Route Editor
Route Scout
 Overview From Mayflower Spring the trail heads north and then turns to the east and joins up again with the old railroad bed. It crosses FR 132 and then just south of Railroad Tank the trail turns to the east and works its way over to FR 651, which is the entry to Pinegrove Campground. It crosses Highway 3 and climbs up past the Horse Lake Trailhead. It turns to the north and crosses Anderson Mesa, and then passes Horse Lake. It follows a two-track, turns to the west, and becomes a trail again. After crossing FR 129 the trail passes Vail Lake and Prime Lake, and then skirts around the Lowell Observatory. It passes by a trailhead near the observatory, then heads north and then west to Marshall Lake. Southern Trailhead Mayflower Spring From Flagstaff, take the Lake Mary Road exit (339) off I-17 for ~20 miles, then turn right (west) on Mormon Lake Road (Highway 90). Follow this about 3 miles to an unmarked turnoff on the right. This two-track dirt road leads to Mayflower Spring (~0.4 miles). Northern Trailhead Marshall Lake Trailhead From Flagstaff, take the Lake Mary Road exit (339) off I-17 for 9 miles, then turn left (east) on FR 128 at the sign for Marshall Lake. Pass the observatory turnoff, then at 2.2 miles turn left before Marshall Lake (more of a marsh) and park at the AZT sign on the left. If you are coming from the south on Lake Mary Road, the Marshall Lake turnoff is 7.5 miles north of Pine Grove Campground. Added 2017-07-24 Check out the Official Route and Triplogs. 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 Reviews
Anderson Mesa - AZT #30
Dairy Springs to Mormon Canyon Tank. Was supposed to be a backpack of AZT 28 but other plans got in the way so this was Plan B. We shuttled to Mormon Canyon Tank to leave Tonto Jr on 129A and took Shawn's truck to Dairy Springs Campground TH where we started.
After about 3/4 mile of a slight climb you get from the TH parking to the AZT 30 and for us we turned right (NW) to head on down the trail. We walked thru lots of forest and thru lots of gates and Shawn sawed through 12 logs (some requiring two cuts). The girls assisted and did some sawing and helped to move the logs off the trail. I brot out the umbrella to provide the person sawing (mostly Shawn of course) some shade. Shawn thot this was a little much but we insisted ;) .
The trail seems to be in very nice shape and not much in the way of elevation change. Following and some times walking on the railroad grade is pretty cool. There are still many old wooden tree ties and many spikes still tucked into them. You can see where the bridges were. The rock-piled grade was quite impressive.
Part of the trail past the Horse Lake TH actually has gravel on it as you climb up to the Mesa. The road walk to the Tank is pretty too because of the wide open views. It was a very nice day as the breezes kept up for most of our hike. We took two 10 minute breaks after lunch for the last 5 1/2 miles. We saw two bikers at the beginning of our trek, another hiker about 1/4 of the way and two horse back riders where we had stopped for lunch. Now all we have left is from Mormon Canyon Tank to Marshall Lake and we'll finish off Passage 30.
On our way back to pick up Shawn's truck, we stopped at Horse Lake TH along 82E (which is not at Horse Lake) to do our 22 push-ups (support https://www.22kill.com) and recruited Tracy for the cause (we made Shawn film it). Ambika joined me the night before. We finished off our day with an early dinner at Mormon Canyon Lodge.
The video lighting will probably not be the best thru the forest as the pictures were a bit of a struggle to edit out the white out areas (HATE that!).
Arizona Trail Passage 30 – from Dairy Springs northbound, a lot of sawing going on [ youtube video ]
Part 2: [ youtube video ] to the rock railroad grade
Part 3: [ youtube video ]
Part 4: [ youtube video ] from the meadow to the tank
After about 3/4 mile of a slight climb you get from the TH parking to the AZT 30 and for us we turned right (NW) to head on down the trail. We walked thru lots of forest and thru lots of gates and Shawn sawed through 12 logs (some requiring two cuts). The girls assisted and did some sawing and helped to move the logs off the trail. I brot out the umbrella to provide the person sawing (mostly Shawn of course) some shade. Shawn thot this was a little much but we insisted ;) .
The trail seems to be in very nice shape and not much in the way of elevation change. Following and some times walking on the railroad grade is pretty cool. There are still many old wooden tree ties and many spikes still tucked into them. You can see where the bridges were. The rock-piled grade was quite impressive.
Part of the trail past the Horse Lake TH actually has gravel on it as you climb up to the Mesa. The road walk to the Tank is pretty too because of the wide open views. It was a very nice day as the breezes kept up for most of our hike. We took two 10 minute breaks after lunch for the last 5 1/2 miles. We saw two bikers at the beginning of our trek, another hiker about 1/4 of the way and two horse back riders where we had stopped for lunch. Now all we have left is from Mormon Canyon Tank to Marshall Lake and we'll finish off Passage 30.
