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| Backpack | 13.40 Miles |
4,058 AEG |
| | Backpack | 13.40 Miles | | | |
| 4,058 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | | Headed up the hill early Monday morning to pick up my cousin from Camp Verde then drove east to the Cabin Loop. We were each dying to ditch the heat and had planned a quick, in-and-out overnight hike and had decided to start with the Houston Bros trail and figure it out from there. We parked just north of the Pinchot Cabin and the 95 road was in great condition. There were 2 elk grazing in the Houston Draw on the other side of the road from the TH, the first of many spotted on this hike. The springs were definitely flowing with cool, clear water and I couldn't get enough pictures. All of the descriptions about the beautiful scenery on this trail are true so we didn't rush our pace and took our time exploring both cabins along the way. We stopped for lunch around 2:30 and decided to take an extra long rest as we were eager to test out our new travel hammocks we had purchased. They were the cheap $20 versions and we had each read all the reviews about them splitting down the middle so it was a little tense at first but the hammocks held! After the quick catnap we got started on the trail again and came across a cow elk grazing near the spring with her calf on the hill to our right. We snuck to about 25 yards from them both. We decided to take the Barbershop trail when we came across it because we were looking to set up camp soon and it looked like it would have more springs for us to use for cooking. We were right as Barbershop Spring was flowing nicely. We saw another 2 elk before the spring and another 7 once we got there (that makes 13 for the day). This spot was gorgeous! We filled up enough water for cooking and set up camp shortly thereafter. The night was cool and borderline cold but was much welcome after dealing with the 110 degree heat in Phoenix lately. My cousin and I caught up on life, drank whiskey, and then survived the night in our sketchy hammocks. We did a simple backtrack the next day and made it back to my truck already planning our next trip back to finish the Cabin Loop, but not before we saw one more elk crossing the trail in front of us. |
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