Wavered on options until late last night. This seemed to be a good compromise plan. I'd never taken Drew all the way to the actual Crook instead of cutting through the campground. That part of Crook is really pleasant and a much better option. Ran into a pair surveying the trail to submit it for historic trail status. Did you know the "V" markers don't stand for Verde? They are the roman number 5. Because General Crook led the 5th division or regiment, or whatever it's called. Hiking is educational!

Started 7:50am at the 260 TH. The hike over to Drew is one of the best stretches on the Highline. We took a mini break at the Drew junction before the only serious elevation on the loop.

FR300 was busy. The hike to the lake is forgettable yet pleasant. Then boom. The half mile on the west side of Woods Canyon Lake is one of the nicer half miles of trail in Arizona. Hiking around the lake on well used trails we passed a group of 30+ scouts. We met and had a quick chat with one of the scout leaders Kevin.

The hike out east of the lake in Woods Canyon low on notable characteristics. Like the Cabin Loop it's easy/pleasant hiking through a forest. Continuing offtrail we find ourselves out of the canyon following chevrons marking the General Crook Trail. This is glance at the gps every three minutes type of pain free offtrail. No bushwhacking.

Iconic views along the Vista trail never disappoint, such a great place to take a break. Then the hike back down to square one on the Military Trail. The tread has a fair shake of ankle busters. Glad it exists and enjoy sections. 1.1 miles to go, Bruce tells the same horrible story about a tree in the ravine every hike.

A redo / variation of a loop I've done before.
Starting from the 260 TH going clockwise

Highline Trail #31
Love me some of that super-highway Highline Trail. Temps in the upper 60's, great views, Trees and a breeze.

Drew Trail #291
This is the big climb for the day. Mostly in the trees and steep in a couple spots. 800' of gain in a mile.

Woods Canyon Lake Trail
Once on the Rim, we scoot over to Woods Canyon and follow that to the lake. We followed that CW around the North side of the Lake. Here we ran into a Hazzer Kevin, leading a group of 40 or so Boy Scouts the opposite direction. We stopped an chatted for a bit. Joe's day was made when Kelvin said "I'm not going lie, you made my day, meeting a minor celebrity"

Down the spillway out of Woods Canyon Lake is a pretty area. We hopped out in a side canyon and went cross country.

General Crook Trail #140
This is one of Joe's favorites, so I make it a point to work in into hikes on top of the rim.

Rim Lakes Vista Trail #622
Always great views and few others seen farther that 300' of a parking lot.

Military Sinkhole Trail #179
This one get's you back to the TH. It's an old road for awhile up top, but turns into a trail through the trees.

Good Day, Breezes kept it comfortable.

Beautiful hike along the rim today with a group of friends. I had never hiked this loop before; thought I would get out of the heat down in Phoenix and hike in the Payson area. But it was pretty hot here as well with quite a bit of sun exposure on the last half of the hike. Pretty views from the top, however, made the trip worthwhile. Next time I think I'll wait until cooler weather to attempt this one again. All in all a great day, just too hot.

The Turtle and I started from the 260 TH CW a bit after 7am.
Temps in the upper 60's to start and the Highline #31 was in great shape.

4.4 miles to the Drew Trail #291 and the biggest up for the day. 800' and 1 mile get you to the top of the rim.

On top we followed the Drew to the General Crook to the "Hole in the Ground" area. An easy off trail took us to the Boulder Hop #413. From here it was another easy off trail to drop into the East Fork making our way towards Woods Canyon Lake. East Fork had a couple of slow areas, but game trails helped for most of the way to the lake.

I always enjoy Woods Canyon Lake. Taking the northern route around the lake keeps you from the majority of the masses. Past the Woods Canyon Dam, we stayed in Woods Canyon for another 2 miles, before climbing out to the south. There was a feature on the Satellite view that I wanted to check out.

