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| Lane Mountain 233 - Crown King Back Road, AZ | |
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| | Lane Mountain 233 - Crown King Back Road, AZ | | | |
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Lane Mountain 233 - Crown King Back Road, AZ
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| Hiking | 17.75 Miles |
3,854 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.75 Miles | 9 Hrs 5 Mns | | 2.23 mph |
| 3,854 ft AEG | 1 Hour 8 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Senator Highway
From Crown King to the trailhead is in rough shape. Notably two stretches, the first is immediately leaving Crown King. Bruce has never been a shy driver and made it easy in his kick Subaru with a dope Monza muffler.
Lane Mountain Trail #233
The trail is well-maintained down to Lion Spring. Then it is a scratchy nuisance for the balance without a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Luckily we've bled enough to wise-up.
Views out over the west valley are short-lived but one of the main reasons I love this trail. That said, the fauna was primarily cow-mooing in the distance.
FR9286
Bruce created this smorgasbord loop of side attractions in 2012. I wrote up Trail #233 on 2013-09-30. The lower half of the trail was unclear then. We've always utilized FR9286 to bridge the gap to civilization. I just noticed a 2013-11-7 map by the Forest Service removed the forest road designation and declared it Trail 233.
The lower section has a 660 ft ascent that seems steeper than it really is in a lofty 0.75 miles. It is a measly 16.6% grade, Pie is 20.3% & Echo is 21.4% for reference.
The mining operation just underway in 2016 is much larger now. We thought the F'ers were blocking the final 50+ft down to the Back Road to Crown King. We crawled over a rock-separating grate and scrambled down. One of the workers hollered over asking where we were going. Bruce pointed continuing up the back road and we held stride.
Checking the private property boundaries, they do own that final 50+ft down to the road and a 0.5mi section of the road. There were two motorcycles trying to get across at the same time, later we were passed by two Jeeps or such heading up and I imagine hundreds cross thru on the weekends. They don't seem to be pulling the Gisela card but your encounter may vary.
Crown King - Back Road
After enjoying lunch under the shade of a tree at Jones Gulch, we headed on up. Bruce suggested I did not need long pants and boy howdy that made the 4mi ascent up FR192 to our turn-off remarkably cool and enjoyable.
We saw a lot of grape vines along the road but not until Castle Rock did we see grapes. The best I've ever sampled. Sweet and juicy, with no tartness on this round. Keep in mind there's little pulp substance to them and you spit out the huge seeds.
The Lost Mines
Rapid Transit Mine has not changed, still a folding chair and a hole in the wall that is too small for us to get into trouble.
New Savoy Mine has lost its golden sheen. The immediate area remains a perennial oasis of green from the excellent flow of water flowing out of the old mine.
We passed Savoy Mine without a gander and just realized we've never been over to New Jersey Mine.
Once again I didn't have my specs to translate signage on a post further up. We quietly and respectfully tiptoed the final furlong to the Senator Highway rubbing the foot of a dead rodent while praying to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We avoided further temptations along the 1.7-mile road walk delivering ourselves back to square one.
Synopsis
I suggested a reasonable hike. Plus this and another hike I doubted Bruce would have any desire rehiking. Shockingly he picked this one. There are a lot of undesirables about the loop and it's getting tougher cuz I ain't no spring chicken anymore. I still love it. A backpacker not seeking a well-trodden adventure could indulge in all the side trips available along the way that we bypassed this round. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Primarily goldenrod in moderate-sized patches. Evening Primrose was substantial along one segment of the drive. |
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Lion Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| |  I would not drink the bile puddles if my life depended on it but it'd be fine for Bruce | | _____________________
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