Car Camping and Day Hiking the Mt. Baldy Loop

jaybird · Post by **jaybird** » Aug 31 2006 8:34 pm

I'm planning to day hike the Mt. Baldy loop on Sunday September 10th.

The plan is to leave Phoenix around 3pm on Saturday the 9th of Sept, grab some food in the Pinetop/Lakeside area and car camp close to the TH. Sunday get up early and be hiking around 6/7am. Do the loop then grab some food and drive home to Phoenix.

Let me know if you're interested.

Crocodile Ryan · Post by **Crocodile Ryan** » Sep 01 2006 11:26 am

i know your trying to get ready for whitney but thats kinda far to drive, did you ever think about doing the weatherford trail on humphreys its 17m roundtrip and higher elevation

jaybird · Post by **jaybird** » Sep 01 2006 11:19 pm

In response to Crocodile Ryan's reply:

Humphries is an option and if I have to settle for that with friends I'd take it. I've never done Baldy though and would relaly like to check it out.

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Sep 02 2006 6:29 am

I'll put in for the day off, will try to meet up with you. Will let you know as time gets closer, so let me know if you are going to cancel it. No campout for me, I live 40 min from the trailhead. Are you planning to start at the West or East Baldy trailhead? Are you planning to do the crossover trail first to get it out of the way? With two cars could do shuttle, also. Makes hike 14 miles instead of 18. If you are training for Whitney this may not be an advantage to you, though. I did Whitney on July 6. It was great!

Be sure to call Forest Service to find out about the road closure. They've been paving 273 this summer. You may have to drive almost all the way to Eagar on 260, then take Hwy 261, the Big Lake Hwy, to Crescent Lake, then backtrack to trailhead. Not sure when it's going to re-open.

Well, hope it will work out!

Elizabeth

jaybird · Post by **jaybird** » Sep 04 2006 8:53 pm

In response to azbackpackr's reply:

Still planning this trip, although nobody else has shown any interest. I still need a long day hike with some altitude to prep for Whitney though so I'm coming.

I was planning the West TH tp start and doing the whole loop. I'm not familiar with the crossover trail?

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Sep 04 2006 9:08 pm

The crossover trail was built a few years ago so you can now do a full loop, whereas in the past you had to car shuttle or walk a very long way along the road if you wanted to hike both trails. IMO best way to do it is start at East Baldy, do crossover first to get it out of the way, then up West Baldy, back down to the car at East. It seems faster, too because you don't have that long sort of flat deal at the end that you would otherwise.

jaybird · Post by **jaybird** » Sep 05 2006 8:58 pm

In response to azbackpackr's reply:

Just got confirmation from a friend so there'll be two of us at least. We can meet you at the East TH and do the 14mile loop.

Someone we spoke with mentioned hiking up the east and down the west, then doing the crossover - his reasoning was that the west trail had more cover in case of a nasty storm. Never been there so I do not know?

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Sep 05 2006 9:34 pm

I'm still a "maybe." Have to work out personal logistics. Read the new thread by the couple who wants to hike near Alpine regarding the road closure--W. Baldy trailhead is probably not going to be accessible, although E. trailhead open on weekends. You will have to come all the way on 260 to 261, or, to avoid all the traffic in Pinetop, take Hwy 60 to Springerville, then backtrack through Eagar, and go west on 260 to 261, then up to 273. Do you have a forest service road map?

Whichever way people want to do the loop is ok by me. We are still having weather up here, for sure!

jaybird · Post by **jaybird** » Sep 06 2006 12:14 pm

In response to azbackpackr's reply:

I was under the impression the closure started the 15th. We should be clear for this weekend but I'll check with the ranger district.

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Sep 08 2006 4:06 am

I'm going to have to bail. It's my only day off for many days in a row, and I'll be hiking closer to town so I can get something done at home as well. I did check the weather forecast for you--it will be drying up just a little but you may get a little wet in the afternoon.

jaybird · Post by **jaybird** » Sep 08 2006 10:01 pm

In response to azbackpackr's reply:

Thanks have fun!