McFadden Peak • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

[ checklist ] Elephant Rock Elephant Rock Arch - Sierra Ancha

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The_Eagle

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Bruce suggested a hike out in the Sierra Ancha. I like that range, so I was game. Got started a little after 0800 and headed up McFadden Horse Trail. The trail obviously doesn’t get much use, and there’s some deadfall, but fairly easy hiking and cairns keep you on track. My legs were tired from the start, which kind of sucked, but I tried to keep the whining to a minimum.

At the top, we went over to what appeared to be the high point, looked around, and had a snack. Cool temps, and a nice breeze. After that, we headed north along the ridge, which had great views, until we reached the end and had to drop down. This was a bit of an unknown, but we had Joe & Karl’s track from many years ago. After some trial and error, we scrambled down through the top cliff band, making sure not to descend anything we couldn’t climb back up if we had to turn around.

After that, it was a very steep descent down a chute. Lots of loose rock, dried leaves, and dirt. I think that was the longest butt scoot I’ve ever done. Amazingly, my brand new leggings were still intact a couple hundred feet later. It was impossible to avoid sending rocks down the chute, so Bruce would descend until he found a good rock or tree to hide behind, then I would descend to the same point. We did that a few times until we made it down and began traversing across to the arch.

The arch was the highlight of the loop, with amazing geology and views. We had lunch in the shade of the arch and enjoyed the breeze. After that, we headed down and over to the road. All off trail, with some scratchy vegetation in places, but overall straightforward. Bruce stirred up one rattlesnake not long before reaching the road. Lots of old bear scat, saw one deer.

After that, it was a sunny but breezy road walk up to McFadden Peak. Looked around the summit a bit, and then decided to take the road straight back to the car rather than looping around to the west. The idea of having to gain a few hundred feet right at the end of the hike via the planned loop was not appealing to either of us at that moment, and the road seemed like an easy way to finish out the hike. So it was an easy (but dusty) final few miles to the day.

Fun to see some new territory and hike with Bruce. Thanks for driving!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Miscellaneous Survey Marker

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

_____________________

Stop crying and just go do the hike.

May 01 2023

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,762

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

McFadden Duo and Elephant Rock Arch, AZ

Hiking		May 01 2023
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,762

Hiking	11.96 Miles	3,180 AEG

Hiking	11.96 Miles	7 Hrs 14 Mns		1.98 mph
	3,180 ft AEG	1 Hour 11 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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McFadden Horse Mountain High Point

McFadden Horse Mtn Gully (lower)

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LindaAnn

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Linda was up for an adventure in the Ancha. If this place was not so far from home, I'd spend a lot more time out here. But so would everyone else.

My plans were to do a CCW loop. McFadden Horse Mountain #146 > to the overlook up top > drop down to hit Elephant Rock Arch then off trail it to 288. After this hit McFadden Peak and complete the loop using McFadden Park Trail #55.

We parked in the pullout. All the Maps I've seen, call this Cienega Spring Trail #145. The sign at the TH call this #146 McFadden Horse Trail. Cienega Spring Trail does not join in and split off, until farther up. Not sure which is correct.

Branches and forest litter have been placed across the beginning to keep the Quads off the trail.
This trail gets your heart beating right out of the gate climbing 1900' to the McFadden Horse Mountain Peak. After this it trends slightly down, heading north towards the overlook and out to our drop in point. There's quite a bit of deadfall on this trail that is easily bypassed.

Loaded with a GPS track from @joebartels and @Bifrost, we checked out all our choices to drop in and finally settled on one we were both comfortable with. We found a steep loose chute and let the butt scoot begin.

We ultimately made our way over to the promised highlight of the day, Elephant Rock Arch, and enjoyed a break and some lunch. I never get tired of the geology in the Ancha. The route back over to SR288 is all off trail and can be slow going.

Next, up to the McFadden Lookout. Nobody was home and it was all locked up, so we took a break in the shade and enjoyed a snack.

