Wild Horse Trail - Hawes, AZ

AKA - Lead Trail

The Wild Horse Trail is within the Tonto National Forest. It is an unofficial/social multi-purpose, East-West trail, bounded by the Usery Mountains on the South and the Salt River on the North.Hike
The eastern end starts at a parking area off Usery Pass Road and ends at the Twisted Sister Trail intersection, in the Hawes Trail System at the western end. An additional 0.8 mile can be added to the trail by starting at another parking area on Usery Pass Road located at 33 30.298, -111 37.041, and heading in a northerly direction until location 33 30.969N, -111 37.219W is reached.

At this point, turn left (West) and proceed on the main part of the trail. The trail surface is mostly hard-packed sand, with some less packed sand in some washes. The trail is easy to follow due to the tire tracks and "horse manure cairns". The trail can be hiked in the West-East direction by parking in an area off the Bush Highway, and taking the Twisted Sister Trail 0.2 mile to the intersection located at 33.521923, -111.658977 and then turning left (East). This trail would probably be appreciated most by the casual hiker as it was easy but afforded good views of the Salt River and several mountains, including Usery, Pass, Four Peaks, Mazatzals, and Red Mountain.

I could not find any information about the origin of the trail's name, Wild Horse. However, while hiking the trail, I did see three wild horses. I have also seen documents and maps naming the trail as the "Lead Trail" This makes sense as the eastern part of the trail goes across a pit that was once an NRA shooting range. While hiking, I came across two lead "miners" who had several buckets full of bullets and shot. Although there are "No Shooting" signs in the area, I saw and picked up about 50 spent shotgun shells with little signs of weathering.

Check out the Official Route and Triplogs.

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2010-01-04 alexandy