Promontory Butte 7914 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Guides 59
Routes 1,100
Photos 1,191
Triplogs 1,290

male

Joined Jan 01 2023
Arizona

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 13 2025
		pseudalpine • Triplogs 1,290

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Hiking

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1 archive

May 04 2024

Guides 59
Routes 1,100
Photos 1,191
Triplogs 1,290

male

Joined Jan 01 2023
Arizona

Payson, AZ

Hiking		May 04 2024
		pseudalpine • Triplogs 1,290

Hiking	12.54 Miles	3,331 AEG

Hiking	12.54 Miles	5 Hrs 9 Mns	2.59 mph
	3,331 ft AEG	18 Mns Break

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

More challenging loop with the delightful Promontory Butte addon. Trails are somewhat ragged with deadfall as compared to normal. Rating this loop four stars or higher is a stretch considering it's mostly forest bathing (like the overrated Cabin Loop). All the unnecessary cairns that were along the rim are gone. Apparently the COHPing crowd is as strange as P1K peakers.

5 archives

Aug 13 2023

Guides 59
Routes 1,100
Photos 1,191
Triplogs 1,290

male

Joined Jan 01 2023
Arizona

[ checklist ] Informational/Interpretive Sign Trash Hauled Out

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 13 2023
		pseudalpine • Triplogs 1,290

Hiking	8.19 Miles	746 AEG

Hiking	8.19 Miles	2 Hrs 29 Mns	3.54 mph
	746 ft AEG	10 Mns Break

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Decided to do this hike from the Rim Road also. Forest Road 76 is closed currently, so this area is very peaceful without any vehicular traffic or car campers. On the previous day's hike, I also noticed some idiots had dumped their trash in the forest near FR300, so I cleaned it up after repeating the point. The very nice lady at the Woods Canyon Dump Station allowed me to discard the trash hauled out in their dumpster without paying. What an angel!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Many-Lined Skink

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Promontory Butte

3 archives

Aug 12 2023

Guides 59
Routes 1,100
Photos 1,191
Triplogs 1,290

male

Joined Jan 01 2023
Arizona

Promontory plus, AZ

Hiking		Aug 12 2023
		pseudalpine • Triplogs 1,290

Hiking	19.42 Miles	3,542 AEG

Hiking	19.42 Miles	6 Hrs 51 Mns	3.01 mph
	3,542 ft AEG	24 Mns Break

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Nice burn before the crazy monsoon deluge. Also didn't know that the Promontory area was closed.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Black Rattlesnake Dog

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Christopher Creek

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Rain

9 archives

Jun 15 2023

kingsnake

Guides 116
Routes 337
Photos 11,399
Triplogs 894

63 male

Joined Dec 20 2010
Sunnyslope, PHX

[ checklist ] Alpine false springparsley Fleabane Goldenbanner Lemmon's Star New Mexico Locust Ponderosa Pine Pygmy bluet Unidentified Flora Yellow Salsify

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Jun 15 2023
		kingsnake • Triplogs 894

Hiking	3.48 Miles	286 AEG

Hiking	3.48 Miles	1 Hour 35 Mns	2.20 mph
	286 ft AEG

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My intent was to more or less follow the rim of Promontory Butte, all the way around. I figured it would be about 9 miles, 10 with wandering. However, the little side canyons I intended to mostly cut across, turned out to be a deeper and steeper than the topo implied. I could have crossed them, but instead followed their edges until it wouldn't be quite so deep & steep, resulting in my doubling my expected mileage & time. One side canyon took me back to FR 76. I decided since I would be on FR 76 for a little bit anyway, I would just head back to where I parked, and drive my wife up to Promontory Point so she could enjoy the view as well.

And a MAGNIFICENT view it was!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Promontory Butte Promontory Fire Lookout See Canyon

Wildflowers Observation Light
Yellow salsify, fleabane, alpine false springparsley, Lemmon's star / Oak Creek triteleia, New Mexico locust, goldenbanner.

_____________________

http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored.

May 06 2023

astrobrewer

Guides 1
Routes 209
Photos 1,231
Triplogs 196

male

Joined Mar 14 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		May 06 2023
		astrobrewer • Triplogs 196

Hiking	12.81 Miles	3,098 AEG

Hiking	12.81 Miles	8 Hrs 26 Mns	1.78 mph
	3,098 ft AEG	1 Hour 15 Mns Break

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[ checklist ] Checkered White Butterfly Greater Short-Horned Lizard Trap-door Spider

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Did this one almost exactly one year ago with the same crew. This time we decided to try the Promontory Butte trail for fun. It was sunny and cool and perfect weather for hiking. The sign at the Promontory Butte trail junction is missing, but the signpost is still there. We were following the official route on Route Scout, and the app announced our approach and arrival at the junction multiple times, so there was no chance of missing it.

The Promontory Butte trail was challenging. It's steep, and that's ok. But the footing was precarious in lots of places. There were sections covered with slippery pine needles and other sections covered with slippery leaves. Some places were rocky, and even large rocks would move and slide when we stepped on them. Also there were areas with soft dirt and places covered with loose stones that were a pain. I was glad I had my trekking poles along on this trail. There were a couple of spots on the way up where it wasn't clear which way to go, but we managed to find the trail. And it gets steeper and steeper the farther you go. After what seemed like forever we eventually reached the top. Whew! Legs hurting.

The view from the top was great. Almost as good as the sense of accomplishment for getting there. Walking on the nice level ground at the top felt like a treat after the hike to get there. We followed the dirt road for a little way until it turned away from the rim, and then followed the rim around to the high point. Where we first left the road there was a large, shallow pond. Didn't see any sort of life in the pond water. There were also lots of trees marked with orange stripes, presumably these will be cut down to thin out the forest. It will be much, much thinner for sure when that is done.

