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| Hiking | 8.90 Miles |
3,100 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.90 Miles | 7 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.19 mph |
| 3,100 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | This hike was from the Mud Springs TH along FR143 down to the junction with Cane Springs Trail (also the upper point of the Soldier Camp/Cane Springs Loop hike I did Oct. 14) and back.
The mileage on this trail was somewhat of a question. The Guide to Hiking Arizona'a Superstitions and Mazatzals said 3.8 miles one way, giving a total of 7.6. My GPS and The Cannondale Kid's GPs both said 8.9 miles. When I downloaded the track to my Delorme program, is said 8.12. Since we had 2 GPS's giving the 8.9 reading, and since it felt more like 8.9, that's what I'm going with.
The first mile of this is pretty easy to follow, but steep. after that, you come to a very steep ravine and the trail seems to fade away. From there you're not far from Big Saddle, and its not too bad of a bushwhack up to there, but very steep and crumbly.
Coming down, its all grassland and very wide open view-wise, but the catclaw keeps creeping in when you dont expect it. The trail is very faint and hard to follow, and in many sections even non-existent. We ended up bushwhacking down the middle of a steep and crumbly ravine, only to spot the cairns at the bottom seeing that we should have taken the top of the eastern ridge.
The trail just before Soldier Camp becomes visible from a distance, but then its a little tricky finding it up over the bank out of the wash. Having the waypoints set on my GPS was critical to know where to look for it here.
After going over the bank, the downhill into the next ravine was another portion of non-existent trail (we never found it either way) with even more catclaw. There was one more wash to cross and hill to climb, but after the second descent, the trail was very easy to follow. The junction to Cane Springs Trail is just over the second hill.
Going back up to Big Saddle was somewhat grueling. Route finding and concentration was very necessary both ways, and I was somewhat feeling under the weather. My wife said she and the kids both had some mild diarrhea, so I was wondering if I had a big of the bug. This took much longer than I expected to complete, both because of my sluggishness and the condition of the trail.
The section past Big Saddle to the steep ravine was another spot where finding the trail was impossible going the other direction. Its seems to disappear from that ravine to Big Saddle. its not a big distance, but the steepness and crumbly slopes make it kind of interesting.
And, to top it all off, you CAN get a strong cell signal at Mud Springs TH. Who'da thunk? |
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