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| Hiking | 7.82 Miles |
1,064 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.82 Miles | 4 Hrs 19 Mns | | 1.92 mph |
| 1,064 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | With hopes of getting a hike in but not liking the forecast for Sunday (thunderstorms and rain!), J and I looked for something at a slightly higher elevation that would hopefully get us sufficiently out of the heat to be tolerable. We settled on heading up to the rim, hoping that the temps would cooperate.
We headed in via the Rim Road from the eastern end...which happens to be partially paved - unfortunately I forgot to note at what point the road switched to dirt/gravel. The road is a bit wider on the Sitgreaves side vs the Coconino side, and it seemed to have more loose gravel on the surface. The drive in was otherwise uneventful - we arrived at the trailhead to find it empty, though there were some folk camped out across the road.
After getting our gear together, we headed on down the well established trail, stopping to check the spring and have a look at the cabin before peeling off and dropping down into Dane Canyon. The route down was easy to follow, though the build up of pine needles on surfaces underfoot made some sections a bit slippery to navigate. Once we hit the bottom of the drainage, we started our way up-canyon, following game trails on either side along the benches. Dane Canyon had a decent amount of water in it, with some sections looking more stagnant than others. One noteable pool had a number of small fish swimming around. We were able to navigate along the benches without getting our feet wet - eventually, the water went underground - in that section, we opted to rockhop in the dry watercourse. Soon we spotted the cairn marking the point to depart the canyon - we followed a steep game trail up and out of Dane Canyon to meet up with an old road that we followed to catch the Barbershop trail and the Cabin Loop system.
The walking was easy along the well established Barbershop and U-Bar trails, and the shade provided by the tall evergreen trees was greatly appreciated. We returned to our car in the early afternoon, to find the temps toasty in the low 80s.
Other Hikers: A solo backpacker along barbershop followed by a trio of backpackers just before we hit the junction with the U-Bar trail.
Wildlife: On the drive in, a small bear! During the hike, plenty of birdsong, a couple squirrel, some butterflies, an elk, various fish, a horned lizard (who sat for portraits better for me vs J), and some other shy lizards. On the drive out, got startled by some elk, one of which made an abrupt appearance right in my path as we approached. Lots of evidence of elk (spoor, scat, and bones) in Dane Canyon.
It was nice to escape the heat of the low desert and have the trail mostly to ourselves. Opted to finish the Rim Road and enjoy the views on the way out - there's a lot of active logging going on in the area - and loads of weekend traffic still inbound on Saturday afternoon (somewhat surprising given the rain in the forecast for Sunday). Had thought to swing by PIEbar on the way back out, but didn't want to deal with the long line queued up out the door and into the parking area - perhaps some other time! |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Light to Moderate; most prevalent seemed to be goldenbanner, canada violet, common violet, and wild strawberries. Plenty of dandelion also, along with a variety of others. At some point, I'll get annoyed enough with my phone capturing blurry plant photos that are not fit to post to upgrade it, but that day is not yet today  Blurry nonsalvagageable photos included: packera, western wallflower, peavine, and goldstar |
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Coyote Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| | | Clear decent-sized pool present, unable to confirm flow rate from seep. |
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Dane Spring |
Gallon per minute |
Gallon per minute |
| | | Flowing very nicely from the pipe | | _____________________
| Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Blurry nonsalvagageable photos included: packera, western wallflower, peavine, and goldstar