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| West Pinto Creek 212 - Cuff Button 276 Loop, AZ | |
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| | West Pinto Creek 212 - Cuff Button 276 Loop, AZ | | | |
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West Pinto Creek 212 - Cuff Button 276 Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 18.11 Miles |
2,800 AEG |
| | Hiking | 18.11 Miles | 10 Hrs 8 Mns | | 1.93 mph |
| 2,800 ft AEG | 45 Mns Break | 14 LBS Pack | | |
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| Partners |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Been wanting to get out to this area.
All accounts I'd read pointed to "Blood Bath" for Cuff Button. Joe assured me that he'd heard this trail had been trimmed. So with about as little planning as we'd done before, we were off to the Miles Ranch Trail head.
Starting from the TH at a balmy 36 degrees, we went counter clockwise, walking downstream on the West fork of Pinto Creek. Water flowing a good portion of the way, we followed use trails (mainly Bovine). This is a real pretty area that I'm surprised does not get more hiking action. There is nothing real tough going through here, but it is slow going. We were in and around the creek bed for a bit more than 5-1/2 miles before we made the turn west on to FR 305. We were able to make up some time on the 2-1/2 mile walk to the Cuff Button TH.
At the TH area was the Exterra of A Boy and his Dogs. (Sans HAZ Sticker  )
Joe was right... There is evidence of recent trail clearing, turning the next 2-1/2 miles into a superhighway! We made our way into the corral area, which itself had been clear cut!
We are now on the home stretch, making the turn....... where's the trail ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") . It went from smooth sailing to hamburger arms in no time. Without a track, this would have been near impossible to follow. All my friends were there. Mr Manzanita, Cathy CatsClaw and Yucca McShinpoker all made appearances. Joe was nice enough to "Encourage me" to lead the way taking off the thorns and pokie things in my arms for him.
From the Cuff Button TH, we'd seen signs of Lee and his dogs. They were in the area on a long Backpack trip. Part way through the catclaw playland, we stopped seeing his tracks. He evidently was smarter than we were. I'm guessing at some point his dogs refused to go through that crap.
Finally down on the West Pinto and it's clear sailing back to the TH right at dark. I really enjoyed this side of the West Pint trail as well as the off trail jaunt on the east side of the TH
https://www.youtube.com/embed/i9zERTno6Dk |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
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Bootlegger Trap Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Source unseen, but pools in the area suggest it exists. |
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Burro Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Water and pools in the area. |
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Little Well |
76-100% full |
76-100% full |
| | | Water Storage tank is 15' around an 5' tall. The tank is full, but access to the tank is not available. |
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West Fork Pinto Creek |
Light flow |
Light flow |
| | | Flow and pools off and on for a portion of the Trail and off trail push east from the Miles Ranch TH. Most of the water was East of the TH. Some of this can be attributed to the 3" of rainfall the previous week. Flora in the creek bed suggests water could be found most of the year in many places. | | _____________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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Route Editor
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