I still have a bit of a lung funk going on, so Linda agreed that it's be ok to walk the road back in lieu of completing the loop on McFadden Park Trail #55. This cut off a couple of miles and some elevation gain at the end.

Pretty nice weather all day. Breezes kept in descent.

Good times in the Ancha. Good hiking with you again Linda.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Miscellaneous Survey Marker

Pools to trickle

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

2 archives

Apr 30 2022

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Elephant Arch and McFadden Peak Lookout, AZ

Hiking		Apr 30 2022
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	7.60 Miles	1,896 AEG

Hiking	7.60 Miles	4 Hrs 57 Mns	1.83 mph
	1,896 ft AEG	48 Mns Break

no routes

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slowandsteady

Two hikes in one in the Ancha! From the Young Highway 288 at the saddle near McFadden Peak we hiked generally east off trail towards the arch. It's a traverse for the most part dodging trees and small brush along the way. The fire that happened a few years ago burned part of the area so we found staying off the up slope kept us out of the burn area and also made for easier travel.

Eventually we reached the arch area and a drainage that had a little water. From the drainage it's up a ridge and followed the ridgeline to the arch base. Great views on top of everything around Elephant Arch which juts out on the ridgeline. We had lunch and spent about 45 minutes enjoying the arch and surrounding rock features.

After the lunch we headed back the way we came except that I stayed down slope more this time. That avoided the burn areas and made for much easier travel. We made it back to the road quickly by taking the better route.

Still being early in the afternoon we decided to check out the McFadden Peak Lookout from the same parking spot. The gate was locked which was good and we had the whole road to ourselves. It's about 1.3 miles one way I think to the lookout. Unfortunately it was locked up and could not get up on the platform. A few minutes checking things out and we hiked back down the road to our vehicle. Good second hike to round out the afternoon.

Bonus for the days effort we hit Guayo's Mexican for dinner

before heading back to Phoenix.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cag Shot

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] McFadden Peak Fire Lookout

	McFadden Horse Mtn Gully (lower)	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	a few pools and a trickle

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2 archives

Oct 16 2019

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,486
Photos 16,077
Triplogs 1,376

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

The McFaddens & Elephant Rock Arch, AZ

Hiking		Oct 16 2019
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,376

Hiking	9.30 Miles	2,685 AEG

Hiking	9.30 Miles	6 Hrs 7 Mns	2.12 mph
	2,685 ft AEG	1 Hour 44 Mns Break

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[ checklist ] Elephant Rock Elephant Rock Arch - Sierra Ancha

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SecretMtnLover

I managed to convince Tracie, my favorite and intrepid hiking partner, to join me on a trip to the Sierra Anchas. The plan was to do 2 hikes: Hike #1 was to go to the McFadden Peak Summit via FR 561, and then when we got back to the TH we'd go up to Elephant Rock Arch; Hike #2 was to go to the summit of McFadden Horse Mountain.

Hike #1 went off without a hitch. The hike up to McFadden Peak on the forest road was basically a mini Mount Ord hike. There were some nice views at the summit and along the way up, but the hike wasn't terribly exciting. I really enjoyed being up on Elephant Rock Arch, although the hike there was slow going -- it was entirely off-trail, and there was quite a bit of vegetation to go around or through. I would definitely recommend a GPS track for the hike up to the arch -- there are several good tracks in the triplogs on this site.

The hike up to the arch took a bit longer and was more tiring than I expected, so we did not go all the way to the summit of McFadden Horse Mountain. Instead, we took the McFadden Horse Trail up to the junction with the Cienega Springs Trail and then turned around and went back to the TH. The TH was a small pullout on Highway 288 just across from mile marker 288. I plan to go back to the area before long and bag McFadden Horse Mountain and Aztec Peak.

Mileage and elevation gain above is the sum of the 2 hikes: The hike to McFadden Peak and Elephant Rock Arch was 7.3 miles with 2,025' of elevation gain; the hike up and down the portion of McFadden Horse Road was 2.0 miles with 660' of elevation gain.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Indian Paintbrush

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Reference Mark

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Autumn Foliage Observation None
There was virtually no fall foliage to be seen -- there was a bit of sumac and a random leaf here and there. I imagine that it will be a week or 2 before much fall foliage is seen.

