[trekkin gecko]

can someone give me an estimate of the mileage for this hike starting at gateway center:

gateway loop, bell pass trail, windmill, east end, tom's thumb, windgate, gateway loop

i don't have the right set of maps at my fingertips
if anyone can point me to a triplog of this hike or a gps route, i'd appreciate it
have looked, but don't see this exact combination
i've done the windgate-bell loop and the tom's thumb-windgate loop from the north side, so i'm familiar with the trails
thinking it would be best to go counter-clockwise as i prefer to ascend steep and descend moderate trails
thanks in advance for any feedback
also thinking a sunrise start time would be in order

[coanbru]

11-12 miles. East End is steep going up that way, and it's steep going down the Toms Thumb side also. The only other part that's a bit steep is the final 1/2 mile climb to Bell Pass.

[trekkin gecko]

that seems about right
roughly 3.5 to bell pass, 2.5 to tom's thumb, 5.5 back down

[AndreyP]

12.0 miles
I've done that clockwise including going to Lookout point that adds 1.0 mi.
http://hikearizona.com/x.php?I=4&ZTN=2033&UID=51799

[trekkin gecko]

perfect - thanks for the link to your triplog

[johnlp]

If you start from the Horseshoe trailhead you don't have to wait for them to open up the gateway center (the gate is closed at night), and you can get an earlier start. I'm not sure what time they open the gate, but it's later than the time I like to start hiking.

[AndreyP]

Gates open at 4:49am, close at 7:33 pm.
Gate schedule is posted on the official website here.

[nonot]

I did something kinda close to that...trim off what you don't want to do.

http://hikearizona.com/location_g.php?GPS=7323