On our way back to pick up Shawn's truck, we stopped at Horse Lake TH along 82E (which is not at Horse Lake) to do our 22 push-ups (support https://www.22kill.com) and recruited Tracy for the cause (we made Shawn film it). Ambika joined me the night before. We finished off our day with an early dinner at Mormon Canyon Lodge.
The video lighting will probably not be the best thru the forest as the pictures were a bit of a struggle to edit out the white out areas (HATE that!).
Arizona Trail Passage 30 – from Dairy Springs northbound, a lot of sawing going on [ youtube video ]
Part 2: [ youtube video ] to the rock railroad grade
Part 3: [ youtube video ]
Part 4: [ youtube video ] from the meadow to the tank
2016-07-09 tibber
Anderson Mesa - AZT #30
My longest Hike to date! 33+ miles in less than 12 hours! We had a couple of side trips that kicked up the mileage a bit, but the track I post will be corrected to show 100% AZT #30.
I saw 2 elk on the way in to set up the north shuttle. When I got out of the car at the Marshall Lake TH, it sounded like a concert in the woods with all the Bugling.
Off to the Allan Lake TH and to start a bit after 6am. The weather was perfect for this hike. We started off in the low 30's with a little frost on the ground. The were lots of bow hunters in the woods today. We only saw 8 or so during the hike, but there were trucks and campers all over. The hike was pretty uneventful. Not a lot of elevation gain made the 33+ miles more bearable.
We took a brief break at the Double Springs campground to take on a bit of water and then were off.
We picked a spot at the half way point for lunch that looked like it was out of the Sound of Music. It was a large meadow NE of Mormon Mountain that was absolutely plastered with a carpet of yellow flowers.
The next stop was our cache spot where the trail crossed Lake Mary road. The last little climb for the day from the cached spot took us up onto Anderson Mesa. This mesa is mostly unprotected, so we were glad the temps were only around 70. This is a 10 mile walk that takes you past a few tanks, Horse Lake, Prime Lake, Lowell Observatory, a sweet view of Lake Mary, and then makes the final drop to he TH at Marshall Lake.
I'm glad to have the longest Passage of the AZ Trail complete. 7 Passages and 151 miles complete now. I've completed a section from south of Pine to Flagstaff and 23 miles from the Mexican border north.
I saw 2 elk on the way in to set up the north shuttle. When I got out of the car at the Marshall Lake TH, it sounded like a concert in the woods with all the Bugling.
Off to the Allan Lake TH and to start a bit after 6am. The weather was perfect for this hike. We started off in the low 30's with a little frost on the ground. The were lots of bow hunters in the woods today. We only saw 8 or so during the hike, but there were trucks and campers all over. The hike was pretty uneventful. Not a lot of elevation gain made the 33+ miles more bearable.
We took a brief break at the Double Springs campground to take on a bit of water and then were off.
We picked a spot at the half way point for lunch that looked like it was out of the Sound of Music. It was a large meadow NE of Mormon Mountain that was absolutely plastered with a carpet of yellow flowers.
The next stop was our cache spot where the trail crossed Lake Mary road. The last little climb for the day from the cached spot took us up onto Anderson Mesa. This mesa is mostly unprotected, so we were glad the temps were only around 70. This is a 10 mile walk that takes you past a few tanks, Horse Lake, Prime Lake, Lowell Observatory, a sweet view of Lake Mary, and then makes the final drop to he TH at Marshall Lake.
I'm glad to have the longest Passage of the AZ Trail complete. 7 Passages and 151 miles complete now. I've completed a section from south of Pine to Flagstaff and 23 miles from the Mexican border north.
2010-09-10 The_Eagle
Anderson Mesa - AZT #30
Denny and I hit up our second AZT segment today. Woke up at 1am, met Denny at 2am, Grace shuttled us(thx Grace!) and off we went at 5am. We did cache water where the trail crosses Lake Mary Road.
With a little uncertainty we took off from a non descriptive trailhead. Passing Allen Lake Tank quickly put our concerns to rest. Allen wasn't large but was loaded with that reed type grass that grows in water. Soon we were greeted by maybe a hundred elk looking to cross ahead of us. The bugle fest was a great start to our hike. Not much later we witnessed an owl hunting a squirrel. Does it get any better? We continued through the healthy forest up towards Mormon Lake. The official trail is currently rerouted for a Timber Sale. Which appeared to be a logging operation. We took the official trail anyhow and witnessed the large scale operation first hand. We didn't encounter a sole so it all worked out.
