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| Hiking | 6.19 Miles |
2,264 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.19 Miles | 4 Hrs 14 Mns | | 1.67 mph |
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| 2,264 ft AEG | 31 Mns Break | 14 LBS Pack | |
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| no partners | | | Had a late start and set out from the trailhead around 10:30am. This trail is rocky from the beginning and stays that way all the way up, but although there was loose footing i made good time over the first mile leading up to the springs. I wasn't expecting to see water at mineral spring but there turned out to be quite a bit. Despite the season, it was warm enough to make the climb up pretty strenuous, and the absence of shade adds to the difficulty of the ascent. North peak vistas improve as you go up, so the motivation is there to keep pushing. I didn't complete the entire length of the trail, instead my plan was just to scout the trail for a future overnight trip to "the park" that i've been pondering for a while. At about the 2 mile mark the trail enters thick brush and becomes hard to follow, but the path can be traced successfully by keeping an eye out for some of the world's crappiest cairns. I only lost the trail once but picked it up again after a moment of wandering. The routing of the trail follows pretty closely to where it appears on the USFS maps. My initial goal was to get at least a 1000' elevation gain, but the steepness made that checkpoint arrive too quickly, so i figured i would at least make it to the high point of the trail at 6200 elevation which is where i turned around. Thankfully this decision provided some good views to the west into the Mazatzals that are hidden behind the ridge when you look at the range from the payson area. Heading back down to Mineral creek trailhead is fast but slipping and falling is very easy due to the rough loose rocks (i fell 3 or 4 times). My arrival back at the car was about 2:45, not a very impressive pace but not bad given the grade of the trail. And by car i mean my 4runner, be advised that there are sections of the 414 road leading to the trailhead (from both the north and south approach) that could cause some oil pan damage to a sedan. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
Lots of color at mineral spring |
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Mineral Spring |
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| | | Good flow of clear water in the ravine trickling downhill | | _____________________
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