Fourth times a charm?

The Lane Mountain Trail #233 is always on our Radar. The upper reaches provide some excellent views in all directions. We've used this trail as the start of a couple of loop variations. History and Peaches make/made this loop memorable. The history is still there, the peaches.......

We started at a comfortable 61 degrees and climbed to a new area on the western side of Lane Mountain. There's a nice campsite there. 4 x 4 required. Back down and on the Lane Mountain trail. Without a track, you are never finding the beginning of this one. After you are on it, the track is obvious. To the saddle close to the 6600' contour is right up there with with it's views.

After the saddle, this trail is starting to "tighten up". GPS Track, Long Pants, long sleeves, gaiters, loppers, chainsaw recommended. It's a shame.

Where the trail hits Humbug Creek, the area is all ripped up with a brand new mining operation. Someone sunk a lot of money in to it.

Up the Back Road 711 to what we have been calling Peach Mine Ranch. We'd hit this area some years back, for some tasty peaches. A highlight of that trip and one of the main reasons we were on this route today. At the ranch, the door to the building had been kicked in and the place ransacked. What's wrong with people? To make things worse.... the peach trees died.

Gazelle Mine was an area I noticed in the Sat. view. Well worth the short side trip. The log cabin is the largest I've seen in the Bradshaw's. The exterior was in great shape. Once again, the door was kicked in. The inside was a hoarders playground. A sign on the outside of the cabin said everything had been stolen.
There were at least 5 vehicles left behind, as well as a bucket shovel rig. I would love to know the stories behind some of these old properties.

At this point we still has some climbing to do. The temps hit the low 90's and I was feeling it. More Catclaw greeted us on our way past the Rapid Transit and the Savoy Mines. The gold water is still in the Savoy mine.

Up on the Senator, the temps started feeling great again for the walk back to the truck

I have a new loop idea for next year.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Bruce added in a little jaunt over Lane Mountain proper right off the bat. The views off Lane get me every time. Looking out through the pines to the ripples of the west valley is Disney perfect.

My 2014-06-28 report of #233 "Good shape" has changed to the first stages of gone by intrusion of vegetation. Like our last 3 loops on Lane we descended first leaving the grunt of the hike for the second half. By the time we reached the bottom it was too toasty for my feathered friend and we were both tired from the bushwhacking.

A new mining operation was interesting to see in action along FR711 between Burro John and Kentucks Grave. Between the equipment and land it must have cost a half million or more to startup. There is no running water so they just dug a hole in the creek until they hit agua about 20 feet down.

I've been thinking about this hike all summer for the peaches near Castle Rock aside an old cabin. Things have changed in the 3 years since our last visit. The locked cabin door is lying on the ground. The two peach trees have almost died along with a little joy in my heart.

The sour notes were weighing down on one of my favorite loops. While I'll likely return it was crystal clear I might be alone on that adventure... lol

A new cabin near Gazelle Mine helped lift the spirits. This Grizzly Adams approved cabin was filled with junk knick knacks, a funny sign, several classic vehicles from the 60-70s and a power shovel.

A long stretch of catclaw up the switchbacks after New Savoy had me on the rare lead. Temps cooled ascending as expected. The 1.7 mile walk on forest roads back to square one was enjoyable. Despite the woes I learned more on the area and enjoyed the hike overall. So without further adieu, who is up for a good 20+ mile day hike in the Southern Bradshaws =)

1 minute 36 seconds
https://youtube.com ... iFCY

Wildflowers
lots of goldenrod and turpentine bush

Wanted a hike with some elevation and views on our third day of the Bradshaw trip. Parked at the start of the 100 trail and headed uphill. The jeep trail is a bit rocky for walking and exposed, but there was a decent breeze.

Headed over to Fat Jack Mine first. The burned out areas are dramatic and sort of sad. I never saw this area before the Lane 2 Fire, but I sure wish I had. Working over all the dead fall made the hike up more of a challenge. The mine looks as if it has been worked in the last few years, but nor sure how they'd be getting any equipment up.

Back tracked and then took the Lane Mountain alternate spur. Couple of good camp spots along the way. View at the end wasn't as good as I'd hoped for. So we headed on up to Watson Peak. That was provided the best part of the hike and some really killer views. Hung at the top for a while soaking it in. I mentioned Crown King was only a few miles away and there was burgers and beer. WE made good time back to the Jeep.

While at the Saloon an hour later we met the owners. Turns out the live pretty close to us back down in the Valley. Gave us some local pointers for future trips. We will be back.

