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| Ballantine Pine Creek-bed Return, AZ | |
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| | Ballantine Pine Creek-bed Return, AZ | | | |
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Ballantine Pine Creek-bed Return, AZ
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| Hiking | 6.30 Miles |
1,274 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.30 Miles | 3 Hrs 46 Mns | | 1.75 mph |
| 1,274 ft AEG | 10 Mns Break | 18 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Having hiked Ballantine in late April, we returned to see how the trail had fared after the heavy rains a few months back. Short and to the point... it did not do well.
Due to the resulting erosion and aggressive thorny overgrowth, it was not a very pleasant experience. Early on there was evidence someone had done recent VERY minor trimming of thorny brush. Where they stopped, we did more aggressive trimming, Tracey with the shears and I with a hand trimer.
There were numerous times when we genuinely had to stop and wander around to pick up the trail. In a few spots we actually followed dirt-bike tracks to get back on track.
RE: ATC/Dirt Bike
Early on I wasn't sure whether the ATC had traveled up or down, but eventually, based on skid marks it most likely traveled downhill. Would have been a LOT tougher going up, not that that would have stopped some determined dirt-bikers. While we've hiked to the Ballantine cabin a number of times on the designated ATC trail from Round Valley, this was the first time we ever encountered ATC tracks on this part of Ballantine... not a good sign.
Anyway, the farther we went the less we cared to continue as far as our usual turnaround/lunch spot, so instead, for something a bit different, we dropped down into Pine Creek and followed the creek-bed and/or cow paths until reconnecting with the trail closer to the highway.
Not the hike we planned on, but at least we got out of the house. |
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