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| Bear Canyon - Houston Draw Loop, AZ | |
| | Bear Canyon - Houston Draw Loop, AZ | | | |
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Bear Canyon - Houston Draw Loop, AZ
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Hiking | 13.88 Miles |
2,000 AEG |
| Hiking | 13.88 Miles | 7 Hrs 35 Mns | | 2.10 mph |
2,000 ft AEG | 58 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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Partners |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Kyle invited me for a walk in one of his favorite areas. Do I want to spend the day at 106 or 76 degrees. Duh.
We dropped into Bear Canyon off of FR95 at FR9737M (as depicted on the TOPO maps) There was actually a Forrest Service sign for this road, but no road. We picked a pretty good route just making our way down the side of the canyon.
The Bear Canyon drainage was flowing pretty good the entire length we were in it. It was green, green, green! You can find game trails to navigate most of the way, but still need to cross over the drainage many times. It's easy making your way down there, but slow going.
We crested a bit of a rise in the drainage, to a small grassy meadow. We were both surprised to stumble on a huge Bull Elk, still in velvet, feeding in the grass, not more than 50' away. He was gone before I could get the camera going.
We only had one spot where we had to go up to avoid a swimmer. Would have been a good swim if it was warmer.
Out of the drainage and on our way to Pinchot Cabin, it started to rain lightly. Perfect timing as we'd planned to stop at the cabin for lunch anyway. It rained and thundered while we ate lunch under the awning of the cabin. It was actually a bit cold.
On the Houston Brothers trail we made up some time.
We dropped into East Bear Canyon following a side canyon down. The Elk have made a decent path to the hill. A few more miles in the canyon and I was ready for the climb out.
A pretty hike, in great temps. Lots of tiny strawberries along the entire hike. Lilly did great on the hike. Even all the off trail stuff. Thanks for the hike and driving Kyle. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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Aspen Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | Plenty to filter |
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McFarland Spring |
Dry |
Dry |
| | Did not get off trail to check it, but plenty of water in the area |
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Pinchot Spring |
Dry |
Dry |
| | Did not get off trail to check it, but there was plenty of water in the area | | _____________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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