Back to attempt this loop after being thwarted last week with Mechanical problems.
There was another Vehicle at the TH at 7:30 with all doors open. I noticed there was a guy on the ground, on a pad, asleep. When we got out we noticed the Truck was running . There were two chairs set up with a cooler and empties... All strange, but we had a hike to do.

Nice temps in the 70's as we hiked FR 100 towards to the top of Watson peak. First time up here and the views were Killer at our high point of 7203' for the day.

Back down to make the turn on Lane Mountain #233 which sets up some great views to the south and west. We found the old sign for the Sullivan Spring and decided to give it a looky see... took awhile, but success, complete w/ filterable water.

I have been talking with Jason Williams, the Trails & Wilderness Manager for the Prescott Natl. Forest, and giving him trail updates and asking questions. I had mentioned that the last time we hiked Lane Mountain in 2013, there was a 2" Black water pipe that ran for 4.3 miles from around Sullivan Spring to Copper Camp spring. He checked and found out that the pipe had been fully removed as of 2 weeks ago. He said a Drilling Rig had been flown in via a Sikorsky Helicopter for a copper mining operation and the rig required water. All is back to normal now.

We made the turn off Lane Mountain, on an old mining road at Lane Spring. The spring is located 30' east of the non-working tank at the base of a cliff and contained some nice looking water.

My thermometer read constantly in the low 90's in these lower sections of the hike, with little shade to escape the sun. I used my Chromedome umbrella more on this hike than any other.

We took a short break at the Milk Ranch ruins where there was no water in Boulder Creek. Back on a mining road on Joe's Ridge past dry Joes Tank and we took lunch at Willow Spring where I'd planned to filter some water.

Willow Spring marks the lower TH for the Willow Spring Trail #236. Willow Spring was not the clear cool 2' pool that was here before, but a scratched out muddy, bee infested, 1' round, 2" deep cesspool. I was running low so I filtered with my MSR Microworks. It came out slightly tinged in color, but smelled like a cows restroom. Without any further treatment options w/ me, I can't drink this...

The Willow Springs trail is best done in long pants. The lower portions has some Cats Claw. The upper portions are in the pines.

We took the short side trip over to the South Fort ruins to enjoy the views.

By the time we got back to the TH we were relieved to see that the Cherokee was gone, there was no crime scene tape up, and my fuel had not been syphoned.

Video From Watson Peak and South Fort Ruins http://youtu.be/6new9vzTono

I went to start the Pfinder and there was nothing...Damn, Crown King will be the death of me yet! Luckily an easy fix, as the battery cable had vibrated off the terminal. Phew...

Carried 5 quarts, consumed all. Slightly shocked I had ice after almost 12 hour of hiking. My ultralight pack isn't well insulated. It typically melts the frozen solid three quart bladder in four hours when it's hot. Maybe got to 90 degrees which is about the limit for Bruce. We took more breaks than usual. Which is a-okay by me!

This is our 3rd varied loop with the Lane Mountain Trail. I'm a fan of the area due to the views and close proximity to the Valley. Most would prefer this loop in March or November temps verse June. While I don't seek the solitude of most it does make you think.

Lane Mountain Trail #233
Good shape. Plastic pipe that followed the trail last year is now gone.

Willow Springs Trail #236
Slightly overgrown. Despite dozens of catclaw gauntlets I didn't get any notable scratches. Did use my umbrella to work through some of the turnstiles.

Wildflowers
most notably was some penstemon in the corral at Milk Ranch

A 4:30 meet at the Park and Ride and 1:30 later we started the day with clear skies and 38 degree temps. We made the turn on to Lane Mountain trail and were shortly greeted to the views that make this hike for me. Looking south, 18 miles to Lake Pleasant; 44 miles out U of P Stadium; 60 miles out, The Sierra Estrellas.

At the Sullivan Spring area there was a new addition to the trail. A 4' tall 2-1/2 diameter tank in the middle of the trail, with 2" poly pipe coming into and leaving. The pipe leaving ran on, across, through the trail, run haphazardly all the way down to the Copper Creek Spring area some 4.3 miles (22,700' away). The cheapest I saw this pipe for was $1.09 per foot. This appears to have been installed hastily. But really how can you install 22k feet of 2" pipe in areas few travel, quickly.

We visited one of the Ranch Mine areas for a lunch break and enjoyed the small peaches from a single tree by the building.

On the way back up the hill we checked out some of the remaining mines including the Oro Bell area and New Savoy Mine area. (The water was still gold).

The Bar was filled up in Crown King, so Joe decided not to stop in and visit his buddies.

On the way home, Joe taught 3 kids a lesson while the rear passengers soiled themselves.

