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| Hiking | 7.90 Miles |
1,375 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.90 Miles | | | |
| 1,375 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | Pretty cool hike. I haven't been to the Prescott area for about 20 years, and it was pretty shocking at how much it's changed. What happened to the drive-in movie theater that used to be on the east side of the Senator Highway on the way out of town?
This is a good hike for people who are looking to get into the pines, and want a hike that requires a little bit of effort, but isn't too tough. We had great views from the top when we had lunch at the fire lookout tower.
I think the south leg of the loop is more interesting. It has better views IMO, and it's more natural. The north leg is very clear (I remember reading a triplog from a few months ago that said there were logs all over the trail), and it looks like the Forest Service has been very busy there. There are literally hundreds of teepee-like piles of logs on the north part of the trail.
The south portion doesn't seem like it would be any easier than the north part. The north part is basically a gradual uphill climb, while the south part has a few steep parts interspersed with flat stretches.
This is one dry patch of forest. There wasn't really dirt, but dust. However, it looks like the conifers have had a lot of sap this year, and it's great to see pine sap flowing out of pine bark beetle holes. I think I read somewhere that sap is a defense mechanism for conifers. This forest is a poster child with what's not good with forests in the West, but it looks like the Forest Service has done a good job in opening it up and getting dead wood into positions where it's not a danger. There are a lot of homes in the area, and I'm sure that fact contributed to the forest being over-protected to the point where it's a tinderbox. Got to see Camp Wamatochick which I hadn't seen in over 20 years. |
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