_____________________

Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

1 archive

Aug 24 2016

mazatzal

Routes 36
Photos 2,658
Triplogs 1,347

67 male

Joined Jul 28 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

McFaddening, AZ

Hiking		Aug 24 2016
		mazatzal • Triplogs 1,347

Hiking	9.00 Miles	3,100 AEG

Hiking	9.00 Miles	6 Hrs	1.80 mph
	3,100 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

no routes

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7 linked trail guides

Haigler Creek via Fishermans Point

Pleasant Valley Vista Loop #9

[ checklist ] Cagle Cabin - Sierra Ancha Elephant Rock Elephant Rock Arch - Sierra Ancha McFadden Peak Lookout

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Decided to check out a few new places

First up was Haigler Creek from Fisherman's Point - great area. Looks like the creekside campground a bit further downstream is pretty nice too.

After Haigler I headed south through Young and hit McFadden Peak - nice short hike up the road to the lookout and a short detour down the Park McFadden trail.

Last up was McFadden Horse Mountain, just to the high point. Some light rain on the way back down the steep trail.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Saguaro - Crested

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

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2 archives

Sep 19 2015

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

McFadden Super Loop, AZ

Hiking		Sep 19 2015
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	20.40 Miles	4,300 AEG

Hiking	20.40 Miles	10 Hrs 18 Mns		2.19 mph
	4,300 ft AEG	1 Hour Break	14 LBS Pack

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6 linked trail guides

Cienega Spring Trail #145

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BiFrost

Redo of Bruce's masterpiece plus Cienega #145.

McFadden Horse Trail
Most will rate this lower due to the steep approach. The forest up top, eastern and Elephant Butte views win me over.

Elephant Rock Arch
Bridged the gap connecting McFadden to Elephant Rock. Shorts are fine, took under a half hour. We stopped above the arch then headed down. 1 class four downclimb. Ironically I climbed up it last time out of curiosity. I couldn't figure out the downclimb last time so I jumped 10? feet. Got the twist move on the first try this time then did it again for fun. Fairly certain you could backtrack a bit to avoid the obstacle.

McFadden Peak
Just a road walk up. Impressive views of the thick mogul berber carpet of pines.

Park McFadden Trail #55
Majority of this is an old road down to Circle Ranch. Without using Hank's track I would have missed where it leaves the road for awhile. The cairns at each end are faint and the trail is faint for that segment. Found a tank and added to the map. From Circle Ranch down it's a nice trail. The upper isn't bad but most would prefer the lower part.

Cienega Spring Trail #145
Just a road. A little closer and personal views such as from McFadden Peak.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Teva

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[ checklist ] Elephant Rock Arch - Sierra Ancha

	Cienega Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Super fresh clear

Park McFadden Tank

Dry

_____________________

- joe

Sep 19 2015

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

McFadden Super Loop, AZ

Hiking		Sep 19 2015
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	20.48 Miles	4,391 AEG

Hiking	20.48 Miles	10 Hrs 18 Mns	2.20 mph
	4,391 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

no routes

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6 linked trail guides

Cienega Spring Trail #145

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joebartels

Joe put together a great loop that was derived from an earlier trip to Elephant Arch. We hiked up McFadden Horse Trail from Hwy 288 to get to the arch gaining 1600 feet right from the start. Once on top we had excellent views traversing out to the arch with this area definitely the highlight of the loop. Just the approach to the arch was half the fun negotiating the rocky cliffs and great views. We took a nice break at the arch before heading downhill and another traverse towards McFadden Peak.

On the road to McFadden Peak the views again were excellent and the tower was in good shape. Spent some time checking it out with birds eye view of the entire range. Coming off the top we picked up the Park McFadden Trail and followed this down several miles to Circle Ranch and Reynolds Creek area. Lots of shade on the way down with impressive stands of ponderosa and large oaks. We crossed Hwy 288 and headed up another road following Reynolds Creek for a few miles.

