Anybody able and willing to tag along I'm looking to either knock out West Pinto - Spencer Spr Loop or Trap Canyon on Saturday. Both are full day hikes. I'm setup for another doosey on Sunday so I will need to start early.
West Pinto - Spencer Spring Loop is suppose to be a difficult finding. Kanode's GPS Route for Spencer should help. Though I should add gpsjoe's comment on the Spencer Spring Trail "You have to be out of your mind to do this hike". This looks to be a guaranteed bushwhack too.
Trap Canyon is least preferred as it will undoubtedly involve jogging anything on route and back that isn't uphill to squeeze it into a day hike.
I don't anticipate breaking for more than ten minutes to eat. I'm also game for a Superstition Ridgeline Peralta Loop
I'm open to other ideas too. If interested post or PM.
W. Pinto does indeed have mass amounts of manzanita and live oak from iron mountain all the way to the campaign intersection. i might suggest long pants/sleeves. there is also some route finding adventures down where the trail crosses the washes. Cairns? nope.
Trap canyon is good too, more of a hands-on scramble much of the first mile. after that tho, it just becomes a boring rock hop until you exit onto red tanks. but fwiw, the upper 1 mile of Trap is a lot of fun.
I would like to explore a side canyon near the 33.4414 -111.3140 cause im sure there's some treasures to see up in there. who knows? maybe you'll find a box full of mint-colt 45 revolvers
I did this several years ago with a GPS and it was still insanely difficult to find. the spencer spring trail was absolutely overgrown by manzanita. the only thing that saved me was that half way up the Spencer spring trail, someone was coming downhilll with a mule train. for the rest of the way up, i was able to follow the freshly dug up mule hoof prints underneath all the manzanita. from there, I took FR650 over to Rock Creek and made my way back on that as a loop.
joe bartels wrote:West Pinto - Spencer Spring Loop
Brings back very vivid memories of April Fools Day-2006 (the joke was on me). A solid GPS Route like Kanode's will definitely help, but don't think I would plan another activity for the day after..
Is there way past the bandshell in Trap Canyon that goes around that forest of catclaw instead of through it? I got ripped up pretty good there last year.
Perhaps Ken or Hank has a gps loop
catclaw doesn't stand a chance against my getup. I could do without manzanita's sure footed stance and dust but oh well. Tim the banker did the loop in 6.5hrs, how bad could it be
If anybody is interested in a sure to be unforgettable hike then let me know.
For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination. Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled.
big_load wrote:Is there way past the bandshell in Trap Canyon that goes around that forest of catclaw instead of through it? I got ripped up pretty good there last year.
Not really, but you can minimize your exposure to the catclaw. From Red Tanks, stay east of the drainage. Go through the catclaw and stay west where it starts to box up just past the "spring". Once you get to the subway section catclaw isn't that bad the rest of the way.
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!
I'm jonesing for a hike on Friday, but I can't commit to doing anything serious because I pulled a "Superman" (flying but without the cape and invulnerability) maneuver off of a mountain bike 2 Saturdays ago, and my deep thigh bruise is still bothering me. Something in the Phx Mtn Preserve is on the menu, however.
Route Editor
Route Scout
memories of April Fools Day-2006 (the joke was on me). A solid GPS Route like Kanode's will definitely help, but don't think I would plan another activity for the day after.. 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BOB! 
