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| Hiking | 5.00 Miles |
400 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.00 Miles | | | |
| 400 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Every time I drive south from Flagstaff on I-17 and see the Rabbit Ears in the distance, I tell myself I'm going there someday. Well today was the day! I watched the clouds all morning, thinking that it would rain or snow on the red rocks. I decided to go for it, despite the weather before I returned to Flag.
I arrived at the Jacks Canyon parking area about 2:00. I headed down the path below the trail notice boards to the paved road, then crossed the road and went through the gate to start up the hill. The trail crosses a wash and is easy to follow. In places the trail is a very deep rut from runoff and horse traffic. All indications are that this one gets very little traffic. It's very rocky and narrow. The first part of the trail is alongside a very nice Italian style home with a fountain and pool. Not exactly the wilderness experience. A little further on you look over Big Park.
At the top of the climb there is a fork in the trail. I took the downhill trail for about 1/10th of a mile, but decided I needed to backtrack and continue going uphill. At the top, the Rabbit Ears came into view. There are some amazing old junipers along the trail, which then drops down into the canyon at the base of the spires. There was snow left on the north side. The wall across the canyon is beautiful too with some tiny arches and another spire. I thought about staying until sunset for possibly great photography, but it was cold in the canyon and I didn't have my down jacket. I'll save this one for summertime and some star trails.
I've read that this can be a connector to Courthouse Rock. I don't know if the mileage would be the same, but the elevation change might be less. I'm going to check it out on my next recon of the area and then update the trail description. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