Now on the Military Sinkhole #179, a brief check at the sinkhole, then the Rim Vista for the...views and down the rim to the TH.

Thanks Turtle... Good Times

First time on this loop for the year. Temps were pleasant in the a.m. but warmed up nicely as the morning progressed. We saw cattle grazing along the Highline, first time I'd ever seen them this far east. The climb up Drew was nice, in the shade. We watched as the morning smoke dispersed. About a mile west of FR9350, we were exchanging bear stories when we noticed a bear off trail to our south. Kind of cool to watch it slowly disappear. Everything up top is really dry. See Canyon was the opposite, very green and lush. Shade and downhill made this a pleasant stroll. The See Canyon TH was busy but we had the trails to ourselves today. Great day in Rim Country.

Wildflowers
Columbines galore!

A fun hike under just about perfect conditions for me. Blue skies, low temps, a nice breeze and good trails. Others recently mentioned fallen trees on See Canyon trail, but whatever was there before has been cleaned up.

Water is scarce up high, but plentiful at lower elevations. Christopher Creek is flowing nicely.

Felt good to have my right leg/foot closer to 100% so I went for a quick exercise hike. Rosie accompanied me on what is now the single longest day hike of her young career. Absolutely beauful morning below the Rim and even nicer on top. With a steady breeze and a damp shirt on it almost got a little chilly. By the time we reached Drew it was cloudy from thunderheads in the east. Looks like storms got started a little early today. 9350 camp area was surprisingly empty. We ran into a camper on a morning stroll and had a brief chat. Apparently he had already spooked the elk before we arrived. Rosie was loving the downhill and drinking water once we hit See Cyn. To my surprise we didn't see a single hiker on #184 today. Lots of moss and mushrooms as usual for August.

Had enough time for a quick hike this a.m. so I brought Rosie along for a little exercise. She likes to follow behind me when on the trail so for the first time ever I decide to attach a bear bell to her collar in case she ran off after a squirrel or something. We stopped at the Highline/Drew junction so I could give her some water and we both checked out the many horned lizards on Drew Trail. Less than half way up Drew I felt eyeballs on me and sure enough there was a black bear 20ft away and uphill off the trail just staring at us. Once we made eye contact it slowly trotted off toward the top of the rim and I quickly grabbed Rosie as we watched it go up and out of sight. She may have had a little bit closer of an encounter had she not been wearing that bell. Fortunately she was so obsessed with the lizards that she couldn't have cared less about the bear. We made it to the top of the rim and turned around back down Drew. Great views this way, I'm usually going up Drew and down See so it was a new perpective. A few new trees downed across Drew. Probably more of a nuisance for mountain bikers than those on foot. This little stretch of Highline is in perfect condition and even offers plenty of shade. After a brief stop at Christopher Creek we were back in the vehicle and heading home.

I didn't do any hike planning for this weekend, but I wanted to hike so I went with a favorite.

See Canyon was delightful as always, thick with vegetation, colorful in the morning light with cool temps (70 degrees at start). Once up top, I decided to head towards an overlook using FR 208E. I wanted to get some pics of the slope on the SE side of Promontory Butte. From there I headed back to General Crook and meandered along towards Drew, leaving the trail here and there to traipse around under the pines.

Had lunch at the top of Drew while enjoying a cool breeze under shady trees. Headed down Drew where I saw my first hikers of the day. First a family with small children going down. They decided it was too steep and were turning around. A few minutes later I saw a gent pushing up the hill. He wondered aloud why he went down in the first place. It was warm now and the exposed areas were getting uncomfortable. The remainder of my hike was downhill for me so I let gravity do its work.

Passed JJ not long after turning onto the Highline. He was doing the loop in the opposite direction from See Cyn. We chatted for a moment and continued along. Then a moment of panic . What if he beats me back to See Canyon? Total embarrassment! I decided to pick it up a little just in case.

Wonderful beat the heat hike and I didn't have to pay the clown today!