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| Hiking | 7.83 Miles |
831 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.83 Miles | 3 Hrs 16 Mns | | 2.40 mph |
| 831 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | The hike to Nash Point is a straightforward 2½ mile stroll (one way) west on FR 9365R from AZ-87, with 570 ft. AEG (round trip).
I started hiking at 8:45 a.m. I was surprised to find an electrical access panel cemented into the ground. (I found four or five more, one with an above ground metal box, at least one open.) Curious why, as the Nash Point mesa is Coconino National Forest, not private land ripe for development.
There are several short jeep trails south off the road, to the rim overlooking Strawberry. Nothing really interesting at any of them, just old campsites and garbage. Nice views south though, particularly of Milk Ranch Point and Strawberry Mountain.
There were plenty of large, billiard table flat, sitting rocks along the road There was also some spot shade. But the two rarely coincided. One interesting tree looked like juniper but had deciduous leaves. 
After Nash Tank, at ⅔ mile, the jeep trail starts descending. The views southwest open up, particularly to Hardscrabble Mesa and Deadman Mesa. The jeep trail gets rocky, but still okay for hiking. After 1⅓ miles, there is a split in the trail: Left is obvious, so that is the way I went. It is also wrong. Go right, the non-obvious way. It clears up in 100 yds.
From a very old gate, the jeep trail climbs 250 ft. in ⅔ mile to the base of Nash Point’s knoll. The knoll is a 30 ft. high jumble of boulders. I may be easier to scramble up from the north, but I didn’t realize it at the time, and in case wanted to search for cliff top views of Fossil Creek.
Working my southwest from the jeep trail was easy, but slow as I kept an eye out for snakes. (The only wildlife I saw on Nash Point’s mesa was the tail end of a sprinting bull elk.) As I turned the south slope of the knoll, and began heading northwest, the brush got a lot denser. Surprisingly no catclaw, but I did get my hat knocked off several times. 
My OP was at the top of a steep & narrow draw. I had a good view, but the best views (and good places to sit), were too sketchy for me. From the OP, I bushwhacked back through the foliage, then climbed 250 ft. up to the south end of the Nash Point knoll.
The 30 ft. scramble to the summit of Nash Point is not difficult — there’s never more than a five foot stretch — but beware the many cracks & gaps that could trap a foot and snap a leg bone if you lose your balance. Be careful. 
Once on top of Nash Point, the view of Fossil Creek Canyon was not all that different from the OP: Still beautiful and expansive. But the summit did give a better perspective of other distant mountains, mesas and canyons. (None of which I could identify.)
It was getting quite toasty, so I wasted no time booking back to the trailhead. My hike concluded, my wife and I headed down AZ-87 into Pine for some cold beers and tasty wood-fired pizza at Old Country Inn: Meat Pie for her, East Coast Clam for me. 
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/728279633 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Bee spiderflower, scarlet penstemon, twistspine prickly pear, century plant, paintbrush, spreading fleabane, and (?) rough menodora. |
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Nash Tank |
Dry |
Dry |
| | | Doesn't look like it's had water in years. | | _____________________
| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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