Unfortunately there are no views of Mormon Lake even though you are hovering above it. The trees are simply too thick. You do get a short low-profile glimpse as you pass Double Springs Campground. This is an ultra cool little place with an ideal setting and a running creek from the springs. Denny almost slipped into Tibber mode so I brought him back to "longest hike of your life reality" and we moved on. Here we got off trail following the bypass but common sense didn't let us stray far.
After a few contours around Mormon Mountain (now I finally know where and what it is!) the trail heads down to Lake Mary Road. It may have been earlier but somewhere it passes an ubber cool piece of history. It follows a raised berm from an old railroad. This must have been disassembled in the early 1900's judging by the huge trees now in place. Some of the practically rotted ties are still in line in places. We saw maybe a half dozen spikes too. Each time Denny did a little skit where he'd wave the spike in the air hollering out "I am the sausage king of Chicago"...while rubbing his belly. I have no clue what it meant but being a long hike I played along and simply agreed. Little plastic plaques tell the area history along the way. Some of the hand built rock berms are mind boggling, definitely a must see for train enthusiast.
We arrived at Lake Mary Road an hour earlier than anticipated. This certainly put a kick into the grind as all the sudden we were two-thirds through the hike... yippee! This also marked the end (almost end) to the great weather and beautiful forest. An easy mile up the grade takes you out of paradise into bone dry juniper hell. Apparently there's a hole in the ozone layer here as despite 90% cloud cover the sun pierced through for hours on end. There was no breeze, no shade and plenty of sun on a very humid day. Whereas we reached Lake Mary Road early this one never ended. The view point over Lake Mary is sweet indeed but we both wanted to get our blistering feet off the trail. Determination panned out and we marked this bad boy as done!
There seems to be lots of water resources along this route. Prime Lake up top is stunning and a must see for all. The mileage here is beyond my comfort zone yet I'm very glad I did it! I read about a guy that backpacked the PCT averaging 32mi per day(very AEG intense terrain too). I can now say (as a whimpy day hiker) with complete confidence I will never be that guy...
With a little uncertainty we took off from a non descriptive trailhead. Passing Allen Lake Tank quickly put our concerns to rest. Allen wasn't large but was loaded with that reed type grass that grows in water. Soon we were greeted by maybe a hundred elk looking to cross ahead of us. The bugle fest was a great start to our hike. Not much later we witnessed an owl hunting a squirrel. Does it get any better? We continued through the healthy forest up towards Mormon Lake. The official trail is currently rerouted for a Timber Sale. Which appeared to be a logging operation. We took the official trail anyhow and witnessed the large scale operation first hand. We didn't encounter a sole so it all worked out.
Unfortunately there are no views of Mormon Lake even though you are hovering above it. The trees are simply too thick. You do get a short low-profile glimpse as you pass Double Springs Campground. This is an ultra cool little place with an ideal setting and a running creek from the springs. Denny almost slipped into Tibber mode so I brought him back to "longest hike of your life reality" and we moved on. Here we got off trail following the bypass but common sense didn't let us stray far.
After a few contours around Mormon Mountain (now I finally know where and what it is!) the trail heads down to Lake Mary Road. It may have been earlier but somewhere it passes an ubber cool piece of history. It follows a raised berm from an old railroad. This must have been disassembled in the early 1900's judging by the huge trees now in place. Some of the practically rotted ties are still in line in places. We saw maybe a half dozen spikes too. Each time Denny did a little skit where he'd wave the spike in the air hollering out "I am the sausage king of Chicago"...while rubbing his belly. I have no clue what it meant but being a long hike I played along and simply agreed. Little plastic plaques tell the area history along the way. Some of the hand built rock berms are mind boggling, definitely a must see for train enthusiast.
We arrived at Lake Mary Road an hour earlier than anticipated. This certainly put a kick into the grind as all the sudden we were two-thirds through the hike... yippee! This also marked the end (almost end) to the great weather and beautiful forest. An easy mile up the grade takes you out of paradise into bone dry juniper hell. Apparently there's a hole in the ozone layer here as despite 90% cloud cover the sun pierced through for hours on end. There was no breeze, no shade and plenty of sun on a very humid day. Whereas we reached Lake Mary Road early this one never ended. The view point over Lake Mary is sweet indeed but we both wanted to get our blistering feet off the trail. Determination panned out and we marked this bad boy as done!
There seems to be lots of water resources along this route. Prime Lake up top is stunning and a must see for all. The mileage here is beyond my comfort zone yet I'm very glad I did it! I read about a guy that backpacked the PCT averaging 32mi per day(very AEG intense terrain too). I can now say (as a whimpy day hiker) with complete confidence I will never be that guy...
2010-07-09 joebartels
