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| Mount Frances Loop plus, AZ | |
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| | Mount Frances Loop plus, AZ | | | |
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Mount Frances Loop plus, AZ
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| Hiking | 10.79 Miles |
1,569 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.79 Miles | 5 Hrs 36 Mns | | 2.22 mph |
| 1,569 ft AEG | 45 Mns Break | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | It seemed like it only took 1/2 hour to drive to the TH from my house. We had a lot of catching up to do  . Surprisingly it was already 72 degrees at the TH; the high for the day was supposed to be 77.
You walk along the creek for a bit and then switchback and start up the trail. There was quite a bit of flora which I was surprised to see. Once we got to the top there was a another road/trail that veered to the left. I see that is for the Sierra Prieta Trail on HAZ which is nowhere near the Sierra Prieta Overlook that we would visit later in the afternoon. However, it appears that is the trail for Wolverton Mountain. Anyway we followed what appears to be an old road for a bit as we zig a little to the NE before zagging south with nice views and a great trail tread; thx @bifrost for pictures of the tread so I knew it was to be expected.
From about the 1 1/2 mile mark we start gaining some more elevation for awhile until we came to the Trail Marker where the trail divided going north or continuing on 48. Well Mount Frances was right there as were the communications tower so we headed north. The trail did a quick little climb and then leveled out as it contoured around the mountain. I checked HAZel and it looked like we were more or less on track, though a slight distance from the route. I figured we were just wrapping around the other side and would be coming up the back. Well we came to a point on the east side where the trail started going down. We also saw a hiker and his dog coming up the hill. Well we decided this wasn't right so I checked HAZel again and the route I was following was the contour line ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") .
So back we went to where we thot we veered to the right (east) and maybe we should have gone left (west). This was a second area after we had left Trail 48 on our first accidental detour. Well I checked HAZel again and HAZel said we had to go to 48 but this other trail we were looking at was very nice so we decided to take it. I kept an eye on HAZel as it looked to me like we would either join up with 48 or run into the trail to Frances. So where do you think we ended up? If you guessed 48, you would be right. Come to find out, we had completely cut off the south section of this loop. Our little side tour took a mile and even though it was wrong, it was pretty. Also, it does connect up somewhere since we ran into that other hiker coming up. I can see his trail on satellite but I'm not sure where he started.
Oh, the gnats were annoying from time to time on this hike. So now that we were back on track it was up to Mount Frances. We went by the first communication tower area (I thot that was the top, silly me) or false summit. We then headed east up the road to the real top and the second set of communication towers. We passed by an old antenna system of some sort on our way up. We hit the high point and I noted that there was a little road that looks like it went down toward the TH. However, we decided to continue our route. We had a snack break just below the first communication tower.
And then it was back to the trail/ Mt Frances Road. It was fun to gawk at the few houses and entrances we saw. We arrived at the junction with Copper Basin Road where we would road walk up to the Sierra Prieta Overlook. Along this road there were lots of side trails or areas that might be fun to explore where they go. Most of the roads are closed off now. There were also various sized granite boulders scattered here and there.
We got to the Overlook and saw a trail that goes to the NE so we decided to take it. Kelly decided we needed to get to another highpoint so as we walked through this beautiful area, we went off trail after passing through the gate. It wasn't much off trail and once we got up toward the top you could get glimpses of Watson Lake. I thot, maybe we could get a closer glimpse if we could get further east. We went back down to the trail and then when the trail started to go down, we went up and off trail. However, no view of the lake so we went back to the Overlook. I tried to get my Peakfinder to take pictures of the mountains in the distance but I still haven't mastered it yet.
We hiked back down the road, saw a couple deer and saw the aspens of Aspen Creek which was fun. The sun went behind the clouds for about a mile so that was nice. No beer for us at the TH though as I'm out of sync and completely forgot the cooler!
We stopped and toured the Hiking Shack in Prescott as we were looking for a map of Prescott hiking trails but nothing new. There's obviously lots of additional unmarked trails out there since we saw a couple and hiked a couple. Thx Kelly, another good one in the books with some more to explore.
Part 1 to Mount Frances [ youtube video ]
Part 2 Mount Frances, Sierra Prieta [ youtube video ]
I have to individually stabilize each clip so that takes a bit of time. |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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