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Nice...! by imike  Nice... this is a nice little trail... sort of a blend of the other two Forest Road 64 to Sunspot Hiway (6563) traversing trails... not so narrow, steep and cavelike as Thousand Mile Trail, and not so open and exposed as Sacramento North Trail. Lying between those two trails, and about the same length, this cut follows the drainage in an oddly sweeping number of "S" turns, swerving back and forth... as if some crazed ATV was running a fast slalom down the hill. That is likely how it got to be that way. Midday down canyon you will encounter the old posts of the namesake corral, with the concrete water trough still in position straddling the old fence line. The barb wire has been removed (coiled, rusting away a bit further down the trail) but the posts remain to mark the use area. This trail would make an ideal bit of end of day exercise... or an early morning excursion for spotting the elk, deer and turkey that are prevalent in the area. I saw one deer and one elk with my midday hike... that and turkey feathers. The parking along Sunspot Hiway is just an extra wide shoulder... nicer to drive in above and park under the shade of a tall pine. The gravel road (FR 64) is normally well graded, seeing lots of summer time activity when this area of the forest fills with motor homes and campers... all with their ATV's! This is a short but steep grade... out of shape I walked down it in half an hour... up in 40 minutes. False monsoon clouds gave this midday hike a very pleasant 72 degree high... normal for mid June. When the real monsoons settle in over July and August it will be even cooler!! The difficulty is the elevation and average steep grade... over 800 feet in just over a mile! Check out the Official Route. Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community.
One-Way Notice This hike is listed as One-Way. When hiking several trails on a single "hike", log it with a generic name that describes the hike. Then link the trails traveled, check out the example. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.
Most recent Triplog Review
Corral Canyon Trail #537
Filled the trailer with firewood, then rested briefly... drove over to check out this short drop hike. It was nice. All of these traversing hikes dropping off the Aqua Chiquita Road down to Sunspot Hiway provide a nice hour outing with a bit of elevation gain if hiked out and back (down and up)... and if camped out on the ridge might make for an extra bit of daily hiking in conjunction with the longer outing of the day. It's looking as if all of the high canyons are nicely meadow filled, adding additional potential outings to the variety of official trails, most all heavily used by ATV's.
I'm liking it up here.
I'm liking it up here.
2012-06-12 imike