We finished off the day looping around to Cienega Spring which was nice surprise. The spring box was feed by a pipe with very clean looking water and cool meadow area. From there we followed Cienega Spring Trail to close the loop from where we started early in the morning.

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Natural Arch

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cienega Spring Elephant Rock Arch - Sierra Ancha McFadden Peak Fire Lookout

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2 archives

May 02 2015

CannondaleKid

Guides 44
Routes 162
Photos 24,766
Triplogs 2,411

75 male

Joined May 04 2004
Mesa, AZ

FR2752 McFadden Peak Loop, AZ

Hiking		May 02 2015
		CannondaleKid • Triplogs 2,411

Hiking	10.10 Miles	2,001 AEG

Hiking	10.10 Miles	4 Hrs 50 Mns		2.16 mph
	2,001 ft AEG	10 Mns Break	25 LBS Pack

no routes

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[ checklist ] Armer Mountain Baker Mountain Carr Mountain Castle Peak Jack Mountain Jerky Butte McFadden Horse Mountain Park Tank Turkey Creek

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trixiec

With another weekend off coming up, Tracey had only a few stipulations:

1. Must be in the Sierra Ancha
2. Roughly a 10 mile hike each day
3. On-trail hiking
4. Trails we had not yet hiked

Hmmm, one at a time is no big deal, but all four? I had to put my thinking cap on for that one.
:-k

With some vague ideas from the last few times we camped out this way I threw together a few ideas on Route Manager, along with a couple back-ups (trails we had hiked before) and wonder of wonders, things worked out pretty well... 10.1 miles Saturday and 10.0 on Sunday. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

On the drive up Young Highway we stopped next to some hunters dressed in camo on ATV's and asked what season it was. The response was turkey season... and there are a lot of hunters up there, pointing in the general direction of Aztec Peak. Oh great!
:tt:

Last year our camp was surrounded by hunters during elk season, so will we have the same thing to look forward to? Thankfully, although there certainly were a lot of people camping wherever they could along Workman Creek to Aztec Peak road, we got there early enough on Saturday to nab a great spot... conveniently small enough we'd be alone and a half-mile from the nearest neighbors.
:y:

Ok, the hike...
We parked a few hundred yards off Young highway on Forest Road 2752, which begins .6 mile north of McFadden Peak road. From there we followed the road all the way to Park Tank, taking a wide arc around the west side of McFadden Peak, crossing Turkey Creek along the way.

On the southward climb still on FR2752 we met a bow hunter on an ATV with a monstrous turkey laying across the front rack. He had bagged it by setting up well in advance, using a turkey-call but once or twice an hour, and simply waiting out the long hours until the turkey came to him. And what a tom it was! Tracey took a photo with her camera but I have yet to see it.
(I didn't have the presence of mind to do the same)
](*,)

We continued on to Park Tank and a bit farther until connecting with Park McFadden Trail #55, which we would follow up to McFadden Peak. There was a ranger at the tower along with his wife, who apologized for not inviting us up as he was feeling ill, blurting out that his cancer had spread.
:cry:

Not that we expected to go up the tower anyway... so we bid our condolences, took some photos and headed down the road to Young Highway. No more drama on the hike from the tower down to AZ 288 then along 288 to FR2752. Wow! I only goofed up by a little bit, going over the 10-mile stipulation by a mere 500 feet.
:whistle:

Sorry, just photos, no video today...

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Named place [ checklist ]

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CannondaleKid

Sep 20 2014

charlieaz

Guides 8
Routes 20
Photos 512
Triplogs 194

54 male

Joined Apr 22 2008
Mesa, AZ

Globe, AZ

Hiking		Sep 20 2014
		charlieaz • Triplogs 194

Hiking	2.90 Miles	786 AEG

Hiking	2.90 Miles	1 Hour 30 Mns	1.93 mph
	786 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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McFadden Peak was the middle peak of a three-peak day.

