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| Hiking | 11.03 Miles |
2,492 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.03 Miles | 7 Hrs 4 Mns | | 1.85 mph |
| 2,492 ft AEG | 1 Hour 6 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | My first time on this trail. Jason once again volunteered to abuse his truck and we started up to the Two Bar Ridge Trailhead. I DIDN’T leave my camera on this back tire like I did the last trip. The entire trail is part of Superstition Wilderness AZT #19
The sunrise was really nice driving up and it was a little chilly starting off. The road was rough, but it’s apparently in better shape than before. The trail starts up immediately and keeps going up for over a mile, so the cooler temps didn’t really bother me.
Right off, you can see the terrible damage from the Black Fire. The trailhead and the entire trail up and along Pinon Peak was moonscape, with very little surviving. This area is ripe for some tremendous erosion if we get some heavy rains.
The first climb up gave some great views of Apache Lake and most of the eastern Supes. What goes up, must go down and so this trail goes down towards a drainage of Tule Canyon. Jason was hoping this beautiful area was spared from the fire, but as soon as it came into view, it was clear it did not. Climbing down this steep section, we were both thinking about the climb that will be required on the way back.
The fire damage was extensive climbing back out towards Two Bar Ridge. It magically seemed to stop or slow down once we made it to the ridge. The wind was relentless while on the ridge, but disappeared on the leeward sides. That’s probably how the fire was stopped at the ridge as well.
The ridge is an up and down roller coaster ride the rest of the way. We decided to hike in about 5 miles to the point the trail does the final drop down towards the Reavis Gap. We were not up for losing 700 ft only to turn around and hike back up.
We turned back and started the up and down torture session all over again.
We came across only one other human, a backpacker hitting the AZT section on the way back. Jason also pointed out a pretty large Salado ruins area along the trail too. Very cool.
A rough up and down roller coaster but packed with nice views and beautiful scenery (the parts that didn’t get roasted, at least).
Thanks for the invite Jason. |
| _____________________
"Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul."
instagram: @andydilling |
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