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| Hiking | 9.97 Miles |
1,976 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.97 Miles | 5 Hrs 1 Min | | 2.16 mph |
| 1,976 ft AEG | 24 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | I've hiked Horton dozens of times over the last nearly 20 years--more than I can even recall--but oddly enough, my sister never has. When we were planning her trip a couple of months ago, she asked about doing this one. I like this loop, it's one of my favorites for an easy hike under 2 hours from my house, so of course I said we could do it.
We left my place at 6:00, and after a quick unplanned stop at Walmart in Payson, got to the trailhead just after 8:00. On the drive up, I thought I had forgot my hat; and there is no way I'm spending hours out in the sunlight without one. So I bought a cheap one at Walmart, then discovered my hat in the back of my car after we got to the trailhead. Oh well. We headed up Derrick trail, and at the junction at Promontory, debated heading up. We had originally planned to include Promontory, but it was a little warmer than we liked, so we decided to skip it this time.
We continued on Highline, and passed a group of people who asked us if we saw the bear. Nope. But I guess a lady ahead of us had seen one a few minutes earlier. I was a little disappointed we missed it, but Kristen seemed relieved. We dropped down to the spring, looked around for a while, had a snack, then headed back down Horton. The spring was flowing nicely, and the trail had a lot of green--more than last year it seems like. My sister pointed out a lot of different types of berry plants, and I had to take her word for it as I know almost nothing about plants or flowers. It was kind of warm on the walk back, but tolerable since we were going downhill. I was surprised that there were not nearly as many people on Horton as there usually is on a weekend.
Back at the trailhead, we ran into my friend, Stephanie, who was spending the weekend in Payson with her family. I introduced her to my sister and we chatted for a few minutes, then headed back to Phoenix. I was starving, and really wanting to get back home for a steak dinner. It was a great birthday weekend, and a bonus that my sister was able to spend it here. And thank you to everyone on HAZ who sent me birthday wishes! |
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| Stop crying and just go do the hike. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
