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| Frye Canyon Trail #36, AZ | |
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| | Frye Canyon Trail #36, AZ | | | |
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Frye Canyon Trail #36, AZ
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| Hiking | 7.70 Miles |
2,126 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.70 Miles | 4 Hrs 39 Mns | | 1.89 mph |
| 2,126 ft AEG | 34 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | On my second day in the Pinaleno Mountains I hiked the Fry Canyon Trail. My plan was to hike to the Round the Mountain Trail and head South to Deadman Ridge where I was suppose to go yesterday. Once again in reality I made it to the Round The Mountain Trail, or where it should be and returned. I started the Hike at Frye Mesa Reservoir. The drive up Frye Mesa is quite impressive. I was quite taken by the views of Mount Graham and the Mesa from along Frye Mesa Road. I parked at the reservoir because I was unsure of the road past that point. After walking the road it is quite doable with a high clearance vehicle and there is a good turn around point at the end of the road .7 miles past the reservoir. Great views of the falls of Frye Canyon at the end of the road.
The trail heads up a side canyon before crossing over into Frye Canyon. This trail follows an old road that use to head up to a saw mill in upper frye canyon. The trail is easy to follow the first 2.5 miles then becomes very faint. There were pink ribbons marking the trail so this made it quite a bit easier, still a lot of overgrowth though. A few rock cairns also mark the trail. The ribbons take you to a point just below where the Round The Mountain Trail should be. At the end of the trail is an old sign marking the Frye Canyon Trail indicating Fry Mesa Reservoir 3 miles, nothing else on the sign. I would imagine the Round The Mountain Trail should be at this point but it wasn’t. There was an old boiler and remnants of some equipment used by the sawmill that was at this location. There was also a metal box for storage probably used by the Inception Ranger Station that was also located in this area. My GPS Routes showed the Fryes Canyon Trail heading further uphill to meet the Round The Mountain Trail so I headed up to where it should be. Never found any trace of the Trails, beginning to think this Round the Mountain Trail is just a phantom trail now. When I was hiking the upper end of this trail from up on top of the mountain a couple years back I had the same experience, no trail could be found. Does anyone have any information on the condition of the northern end of this trail?
Really nice hike in a scenic canyon; looks like there is a lot to explore along the lower creek just above Frye Mesa Reservoir. To make this hike a little shorter I would recommend taking the road further up to where it ends instead of starting at the reservoir. A vehicle with a bit of high clearance should not have an issue. I’m a little embarrassed that I have a jeep and didn’t drive this last portion, but then I love walking along rocky dirt roads, plenty of time to be in your head, which can sometimes be a scary place or have some stupid song stuck on replay over and over. Fry Creek had a good flow but not enough to hinder crossing. |
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