I left my house at 4:00 am and drove the 2.5 hours straight to Squaw Peak located a few miles south of Young. Although a little steep, it was an easy quarter-mile hike to the top where I played radio for about an hour.

After Squaw Peak I drove to the gate for McFadden Peak and parked there. I hiked up the road to the lookout tower where there were a gazillion lady bugs in just about every tree and shrub. There was also a group of Varsity scouts doing Operation On-Target http://ontarget.mesavarsity.org/ from the tower. After about 45 minutes there I realized I still had a lot of daylight – it was only 10:30 am – so I made the impromptu decision to hike McFadden Horse trail.

I knew from the start I wasn’t going to do the whole stretch, just to the McFadden Horse Mountain summit and back. It took me 2 hours to hike up and 55 min to hike down.
I was in the car at 3:30 and home by 6:00.

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2 archives

Sep 06 2014

ssk44

Guides 20
Routes 12
Photos 2,343
Triplogs 298

51 male

Joined Mar 31 2008
Gilbert, AZ

Globe, AZ

Walk / Tour		Sep 06 2014
		ssk44 • Triplogs 298

Walk / Tour

Walk / Tour

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A stormy afternoon at the McFadden Peak fire tower.

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MATTHEW 11:28-30 / PSALM 84:1-2

Jul 12 2014

ssk44

Guides 20
Routes 12
Photos 2,343
Triplogs 298

51 male

Joined Mar 31 2008
Gilbert, AZ

Globe, AZ

Scenic Drive		Jul 12 2014
		ssk44 • Triplogs 298

Scenic Drive

Scenic Drive

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The road up onto McFadden Peak is open for the time being this season...

I was on a road trip with my dad on Saturday working our way down from the Rim heading towards Roosevelt. The open gate easily caught our attention. We've both been wanting to go up there for some time now. We weren't about to let that opportunity pass us up.

A married couple is working the fire tower this season and allowing visitors during day. There camping in a travel trailer just below the summit. Nice couple. This is there first time working a fire tower. The guy was real friendly. He shared some very colorful war stories from this years monsoon season up there. Crazy stuff. Working a fire tower is not for the faint of heart. There enjoying there experience overall, however I believe the relentless violent storms have been taking its toll on them. We hung out on the summit for about hour watching big storms circle from all directions. It was a great summit experience. If you've been wanting to come up here but have been putting it off due to the closed gate, now is the time to go. They'll let you climb the tower unless lightning is in the close vicinity. It was marginal while we were up there. We got lucky. Only took one photo. The light was really clean on McFadden Horse Mountain with a sweet dark background monsoon against the far distant Sombrero Peak about eleven miles southeast.

Eric

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MATTHEW 11:28-30 / PSALM 84:1-2

Mar 15 2014

BEEBEE

Guides 13
Routes 100
Photos 1,794
Triplogs 372

51 male

Joined Jul 27 2011
Mesa AZ

Globe, AZ

Hiking		Mar 15 2014
		BEEBEE • Triplogs 372

Hiking	2.90 Miles	786 AEG

Hiking	2.90 Miles	1 Hour 10 Mns		2.49 mph
	786 ft AEG		28 LBS Pack

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Gate was closed hiked up the road and activated the Peak for SOTA before heading over to Camp GH for dinner. Beautiful day 28 contacts fantastic view of the Area.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Reference Mark Trail Signs and Markings

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] McFadden Peak Fire Lookout

_____________________

"I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts."

Oct 07 2012

CannondaleKid

Guides 44
Routes 162
Photos 24,766
Triplogs 2,411

75 male

Joined May 04 2004
Mesa, AZ

Globe, AZ

Hiking		Oct 07 2012
		CannondaleKid • Triplogs 2,411

Hiking	2.90 Miles	786 AEG

Hiking	2.90 Miles	1 Hour 15 Mns		2.90 mph
	786 ft AEG	15 Mns Break	3 LBS Pack

no routes

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trixiec

Short hike from the locked gate near the Young Highway to the fire lookout tower at the top. Tracey liked the idea of only 1 mile (as the sign along the highway said) but did NOT like the steep climb in that short a distance. But it was a good hike to top off our weekend in the Sierra Ancha area.

