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| Hiking | 18.40 Miles |
3,600 AEG |
| | Hiking | 18.40 Miles | 9 Hrs 55 Mns | | 2.16 mph |
| 3,600 ft AEG | 1 Hour 23 Mns Break | 14 LBS Pack | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Joe put together a winner here. 
Starting from the Strawberry TH located just north of Pine, we crossed Rt87 and made our way for Strawberry Canyon. This was a big unknown, but what a total gem it turned out to be. I found a couple of tree stands in the area and Joe decided to climb one to pose. As he was up there, a herd of 20+ Elk ran past us, just 100 yards out. We could hear them bugling up canyon from us for awhile.
We took our time and enjoyed the sweet canyon views  https://youtube.com ... 5Co8
At the second major branch in the canyon, we took the right fork. The canyon started getting a lot more choked with debris. We went up and around one 20' slot and finally made the call to try to make up some time by getting out of the canyon. It was a steep climb out and we had to dodge much Manzanita, but once we hit Coconino County, the traveling became much easier.
We hit up a couple of forest roads making our way over to the Rock Wall #608 (aka BC Trail). Been a few years since we'd been on this one, with the gang that helped name the trail. Kyle the Heartless, Stealers Wheel, Bright Lights Lyding, Joe Joe the Wonder Chimp, and yours truly. Mare Czinar, who writes a hiking column for the AZ Republic, hiked this trail April 22, 2015, and referred to it as the Rock Wall Trail. So I guess the name is now official!
Next it was back over Rt 87 to hop on the Pine-Strawberry Trail. This trail is being primped for the upcoming "Fire on the Rim" MTB race. There were a few out making practice runs. It got a little warm on this section, but there were storms a brewin' all around us. We got lucky enough to be under pretty much full cloud cover the the remainder of the hike and w/o any rain
A bit of a road walk/climb to get around the southwest of Strawberry Mountain, we followed what appeared to be old and faded logging roads almost all the way to the non-existent "Peak". (Make sure to get the proper permissions from the property owners before attempting to climb the mountain from this side). The views to the East from on top of Strawberry Mountain towards Pine were pretty darn nice https://youtube.com ... mBiA
All that was left was the steep scramble Down/Up/Down back to the truck.
Lightning Storm over Apache Junction on the way home. https://youtube.com ... pNtI |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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Route Editor
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