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| Hiking | 9.73 Miles |
663 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.73 Miles | 3 Hrs 34 Mns | | 2.73 mph |
| 663 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I was going to hike hike Porcupine Ridge, near Woods Canyon, but AZ-87 to Payson was closed down due to the Sand Stone Fire. I’ve hit the west end of the Rim pretty hard over the years, but was able to able to come up with this surprisingly quickly. 
Descending 170 ft. in the first mile, the trail was often rooty, or rocky. Flowers were minimal. Fungi — despite the summer monsoon and overhead cover — nonexistent. But the overhead cover provided solid walking shade. Didn’t need it yet, though.
After a mile, Trail #171 breaks out into the open at the south end of the first fenced enclosure. Despite signs, the fence is no longer electrified. I checked. (And not by peeing!) Even if the fence was electrified, it could easily be walked across due to being collapsed. Not sure what it was protecting. The 1500′ x 150′ enclosure’s highlight was its tons of coneflower.
At the 1½ mile mark, there was a metal pole. McFarland Spring is 120 yds. southwest, across the creek. I could not find a spring pipe, but water was trickling from the boulders.
Back on trail, I saw five young gals hiking towards me. No, correction: Rather than in a file, they were line abreast. Turns out, they were doing a flower survey. (I think for the Forest Service.) Hey, me too! I told them what I had found so far. 
The trail continued to hug the treeline to the second fenced enclosure. The fence was intact, but no longer electrified. Again, no indication what the fence was protecting, other than a really nice patch of silvery lupine. (I low crawled the unbarbed fence for a closeup.) The dog-legged enclosure is 1100′ x 150′. The north end of the enclosure is the 2-mile mark.
Aspen Spring is at the 2⅓ mile mark of the trail. The spring pipe was bone dry, even in the small cave around the corner. A trickle of water seeped from the hillside. I was surprised to find a cabin, as I had not heard there was one here. There was an old stove, falling apart, outside the cabin. The gas pipe had a bullet hole, but the cabin’s collapse was not due to an explosion.
North of Aspen Spring, the draw tightens up. The trail moves up slope about 50 ft., rolling over small spurs and side creeks. I started finding many tight clusters of Nuttal’s linanthus. Just past the 3-mile mark, there were three rather fat pine trees. I didn’t measure, but they had to be 4′ diameter! I marked the pines as the “Three Kings” on the my GPS route. 
Pinchot Springs is supposedly around the 3⅓ mile mark of the trail. Despite five minutes of searching, I couldn’t even find a trickle. Good thing I carry plenty of liquids.
The trail reached Pinchot Cabin at the 3¾ mile mark. Unlike Buck Springs Cabin, which was locked, Pinchot Cabin’s door was nailed shut. It’s too bad Coconino National Forest doesn’t rent the cabins out, like the C&O Canal does some of their old lockhouses.  
After enjoying eating lunch, I headed back across the creek, and started up decommissioned FR 95B. I jumped when a nearby dog barked. (The leashed dog, and its owner, were on the opposite side of a tree.) FR 95B was short, but steep. At the top, there was log-fenced pullout / trailhead on FR 139A. Disregarding 13 minutes of breaks, I made the 3¾ mile trip back to where I started in 1h 09m — an average speed of 3.27 mph.
Rumble Video: https://rumble.com/v59pndx-hiking-houst ... n-rim.html
Vimeo Video: https://vimeo.com/994836791 |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Other flowers I spotted include skyrocket, pygmy bluet, yarrow, and a red cinquefoil that was much smaller than normal. I wonder how many species the flower survey gals found? |
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Aspen Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| | | Pipe was dry. Rock was very slowly trickling. |
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McFarland Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| | | Didn't find pipe. Rock was very slowly trickling. | | _____________________
| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
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