| |
| General Crook Trail V89-V99, AZ | |
|
| | General Crook Trail V89-V99, AZ | | | |
|
|
General Crook Trail V89-V99, AZ
| | |
|
| Hiking | 11.32 Miles |
297 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.32 Miles | 3 Hrs 54 Mns | | 2.90 mph |
| 297 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Before I started hiking, I scouted the route my shuttle-driving wife would need to take to pick me up. FR 300 mile 52-54 was okay. Mile 54-58 was quite rocky. Mile 58 to FR 125 (mile ~60.6) was better. FR 125 was okay. Driving up the east side of Phoenix park was rutted & slow. It took us sixty minutes to drive the 19.4 miles from AZ-260, mostly at 10-15 mph in an SUV. Cars should avoid.
We returned to FR 487. My wife was okay with the drive, so she took off ahead of me.
It was dreary & drizzling.
Facing FR 487, I picked up the first chevron across FR 300 on the right (the northeast corner). The GPS route attached below does not include every chevron I found. There’s just too many. Instead, I waypointed chevrons every quarter mile or so.
The "trail" was paralleling FR 300, but 50-100 ft. to its north. It was easy cross country travel: no obstacles, relatively flat. After a ½ mile, entering an area of youthful pine — an old burn area — I made a 90° left, away from the chevrons, towards the graves. Not sure if there was only one grave there in 2013 [ photoset ] , when @The_Eagle and @Tortoise_Hiker hiked it? The wife seemed to have been buried before the husband.
Back on the "trail" — which in this area does not exist as singletrack — I continued following chevrons, right onto FR 300. Hiking it was much easier than driving. Two hundred yards past mile marker 53, the chevrons veered right, off road. Chevrons were sparse off road, but I did find a few. And wild horses. Lots of droppings & small herds all along today’s hike.
I did not see any V markers for over an hour, so I judged distance by the white-on-green mile signs. I wasn’t running, but the miles seemed to go by like I was. Hiking actually seemed faster than driving!
3⅓ miles into my hike, I spotted V93. I did not see V94 until I had covered 4¾ miles. V96 was three miles after V93, which means if V95 exists, it would be about three-quarters of a mile from both V94 and V96. V98 is only two thirds of mile past V97. 
At FR 51 & FR 300, I stopped for lunch: A slice of wet pizza from my pack.
Crook diverted onto FR 51. At least that is the chevroned route. I suspect the original trail continued to follow the Rim to what is now Show Low. After 150 yds., the chevrons split left, off road. Why? The chevrons rejoined FR 51 after 250 yds., at it’s intersection with FR 51C.
FR 51C slowly descends a spur towards the Holcomb ruins. It has nice views north. The sun never came out, but past V97 — 7⅔ miles into my hike — the sun at least shined through the clouds. More importantly, it stopped drizzling.
Seeing all the yellow flowers in Phoenix Park was pretty cool. I could have spent all day there, taking photos. Instead, my wife & I drove out via Heber-Overgaard. The initial mile of FR 125, along the west side of Phoenix Park was heinous, but SUV-able. After that it was merely rocky. FR 124 and the final miles on FR 51 into town were car-drivable. I may have to make a scouting trip up there, to check out forest road quality for my shuttle driving wife, before I hike the penultimate Crook segment.
Rumble Video: https://rumble.com/v5d9fcd-hiking-gener ... 9-v99.html
Vimeo Video: https://vimeo.com/1005192792 |
|
Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Isolated along trail. Substantial in Phoenix Park. Besides photos, also saw mullein, pinewoods geranium, ragleaf bahia, red & yellow pea, spreading fleabane, vetch, western yarrow, Wright's goldenrod and -- near the ruins -- western dayflower and pinewoods spiderwort. |
|
| _____________________
| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
