle. i am however concerned with the source of your book, because the Rock Creek and Half Moon trails are wiped out. Preston placed several hundred cairns along the way but its still a major bushwhack thru charred trees. just a heads up in case you didnt know this. btw.. Kane spring and Horse camp seep are (usually) good.

[danny burrows]

I did not know that! The book I have is about 5 years old, so it seems somethings may be out of date... What if we instead hike the Y bar to the Divide, and then up to the Saddle Trail? Is this good or should we just cut across the Barnhardt from the Divide and be done with it?

[te-wa]

I'll be honest with you, the only trail that is still resembles it's previous self is Barnhardt. The divide trail from Mt. Peeley is good for about 5 miles... the Y bar can be followed but there is still noticable erosion. Sandy Saddle trail is your best bet for anything less travelled. Not much in the way of scenery tho, unless you're fond of burnt trees. I followed it UP the last time I was out there and it wasnt so bad except the section that follows in a creekbed before the final acsent to the saddle. On the plus side, you get great views into Deadman canyon. You can camp in a nice section of junipers just west of Barnhardt saddle.