Met Larry and Mike for the first time, and got to hike w/ Kyle again. Joe was able to turn Larry and Kyle against me.. (Larry Really.... us old dudes need to stick together). Mike was a trouper and did not succumb to the JB BS.

Well it was sure nice to be able to sleep in until 3am on my day off.
This was my first time in the Bradshaws. I really enjoyed watching the sun come up after riding 25+ miles on some real smooth dirt roads. And then again I am glad I did not see the sunset while riding back down that sweet smooth dirt road.
The hike its self was great as was the company. I always like hiking in places I have never see before. The view here were awesome as I could see for miles and the weather was just perfect.

4:30am? That's early. I'd never been to Crown King before-- it seems to be heaven on earth. I need to spend a weekend there with the rednecks one day.

Good views all day and the company was adequate. Two things I learned today:

1. when a possible violent confrontation erupts-- Bruce should not count on Joe, Mike, Larry, or myself to come to his rescue.

2. if you're messin' around outside of Cleator... don't mess with Joe.

a quality day

We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday to explore the Bradshaws. Hiking faster than jeeps *was* wrong. But we think they're crazy wasting fuel and dusting up the clean fresh air. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. You see us as a programmer, a cranky old guy, a rockstar, a bookseller and a nice old guy that looks half his age. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at 4:30 this morning. We were brainwashed.

Hiking in today's perfect temps was the highlight. Like Tumamoc and Mt Ord via Slate Creek, these road hikes are easy elevation. Took four quarts but only consumed two. It was nice to mix up the group and meet Larry. After years of being beaten by Bruce's words it was finally pick-on-Bruce day. I had a great time. This trip was honestly better in August with the creeks flowing and only convoy jeeps. The atvs and motorcycles zip by louder and dust up the place when the temps are extra nice. Nevertheless I still enjoy the loop and everyone we encountered along the loop was friendly.

I'm downgrading my #233 rating a notch as there is an irrigation pipe the length of the trail now. In uncommon fashion it hovers ( no kidding ) in the center of the tail and crosses it at dozens of points.

Wildflowers
some hillsides had good moderate coverage viewed from a distance

I've had this one in the planning stages for a while now. Wanted to get out to the Lane Mountain trail and create a loop that took in some of the incredible mining history of the Bradshaw's.
After numerous iterations of a potential route, I settled on the route we took.

First, the 27 mile drive in to Crown King. The road is currently a little rough until Bumble Bee. Once past here it has been recently been graded all the way to Crown King. Past Crown King on the Senator Highway, it has seen some heavy rain and washouts lately. High clearance, IMO is required.

We started just off the Senator Highway. It was about a mile hike on FR100 to get the non existent TH for Lane Mountain 233. There is no Sign, and you will need a GPS to find the start. Once 50 yards in, the trail is quite obvious.

Views to the south abound. Quite stunning.... Like all the trails up here, this trail gets very little use. It's slightly overgrown in spots, but not too bad. A GPS is handy in the lower elevations. There are a couple of places were the trail turns off a two track that is not real obvious. The Lane Mountain Trail ends at the intersection with Copper Creek. This is the area where we found 25 gallons of water stashed/cached/partially hidden in plastic containers.

From here we made our way down to Humbug Creek and the first of five old established Mining areas.
Burro John, Kentuck's Camp, Forty Misery, Oro Belle Mine, and the Savoy Mine all either had of still have buildings in different states of disrepair. I found the history in these areas quite interesting. Burro John, Ketuck's Camp, and Fort Misery are all down below and next to the popular "Back Road to Crown King". We took a break for lunch just outside of Fort Misery next to Humbug Creek and then started the climb back up.

We had two jeeps pass us, mentioning that they were the first of 40 in their group. They asked us if we were OK, needed water, or anything else. I guess they don't typically see hikers in the middle of nowhere. We never saw these guys, or the next 3 vehicles again. The next 30 or so, we played cat and mouse with until we turned off at the Oro Belle Mining area.
They's pass us, we'd pass them hiking... we both got a kick out of it. They yelled at us through loud speakers, offered us cold water, beer and cigarettes. A great group of people.

We worked our way up on FR192 out of the Oro Belle area to the Savoy Mine Area. This road has not been used in many a year. The Savoy Mine was my favorite of the day. I'm waiting for someone to explain what the substance I saw in the Mine???

http://hikearizona.com/photo.php?ZIP=278960

One thing I had not planned for on this hike, was private property. Kinda hard to determine off a TOPO map. The last 1/2 mile getting back to FR52, The Senator Highway, was a bushwhack to get around the private property. Two more miles of road walking, and we were back to the truck.