A return trip back to East Mountain to claim the peak which the trail skirts just below and we also wanted to see if there would be any running water in Pinal Creek along Toll Road Trail, which is a very nice trail, and there was.

We started at the lower Icehouse C.C.C trailhead and chatted with the site host who gave a a real nice trail map. A few more downed trees across the trails, I think I counted maybe a dozen or so, but all easy to get around. The short off trail section up and down to/from the peak was straight forward, staying high on the ridgeline. Saw a couple names in the register that I recognized from the HAZ site. The hike down 112 was a very pleasant road walk. Passed a few campers but no traffic on the road.

I like to hike the trails I really enjoy in different times of the year to get a full appreciation of the area. I plan on returning to East Mountain in the summer

Looking for a exploratory hike out by Pinal Peak, to check out the area before we took on the Peak itself. As usual I go to the Hiking bible of HAZ to review various routes and trip logs. kingsnake came up again as a nice hike.( Thanks ) Trails were easy to find and mostly open, came across a big old javilina down by the corrals rutting around to far away for a clear pic. Very enjoyable hike in a new area for us and the Toll agent was on break so we managed to get on the Toll Road without paying , next hike we'll head up the peak and make a nice loop.

Added this hike to the list after reading the triplog posted by rayhuston on 9/5. We parked and started from the Una Del Oso TH and hiked the loop clockwise, Una Del Oso Toll Road East Mountain Pioneer Ferndell Six Shooter. The gem was East Mountain, great trail, and forever views. Pioneer was a nice trail but sure was a slog up, I was sure glad to see those towers appear. We had lunch on top off the Ferndell Trail and boy was it cold. With the wind chill I suspect it was in the low 40's. Six Shooter looked a little battered at the top but the lower half was as nice as ever. Hit 112 and then hiked the half mile to the truck. No other hikers seen the entire trip.

Pinal Mountain was on my mind for this weekend, but I wanted to do something other than the four popular trails, each of which I've hiked at least twice. I pulled up the Pinal Mtn map to see all of the possibilities. I found several trails on the east side that I hadn't been on. These new trails would get me to the top of the mountain from the east side and make a nice loop with one of the popular north/south trails on the downside (I chose Telephone). I started on Six Shooter and followed FR 112 a short distance to Una Del Oso.

This would have been a great hike were it not for the steady rain starting on the East Mountain Trail all the way to Pinal Peak. Rather than enjoying expansive views, I was stuck in soup and rain for probably the nicest portion of the hike. As I approached the junction with Pioneer Trail, I couldn't even see Pinal Mountain, and it was right in front of me! By the time I got to the top of the Pioneer Trail, my boots were full of water and felt like lead.

The trails on this route were mostly good to great. The Pioneer Trail near the top (last 1/2 mile or so) and the Ferndell trail were overgrown but nothing thorny enough to slow you down. A section of Six Shooter was washed out just above the junction with Telephone, but easy enough to get around.

This was a great workout hike on mostly good trails. The views on East Mountain would have been spectacular were it not for the rain and fog. I think I will do this one again.

Unfinished business from last June ( [ triplog ] ), when I got off track, I was short on time and it was hot.

In Search Of ... The Beer Tree.

Anyone remember that show? Gosh, I loved it. A great source of info about off beat subjects two decades before Wikipedia or Google. Got the idea to kind of make that the theme of my hike video when I saw that Globe actually has a street named -- no lie -- "Beer Tree" ( [ photo ] ). It was a good omen for the day, as I only discovered that street due to making a wrong turn.

Note that the gravel pit trailhead doubles as a firing range, and that there are also a fair number of nails in the dirt, so exercise caution where you park.

So, today I did a counterclockwise loop of Check Dam Trail #190, Six Shooter Trail #197, FR 112, Una Del Oso Trail #201 and Toll Road Trail #200. Preston the yeti's subtitle for the Check Dam Trail description -- "brushy banality" -- pretty much describes the whole hike. There's some good views from up on FR 112 and Una Del Oso, and the upper reaches of Pine Creek are shady with good sitting rocks, but otherwise, it's nothing spectacular.

