Pine Mountain Wilderness Photoset • MountainMatt • 2017-11-04 • HikeArizona.COM

Pine Mountain Wilderness, AZ

	2017-11-04
	7 by MountainMatt

Pine Mountain Wilderness, AZ

Hiking	16.57 Miles	2,659 AEG

Hiking	16.57 Miles
	2,659 ft AEG		25 LBS Pack

no routes

Linked

6 linked trail guides

Verde Rim Trail #161

Willow Springs Trail #12

Pine Flat Trail #165

Nelson Trail #159

Pine Mtn from FR 68G TH - Verde Rim

Pine Mountain Verde Rim Loop

Partners

partners

chumley

I've been wanting to check out the Pine Mountain Wilderness for quite sometime and this weekend could not have been better for the trip.
Drove out on Friday night and enjoyed the fun road on the way to the TH illuminated by the full moon glow.

Chums had been out before and planned a loop for us that ended up being one of my favorite day hikes in quite some time!
Saturday started out a little sunny but soon the clouds rolled in and with most of the hike being under some form of shade made for incredibly pleasant hiking weather.
Views from the rim and Pine Mountain were stunning and offered a nice view of some red lollipop slopes here and there.

The winner of the day was our side trip up to Beehouse Spring which was a gem of healthy maples, oaks and sycamores complimented by the occasional prickly pear.

Before returning to the TH with Chums I departed and headed back up and past Black Alder Spring to photograph this little scene of agave and maples we passed earlier in the day.
On the return back in the dark I thought I spooked some more cattle but after my headlamp flashed on the movement I was surprised to see 5 or 6 monkey-skunks scattering up the trees making all sorts of noise.

The next morning I woke up for sunrise and hiked back on up to Beehouse to take advantage of the color and enjoyed a quiet morning in silence taking photos in a diverse wonderland which added an additonal 2.47 miles and minor aeg which I added to the loop stats.

A downright perfect weekend with good company spent out in the Pine Mountain paradise.

Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
Dull Maples, Healthy Oaks and Sycamores galore, a little sumac and a few past prime random aspen.
Most of the maples lacked the spunk of a nice red but there was still some hot spots to be found.

	Beehouse Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	3 pools of clear water frequently used by cattle 50-60 yards downstream from the actual marked spring.

	Nelson Place Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Water running down from the hillside spring giving fuel to Sycamore Creek.

Pine Spring

Dry

Willow Spring

Dry

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