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| Hiking | 11.00 Miles |
2,200 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.00 Miles | 8 Hrs | | 1.83 mph |
| 2,200 ft AEG | 2 Hrs Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Got Coffee?  What a great day!  Long, funny, and very rewarding. Since I had quite a bit of time to kill before I picked John up at the Barnhardt TH, I picked this Hike, even though it was a Saturday. I have never done the Horton Trail and since it was going to be warm, I thought a swim might be the order of the Day. Since I'm not a big fan of "out and back" Trails, I found this Loop on HAZ and decided it was right up my alley. I needed a longer Hike with some nice AEG for a change and this definitely fit the bill... Besides that, I was hoping to avoid some of the Crowds for at least half the Hike. Turns out, I avoided the Crowds completely except for the Parking area at the beginning... 
After doing a few Merry-Go-Round Loops on Highway 87 with John, looking for a "missing Mile", I dropped him off at the locked gate where he was to start. I got to the Horton Picnic Area around 8:30 and found at least 50 people there and nowhere to park. I finally parked about a 1/2 mile up the road. Walked down the Road and tried to follow the directions to get to the Derrick TH, but it was a little confusing. A passing Motorist was very helpful and it turned out that access is way easier than the Description states. Got started on the Trail and within 20 minutes, saw 2 White-Tailed Deer bounding away from me. Too far for a pic, even when they stopped and I went into stalking mode...
I wore my Tennis Shoes/Water Shoes on this Hike since I figured to be swimming later. This made the going a little slower as much of the Derrick Trail was muddy and/or very Rocky! These shoes have very little tread left which didn't help any, so the going was slow in places, especially the Rocky parts. And I'm not talking Pebbles here.... I've been having some trouble with my ankles turning lately, but surprisingly, even with the condition of these 3 Trails today, I didn't turn an ankle once. It probably actually helped wearing low cut shoes with no Tread. I think I probably worked every muscle, tendon, and ligament by the time it was all said and done. Perfect strengthening exercise....
With the Shoe Factor, the Rocks, the Mud, and the Steepness in parts, it took me a little while to get to the Derrick/Highline Split, but I got there and took a nice break before moving on. I was treated to some Panoramic Peeks through the Trees along both the Derrick and Highline Trails. Both of these were nice Scenic Trails, with the Highline Section being the most Scenic of the two. I am very glad that I opted to do this Loop CCW. I got to a very long descent into a Canyon just before you get to Horton, and it was pure, slippery mud, with no rocks to help you out. And it was steep in sections, I don't think I would have wanted to be going up, on this part today....I don't know how I did it, but I didn't slip and fall once on this entire Trip, despite the Shoes and Trail Conditions.
The Clouds had gradually started to build as I was Hiking the Derrick and Highline, and as I started up the final ascent on the Highline just before Horton, it started raining. By the time I got up to the top and started the descent to the Creek itself, it was raining hard...I no longer had to worry about a swim in the Creek to cool off. I was soaked to the skin before I ever saw the Creek...
Finally, at the Creek, I immediately took a right and headed for the Spring. I could see two separate Streams with Waterfalls, so of course, I checked them both out, with the Main Spring first. It was still raining like an SOB, so I hung out at the Main Spring for about an hour until the Rain quit. I wanted to get some pictures, but didn't want to get the Camera and Lens wet, so I waited it out and ate a cold, soggy Egg McMuffin for lunch...  By the time the Rain let up and I had satisfied my "tibber mode", I was almost cold...BRRRR...Hiked over and got pics of the Secondary Spring and then started the Trip down the Creek, still in full "tibber mode". I climbed up and down the hill quite a few times off the Trail, to check out the Creek and get pictures.
At first, Horton Creek Trail was ok, even with the Rain, it was just soggy, but was absorbing the Water well. That changed drastically about 1/2 mile down.... Horton Trail became a Creek all by itself with the runoff from the Rain. If there wasn't running or pooled Water, then it was a slick, muddy mess almost the entire way down. Once again, slow going, with slipping, sliding and some nice Gyrations thrown in for sport... About 1/2 way down, I decided that it was time to just stay on the Trail and try to get down in one piece. I was actually starting to run out of time, my legs were starting to ache pretty good and my left knee was being crankier than normal. As nice as this Hike was, it was time for it to be over and I was pretty happy to see the Campground and a nice Picnic Table!!! I rested there for a bit and then started the Hike to the Jeep.
I looked like some kind of Mud Monster when I got to the Car, and I didn't want to foul up John's absolutely immaculate Jeep, so I stripped down and took a shower with a gallon of Water I had and put on some dry clothes. Luckily there wasn't much Traffic on the Road for that 15 minutes....
This was a great Loop and would've been even better with good Shoes and better Trail conditions. I missed alot of Horton Creek, but after seeing this Creek, I know that I will be back several more times to Boulder Hop and Bushwack it. It is a Wonderful Creek, full of Waterfalls, Cascades, Swimming Holes, and nice clean, clear Water...I shall return!!! The stats for this Hike seem "off". So I averaged them in with the Routes posted and then added just a little bit of Mileage and AEG for the Car and numerous Side Trips to the Creek itself. I think for not having a GPS, I'm fairly close. AmAZingly, I only saw 14 people on the Trails all day. About 1 1/2 miles from Horton, I ran into a couple of guys who stated that there were at least 200 people at the Springs when they left an hour or so before, with many of them being Boy Scouts.... By the time I got to Horton, I only saw three other people, besides the party of 5 that I ran into on the Highline. How cool is that! Pretty much had this day, including the Horton part, all to myself, woo hoo!!!
The Photoset will be awhile. I've got places to go and Trails to Hike all this week, but I wanted to get this Log up while the details were fresh...
I drove into Payson and made a couple of stops, picking up some Diet Dew for John. (Like he needs Diet anything...  ) After getting John's Jeep nice and muddy on the drive in to Barnhardt, I actually arrived at the TH right on time. I got a couple of texts from John with his time frame to finish and found that I had an hour to relax. Tried to get off my aching legs for awhile and enjoyed a really nice Sunset.
John arrived an hour later and we celebrated his AZT Finish with a couple of ice cold Dews!!!
Way to go John!!! That was an Epic Journey for you, Congratulations!!!
Got home and died for about 10 hours. Did I mention that I put this day in with no sleep the night before??? |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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Horton Creek |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| | | Running Clean and Clear. |
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Tonto Creek - Mogollon Rim |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| | | At the Bridge next to Horton Picnic area. Running well, but very muddy looking. | | _____________________
| Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!" |
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