There's at least a dozen cattle tanks on the loop, round and rectangular; wind or solar powered; cement, metal or dirt; in all combinations thereof. Judging by the brand marks on several tanks, DC Ranch has the concession in this area. Since it was 32° when I started, the tanks with water had all crusted over with ice, as had the creek crossed by Six Shooter Trail between the CCC Campground and FR 112. (I could hear water trickling under the ice. ) There are tons of manzanita all along the hike, but that same section of trail has the biggest manzanita I have ever seen: I swear some are 20 feet high with trunks 4-6" diameter. I saw evidence of MTBs around most of the loop, but it must not get much traffic as there were many, many spots where cat claw was growing in the middle of the trail. Just north of Big Spur Tank, Toll Road Trail was briefly completely obscured by brush ( [ photo ] ).

I took my first break at the CCC, which is a *really* nice campground, large, with great views, picnic tables, burn pits and even a latrine building. FR 112, which goes to the CCC, and then further on up the hill, is a wide, very smooth dirt road. (Actually much smoother than the half mile to the gravel pit trailhead.) FR 112 is easily drivable by car.

As I was hiking up Six Shooter, I bumped into some calves. I could hear mom mooing on the other side of the trail. I did not want to get between the two, so I waited. The calves were not moving -- imagine that! -- so I resorted to making lots of noise, and after a few minutes they finally decided to put some space between themselves and the crazy man. A couple hundred yards further up, the topo claims there are two buildings on the west side of the trail. There are not. I beat the thick brush searching. The northern building simply does not exist at all, and all that remains of the southern building are some chunks of brick & mortar, and some rebar ( [ photo ] ).

I took my second break along Pinal Creek, after turning north from Una Del Oso onto Toll Road Trail. I took off my hiking shoes and socks, and kicked my feet up on a conveniently located granite ottoman, while I enjoyed the fruit of the Beer Tree, a Vinifera Stout: "Divine * Wrath * Irrigate * Cultivate" -- sounds positively pagan ( [ photo ] ). The rocks eventually got really cold on my feet, so I booted up and continued on ...

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Hike Video: youtu.be/lBDhMB_UyYU

Mobile Reception: CCC (2 bar), FR 112 (3 bar), Big Spur Tank (2 bar).

On this warm spring day, I hiked south from the gravel quarry/shooting gallery near the north trailhead, and then up the Una Del Oso Trail, beating my previous hike time A few patches of snow graced the north slope of the Pinal peaks, and Pinal Creek was flowing strong and clear. On the way down I met a friendly English couple who had missed the road for the Icehouse Trail, and had decided to hike the Toll Road Trail instead. Even the cattle at the bottom of the trail mooed hello. The Pinals always make me feel welcome!

Ended up getting lost looking for the six shooter trailhead so we decided to hike this. The trail is easily followed though shows very little signs of recent use and some overgrowth has occurred at places. The gate at 2.8 was pretty well fastened shut with multiple wires and we were not exactly sure where we were at the time so we headed back the way we came. Wish I had read Preston's description prior to the trip.

After trying to finish hiking this trail for the last 5 months I finally decided to go for it, despite the limited amount of time I had. With 1 quart of Cytomax and my camera, I set off on a hot Wednesday in March. I hiked as fast as I possibly could, only resting long enough to catch my breath in an occasional patch of shade. I'd hoped to get as far as the Una Del Oso Trail junction. I surprised myself by getting to the junction in 1 hour and 12 minutes. On the way back down, I ran down the smooth sections of trail, and struggled with heat exhaustion. Despite my fast pace, I really enjoyed the hike and its plentiful greenery. It was great to finally finish this trail, but man I was half dead when I arrived back at my truck!

After a full day of hiking in the Sierra Anchas, I hiked the top end of the trail to the Una Del Oso Trail, then hiked back in the pitch black on forest road 112. You gotta hike when you get the chance!