Not many photos so I posted them on HAZ and my own web site here:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/public/album.php?id=249

No video... once we could not climb the tower I forgot all about it.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Fire Lookout Structures

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] McFadden Peak Fire Lookout

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CannondaleKid

Jul 13 2008

topohiker

Guides 14
Routes 115
Photos 4,830
Triplogs 3,536

male

Joined Oct 29 2005
Scottsdale, AZ

Globe, AZ

Hiking		Jul 13 2008
		topohiker • Triplogs 3,536

Hiking	13.82 Miles	2,927 AEG

Hiking	13.82 Miles	8 Hrs 15 Mns	1.68 mph
	2,927 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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_____________________

"Everywhere is walking distance...If you have the time"
-Stephen Wright

Jul 12 2008

Grasshopper

Guides 48
Routes 510
Photos 9,555
Triplogs 578

79 male

Joined Dec 28 2006
Scottsdale, AZ

Globe, AZ

Hiking		Jul 12 2008
		Grasshopper • Triplogs 578

Hiking	13.30 Miles	2,936 AEG

Hiking	13.30 Miles	8 Hrs 15 Mns	1.61 mph
	2,936 ft AEG

no photosets

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topohiker

After returning from Glacier NP on 7/9, I was having AZ "re-entry" problems big time. So topohiker-Ken and I decided to do a little decompression in-between two of our favorite areas to hike: The Sierra Ancha and Salome Wilderness.

This McFadden Park TR#55 has not had any plublicity on HAZ until now. Preston who wrote up the original McFadden Peak hike description via FR561(fm Hwy 288) sparked our interest level to try the longer version of this hike to McFadden Peak at 7135'.

This quick access Circle Ranch TH and recently maintained 5.6ml(.29ml on FR561) hike to McFadden Peak turned out to be another winner! Just .25ml from the TH start we found a huge "backberry patch" just off the right side of the trail following seasonal McFadden Creek. Don't know when in AZ is considered peak for blackberry season, but this is the place to come IF you know when and enjoy blackberries!

This easy to follow and somewhat rocky but cairned trail roams it way up through pinyon pine, alligator juniper, gamble oaks, and mountain mahogany. At approx 1.1mls you reach the private property across the fence line for the Circle Ranch homestead. Continuing on past a couple view points and crossing a few seasonal creeks and drainages you reach the first veiwpoint at 4.8mls for the historic 1968 built Fire Tower on the top of McFadden Peak.. your ending destination with a super 360 degree view of all! At 5.3mls you reach the intersection of FR561. It is just another ~.3mls up this well maintained dirt road to the fire tower. Ken and I were fortunate to find it occupied this time of year. While having lunch at the tower we had a nice conversation with Jay, who really does seem to have a less stressful life spending 5 days/nights a week here during our monsoon season. He told us that he had called-in a recent fire caused by a lighting strike just 3 days before or visit.

As we finished our lunch visit, Sierra Ancha and Salome Wilderness monsoon weather was again quickly approaching. Jay looked up, smiled, and said "you two are going to get wet before you reach your vehicle". Guess that we were kind-of looking forward to some rain as we decided to extend the hike by 2.1mls and +/- 575' by taking FR561 to its end at Hwy 288 then back up to the TR#55 intersection. The sky let loose just about the time we turned onto TR#55. It rained for 2 hrs straight..just delightful! The creeks and drainages were flowing again and all the forest smells were alive! We saw little wildlife on our hike, but I am sure they saw us.

A nice area and new trail to hike.. We do recommend it!

_____________________

(Outside.. "there is No Place Like It!!")

May 20 2007

PrestonSands

Guides 170
Routes 148
Photos 5,914
Triplogs 2,097

48 male

Joined Apr 12 2004
Tucson, AZ