Route Editor
Route Scout
Perl Charles with less traffic and more rain by kingsnake I hiked south from FR 71 / White Spar Windmill. FR 71 to the north end of the trail is the nicest forest road you could ever hope to drive. Note that the windmill no longer exists: There's just two concrete tanks, one large, one small. From the tank, take a sharp right up a narrow, sandy wash trail. After a couple hundred yards, you will emerge next to Hwy 89. I mean, right next to it. Just a few yards away. It's like hiking on Perl Charles next to Hwy 51, but with less traffic. You can see Wilhoit, about 1.5 miles south. From FR 71, the trail follows the wash for .75 miles. The surface is sandy, but sometimes brushy, which is easy enough to detour. At the .75 mark, you have a choice: 1) Continue on Orofino #107, being serenaded by passing traffic, or 2) continiue in the wash. I chose door #2. The wash parallels the trail for another .25 miles, before the wash turns south, while the trail continues southwest. At that 1.0 mile point, you could make a short climb back up to the trail, or stay in the wash as it bends away. The further south the wash goes, the deeper, rockier and more brush strewn it gets. But at its worst, it's still not bad. The biggest "scramble" is maybe five feet, and if the brush gets too dense, it is easy to find cattle paths around it. (There's a lot of cow poo in the wash.) Your next decision point is at 1.6 miles: 1) Stay in the wash as it continues south another half mile to Orofino Windmill, or 2) climb west out of the wash to FR 72. Again, I chose door #2. The climb is only 100 feet, but rather steep and slippery. On the other side of the ridge, at 1.8 total miles, you will hit FR 72. From there it is .25 miles to the south end of official Orofino #107, and from there .75 miles up to the intersection with Hwy 89. ----- The official Orofino #107 is only 1.7 miles long, not even worth driving from Prescott to hike, let alone Phoenix -- especially considering that at least half of it is right next to the highway. What I recommend doing instead, hiking Glen Oaks #118 to Telegraph Springs, then east on FR 9402 / FR 71 to White Spar Windmill, then south on Orofino #107 into the wash, for a 6-7 mile one way hike. Or do the opposite, but start from Orofino Windmill. Check out the Official Route and Triplog. Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community.
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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.
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Orofino Trail #107
Glen Oaks #118 / FR 9402 / Orofino #107
Six weeks ago I was looking around for hikes to do in cooler climes, and this was one of them. I hiked nearby Hill 6276 on June 21, and had planned to do this the next week, but nature cruelly intervened. 
A month after the Yarnell Fire, I figured enough time had passed that most of the chaos was over, and I could drive up from Phoenix without getting in anyone's way. (I refuse to drive up I-17 and through Prescott: Too much traffic.) 
Just past the Hwy 89 switchback crossover, as you drive into Yarnell, the damage begins. That is where the fire crossed the road. No damage, other than a few acres of burnt brush, on the east side of the road. The west side of the road is a different story.
There's trailers, maybe a hundred yards from Hwy 89, which were levelled. The center and north end of the town, on both sides of the road were spared. One southbound lane, in front of the community center, is blocked off in favor of a relief distribution point. As you drive north out of town, despite all the recent rain, you can see still the red band of fire retardant that was dropped on the nearby hills.
Since I entered the first descriptions for both Glen Oaks #118 and Orofino #107, you can read most of what I did there. In short, neither is individually worth driving from Phoenix for, but combined, with FR 9402 as a connector, it is a different story. One way is a shade under seven miles (assuming no exploring).
The highlights are the horizontal mine shaft near the north end of the hike, the windmill / corral complex at Telegraph Springs and negotiating the wash north of Orofino Windmill. You might want to avoid doing the hike in the rain, as often times you will be the tallest object on the trail. (Other than maybe the Smiley Tree on FR 9402.) I saw several different kinds of animal tracks, including a set of large bob cat / small lion prints on FR 9402.
One thing I found curious was the concrete square just west of the mine shaft. It had a metal covering, with a metal hatch in the covering. It did not merely sit on the ground, but penetrated some way beneath the surface. It was hard to tell how deep, as it was had a good amount of water in the bottom. (The only tank-like object on the whole route which does.) As it is so close to the mine shaft, I was wondering whether it was an actual tank, or perhaps a vertical access to some point within the mine?
Wish I had ground penetrating radar.
Lunch was a delicious meatball sub & salad combo at the Thunderbird Cafe in Peeples Valley. I should learn the waitress's name -- I think her and the chef own the place -- as she is a really nice lady.
A month after the Yarnell Fire, I figured enough time had passed that most of the chaos was over, and I could drive up from Phoenix without getting in anyone's way. (I refuse to drive up I-17 and through Prescott: Too much traffic.)
Just past the Hwy 89 switchback crossover, as you drive into Yarnell, the damage begins. That is where the fire crossed the road. No damage, other than a few acres of burnt brush, on the east side of the road. The west side of the road is a different story.
There's trailers, maybe a hundred yards from Hwy 89, which were levelled. The center and north end of the town, on both sides of the road were spared. One southbound lane, in front of the community center, is blocked off in favor of a relief distribution point. As you drive north out of town, despite all the recent rain, you can see still the red band of fire retardant that was dropped on the nearby hills.
Since I entered the first descriptions for both Glen Oaks #118 and Orofino #107, you can read most of what I did there. In short, neither is individually worth driving from Phoenix for, but combined, with FR 9402 as a connector, it is a different story. One way is a shade under seven miles (assuming no exploring).
The highlights are the horizontal mine shaft near the north end of the hike, the windmill / corral complex at Telegraph Springs and negotiating the wash north of Orofino Windmill. You might want to avoid doing the hike in the rain, as often times you will be the tallest object on the trail. (Other than maybe the Smiley Tree on FR 9402.) I saw several different kinds of animal tracks, including a set of large bob cat / small lion prints on FR 9402.
One thing I found curious was the concrete square just west of the mine shaft. It had a metal covering, with a metal hatch in the covering. It did not merely sit on the ground, but penetrated some way beneath the surface. It was hard to tell how deep, as it was had a good amount of water in the bottom. (The only tank-like object on the whole route which does.) As it is so close to the mine shaft, I was wondering whether it was an actual tank, or perhaps a vertical access to some point within the mine?
Wish I had ground penetrating radar.
Lunch was a delicious meatball sub & salad combo at the Thunderbird Cafe in Peeples Valley. I should learn the waitress's name -- I think her and the chef own the place -- as she is a really nice lady.
2013-07-26 kingsnake
