HikeArizona.COM

Heading home to Payson I went by the Shoe Tree just North of Sunflower and a couple of wildland fire units at the tree. Some light smoke at the base of the tree and I did not observe any flame. Tree was still intact. At Mt. Ord turnoff three pickups with fire crews were heading up the Mt. Ord road. I did not observe any smoke or fire on Mt. Ord.

That parking area is a polluted mess. I've picked up trash there but feel like I should have worn a hazmat suit. And, IMO, the shoe tree is just more of the same.

Is that area closed off?

@Alston_Neal
Nope... it's practically IN the parking area for the Bushnell Tanks trailhead.

@CannondaleKid
We've hiked to the Tanks many times, but I thought it was closed off because of the fire.

@Alston_Neal
The area itself is open to hikers, MTBs, equestrians, and hunters etc., just not for vehicles.
(Except for the cattle rancher and other 'authorized' folks... like the ATA)

However, although ATV's are allowed to travel from Tonto Basin partway to Reno Pass, but of course that doesn't stop some from driving around the barriers/boulders to drive all the way over to Bushnell Tanks where they are NOT authorized.
Of course it doesn't do any good to tell them that.

@CannondaleKid
We met some ATV drivers who had driven in from Tonto Basin and were blocked from getting out at the gate. I didn't mention the lock combination.

A lovely specimen [ photo ] as found in the haz database of unusual things [ Shoe Tree ]

We were just there and it appears somebody tried to set it on fire. But thankfully Chums neon yellow platforms were untouched. I was gonna take a photo but then I didn't feel like posting a photoset of Chumley's shoes.