| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 16.03 Miles |
3,618 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.03 Miles | 9 Hrs 5 Mns | | 1.94 mph |
| 3,618 ft AEG | 50 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | With temperatures climbing in the low desert, it's time to start looking nearby at some hikes at slightly higher elevations. When Jason mentioned his interest in this loop, I recalled that I'd hiked in the area before the Willow fire, with my aged notes indicating that this is a beautiful hike with fantastic views. I wasn't entirely excited about the prospect of the return on the Y Bar trail, nor the elevation gain, but alas, to get views, you usually need to go up!
We headed out to the trailhead, passing several folk camped out at various pullouts along the slightly rutted dirt road once leaving the Beeline. The trailhead had just a few cars in it when we arrived, with one other hiker hitting the trail just before us.
After getting our stuff together and a quick look at the map posted in the parking lot (while also dawdling a little to give the other person some time to get some separation from us on the trail), we headed up the Barnhardt trail. The trail ascends the south side of Barnhardt creek at a moderate grade with some pretty neat views of some interesting geology. Down in the canyon, we heard the unmistakeable sounds of running water and caught glimpses of some good sized pools below...the water is likely being fed from a spring since neither falls along the trail had any significant flow - and actually looked completely dry at first glimpse. While we weren't able to enjoy any waterfalls along the way, the views were still lovely. After passing the falls, the grade flattens out quite a bit and the surrounding vegetation gives way to manzanita as the dominant species. There are areas in this section where the sad ghosts of the ponderosa pines that burned during the willow fire were evident. Eventually, we hit the junction with the Divide Trail, and after consulting the map, we decided a detour to Chilson Spring was not something we wanted to tackle.
Off we went, down the Divide trail, stopping for a lunch break at a small camp spot on a saddle above Malapie Spring. Out in the distance we enjoyed glimpses of horseshoe reservoir before coming to the signed junction for the Brody Seep trail (the path appears to be well obscured under manzanita thickets). The trail eventually contours around to reveal stunning views of Mazatzal Peak - unfortunately this is also where the trail descends as it works its way towards the mountainside before climbing back upwards to a saddle and the Y Bar Trail junction.
I'm not sure if the Y Bar trail was rerouted at some point to contour around fairly high to cross a saddle below Cactus Ridge rather than descending to Y Bar Basin, but I was glad to not lose a bunch of elevation to have to climb again. Once crossing the saddle, the trail enters a section of pine and rocky terrain appears underfoot. Unfortunately, it's not all smooth sailing downhill from here - it's a bit of up and down as the trail winds its way in and out of small drainages in the terrain. While the rocks underfoot sometimes gave way to easier walking, they were pretty much present the entire way back to the parking area. While the trail underfoot wasn't particularly pleasant, we were shaded a good portion of the time, and saw a number of healthy agave, desert spoon / sotol, and a whole lot of strawberry hedgehog - especially beautiful since they are currently in bloom. As nice as it was to enjoy the flowers along the way, I was glad to hit the parking lot at the end of the hike. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and while I'm not particularly interested in doing the Y Bar trail again, I was still glad for the hike and the company.
Other hikers: 6 on Barnhardt (one coming back from going out and back to the Divide intersection, 3 headed to the falls and back, and a pair that we passed at the Sandy Saddle trail junction). 8 on the Divide Trail, all northbound. |
|
Wildflowers Observation Light
A decent number of blooms, most predominantly wall flower and fernleaf biscitroot. YBar trail has loads of strawberry hedgehogs. |
|
| _____________________
Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually  |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
