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| Hiking | 6.59 Miles |
1,560 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.59 Miles | 3 Hrs 7 Mns | | 2.11 mph |
| 1,560 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | A loop of FR 218, Trail #217 and Trail #228 is 5.6 miles and 1,530 ft. AEG. You can either hike from the top of the Rim, on Milk Ranch Point, as I did, or from the bottom, at Camp Geronimo’s front gate. The latter adds 5.0 miles, 700 AEG, in & out to Turkey Spring.
Dickenson Flat, opposite the west end of Trail #217, would make a great trailhead, but I opted to park 1½ miles south on FR 218 at an unnamed tank. (The better to warm up my legs before tackling Trail #217.) At the north end of Dickenson Flat, I turned right onto decommissioned FR 9381F.
150 yds. past the FR 9381F vehicle gate, there is a sign for Trail #217, which splits to the left. The half mile of Trail #217 in the Coconino National Forest is indeed forested, with decent shade. A barbed wire fence and wire loop gate marked the boundary with the Tonto National Forest. 
Past the fence, Trail #217 began descending in earnest, mostly through a manzanita-strewn old burn area. In 2007, Trail #217 was reported to be vague and in poor shape, but it is now well-defined, though ankle-breaker rocks and slippery gravel-over-slick surfaces require caution.
The top half of the Trail #217 descent has great views along the Mogollon Rim, which were enhanced on my hike by the contrast of many puffy clouds. A ¼ mile past the barbed wire gate, on the south side of the trail, is a freestanding rock formation with a balanced rock. If you are careful, you can climb the 30-40 ft. to the top. I saved my energy.
The final ¼ mile, Trail #217 becomes deeply-rutted jeep trail. I’m not sure if the erosion is recent, but I would not be surprised if it was: Nearby Payson has had over 11″ of rain during this summer’s record monsoon season. 
After 3½ total miles, I turned off Trail #217 onto Trail #228, which drops slightly to a small, unnamed creek. I found a good tree stump, sitting down to a lunch of vinegar chips, gorp and gas station murderwich. Today’s hiking beer was Chimay Grande Réserve.
As it heads up canyon, Trail #228 crosses the small, unnamed, creek several times. I was always able to cross it dry. The creek’s low volume flow was loud enough I could hear it 50 ft. upslope.
Trail #228 had consistent, quality, shade it’s whole length. Between the creek and the overhead cover, the ground was moister. As a result, below the Rim, Trail #228 had fewer flowers and much more fungi than Trail #217. 
The first mile of Trail #228 climbs 450 ft., while the next ¾ of a mile climbs a heavily switchbacked 800 ft. Just below the top of the Rim, was an outcropping painted “HAVE”, with what looked like a cave opening. Turned out to just be a crack filled with rocks and leaf litter. From the top of the climb, it was only ⅓ of a mile back my wife at the unnamed tank.
Overall, I enjoyed the whole loop, but especially Trail #228. I look forward to doing it again in a few years, if I am not too old. Or fat.
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/590571178 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Mullein, Wheeler's thistle and, especially primrose along FR 218. Pineywoods geranium most common flower, found near top of cliff band on both trails. Western dayflower, Mexican silene, Stansbury's cliffrose, penstemon, Arizona thistle. Lots of molds and mushrooms, especially on Trail #228, which is darker and damper. (Only one I could identify was orange jelly.) |
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