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| Hiking | 9.63 Miles |
1,604 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.63 Miles | 5 Hrs 31 Mns | | 2.03 mph |
| 1,604 ft AEG | 47 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | With temps in the valley destined for the 90's, we headed back up to the rim for another walk in the woods. Rim road is in good condition, with some heavy logging action ongoing. There were a few folks camped out along the way. Arrived at the General Springs Cabin/Fred Haught TH to find one vehicle parked near the turnoff from 300 and another at the TH.
Picked up the AZT and started heading northbound - the section that we hiked was nicely forested, and meanders along side a creekbed for the majority of the way. The soundtrack for the hike was some birdsong along with the peeping of frogs (though we never managed to catch sight of any of the frogs). The water in the creek is slightly milky in color - I'm curious about what causes that since the flows are gentle, and I would think any particulates would precipitate out and settle eventually. When we hit the junction where the AZT splits from the Fred Haught trail, we opted to continue along Fred Haught, eventually hitting the junction for the Fred Haught cabin. The trail to the cabin is faint in places - while we didn't see much evidence of elk or other wildlife along the AZT or Fred Haught Trails, the terrain towards the cabin had loads of elk spoor. The cabin remains consist of some rocks and logs that may mark the footprint, and a large stacked stone fireplace. We stopped here for a break, watching a pair of squirrels playing tag before making our way back to the trailhead.
After getting back to the car, we decided we'd go have a look at the trail to the old railroad tunnel. Up top, the sign seemed to indicate it was a short jaunt - so we decided to start heading down...we quickly came to another sign that indicated it was a bit longer than what we had originally anticipated, and we decided to continue onward. The trail is steep and rocky as it descends with no switchbacks to make the grade more gentle. When we hit the junction for the Railroad Tunnel Trail, we were somewhat disappointed to discover that it turned and started climbing steeply upwards  There are several use trails that head upwards - they eventually converge, climbing steeply. The tread is loose sand and rock, especially in the upper reaches. Once we hit the top, we had a look at the stacked stone structure outside of the tunnel before having a look inside - the tunnel itself has an impressively large opening, but quickly diminishes in size as it quickly tapers to the end - seems they didn't manage to make much progress before losing funding and the project was abandoned. The inside of the tunnel has been marked with a bunch of graffiti done in charcoal/soot, though there are also some markings that have been carved into the rock. After our brief exploration, we made our way slowly back up to the rim, more than making up for our general lack of AEG along the earlier portion of our day
Wildlife: various birds singing, some squirrels, frogs (heard them, but never managed to see one), lots and lots of grasshoppers, a few lizards, and butterflies.
People: Along the AZT/Fred Haught: 1 pair heading back to the trailhead - they mentioned it had dropped to the 20's overnight! and a number of folk with overnight packs (mostly in pairs) heading northbound as we were heading back out. For the Railroad Tunnel Trail, a group of 3 were at the tunnel, and we heard some additional voices that sounded like they were heading up from Washington Park. |
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General Springs |
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| | | Didn't go looking for the actual spring, but there is light flow in the drainage. | | _____________________
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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There are several use trails that head upwards - they eventually converge, climbing steeply. The tread is loose sand and rock, especially in the upper reaches. Once we hit the top, we had a look at the stacked stone structure outside of the tunnel before having a look inside - the tunnel itself has an impressively large opening, but quickly diminishes in size as it quickly tapers to the end - seems they didn't manage to make much progress before losing funding and the project was abandoned. The inside of the tunnel has been marked with a bunch of graffiti done in charcoal/soot, though there are also some markings that have been carved into the rock. After our brief exploration, we made our way slowly back up to the rim, more than making up for our general lack of AEG along the earlier portion of our day 