Eventually it was time to head back down that treacherous trail so we could continue our loop. It wasn't quite as bad as I expected, but we had to take it slow. My poor tired legs were not real happy on the uphill parts of the trail. We saw several little baby horned lizards on the trail. Horton Springs and Horton Creek were flowing strong. It's so cool to see this whole river of water flowing out of a hole in the side of a mountain!

Horton Creek trail is a pleasant, gentle downhill the whole way which my legs very much appreciated. There were lots of trees fallen across the trail. Some look like they have been down for a while and there is a path around the trees, but a lot of them seem freshly fallen and we had to climb over them. Not sure why some many trees have fallen across the trail.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Wholeleaf Indian paintbrush

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cairn

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Horton Creek Horton Spring Promontory Butte

	Horton Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Lots of water coming out of the spring.

_____________________

Apr 19 2023

Guides 59
Routes 1,100
Photos 1,191
Triplogs 1,290

male

Joined Jan 01 2023
Arizona

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 19 2023
		pseudalpine • Triplogs 1,290

Hiking	14.72 Miles	3,163 AEG

Hiking	14.72 Miles	6 Hrs 9 Mns	2.66 mph
	3,163 ft AEG	37 Mns Break

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Unfortunately, gpsjoe is no longer able to defend the name of this route, but using Super and Plus in the title seems redundant and a little silly. Don't get me wrong, this is a nice route, but I'd usually save Super for routes that are greater than twenty miles and I'm not sure what the plus means. Anyway, getting to Promontory Butte wasn't much trouble, but I couldn't enjoy my first beer there because it was so cold and windy. This actually was a blessing because once hiking north away from the rim, the snow was 3-4 feet deep in many places and as Chumley stated in a recent trip report, "annoying to cross". However, since we'd picked a colder day and started early, we lucked out and most of the drifts were still frozen solid. The snow coverage seemed to increase as we made our way north through the squishy forest roads. I was betting that once reaching FR300 the hike would get easier. It did, so I celebrated by drinking a beer and dried out some in the sun. The road was still very snowy, but something had drove over it and had packed down two tracks (snowcat?) that made the hiking easier. The descent of Horton Springs was fast after stopping for a snack and another beer. Horton Creek was turbid and raging, but I think more water was originating from the east tributary than the spring. The trail is damaged (eroded and rocky) in many places and there is a lot of deadfall now. The final crossing near the campground takes some skill to cross without getting wet. Four star route Joe, RIP.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Trash Hauled Out

3 archives

Mar 25 2022

Yoder

Guides 8
Routes 70
Photos 3,208
Triplogs 273

59 male

Joined Oct 07 2017
Chandler, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 25 2022
		Yoder • Triplogs 273

Hiking	9.00 Miles	2,500 AEG

Hiking	9.00 Miles	4 Hrs 55 Mns		2.24 mph
	2,500 ft AEG	54 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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We intended on doing the Derrick-Horton loop, starting out with the Derrick section. This would be our third time. When we got to the Promontory Trail #278 intersection, I figured we haven't seen that, lets give it a try; It's only 0.75 miles to the Butte, so I was able to convince the wife to try this instead of the loop, as a there-and-back hike, cutting down the length of the hike by about 1 mile.

I did figure this would be tougher elevation gain, and it looked like the trail wasn't heavy traveled, so I figured the time should be about the same.

The trail is very lightly traveled, and there are periodic cairns, but you need to keep your eye out. The trail does start off at a steeper incline, and pretty much keeps it going until you top-out at the mesa on top. A good percentage of this hike is wrapping around the mountain, and pretty steep, With the pine leaves, footing can be tricky at times.

All in all, I'm glad we did this, the view on the top is nice, but I don't think we will do this again, quite a bit of work for 1.5 miles.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Elk

_____________________

J. Yoder

Aug 21 2021

hikerdw

Routes 268
Photos 2,969
Triplogs 541

66 male

Joined Aug 16 2009
Mesa,AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 21 2021
		hikerdw • Triplogs 541

Hiking	12.93 Miles	2,712 AEG

Hiking	12.93 Miles	5 Hrs 58 Mns	2.44 mph
	2,712 ft AEG	40 Mns Break

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Hiked to the base via Derrick and a small section of the Highline, then made the climb up Promontory Trail which although steep was easy to follow on this day. Hiked over to the high point and enjoyed the views then did some exploring while taking advantage of the great temps.

_____________________

Expect to self rescue

Apr 16 2020

LJW

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Promontory Butte - Bear Canyon Lake Loop, AZ

Hiking		Apr 16 2020
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	27.56 Miles	4,800 AEG

Hiking	27.56 Miles	12 Hrs 21 Mns	2.95 mph
	4,800 ft AEG	3 Hrs Break

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Bear Canyon Lake Trail #112

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I did this loop in August last year without Bear Canyon Lake and thought it would make a nice addition during the cooler months. A friend and I took the loop clockwise starting around 6:30am at the Derrick trailhead.

Horton Creek was in great shape, thanks in part to a biker we met who kept stopping to toss rocks off the side of the trail. Shady in the early morning and over quickly. Stopped at the spring before heading up Highline. Strong flow of water in the creek and from the spring.

Up and down on Highline to Promontory, and it was pretty easy going. Highline was probably the best maintained trail on the day. Promontory on the other hand was slippery with pine needles and loose rock. Took a while to make it up the steep climb to top of the rim where we took a short break before heading across the rim to Promontory Butte's highpoint.

Hung out at the high point for a while before heading through the forest to FR76 and taking that to FR300. 76 is closed to motorized traffic, so we didn't see anyone on Promontory Butte. I thought 300 was still closed and there wouldn't be any traffic around the lake, but I guess it opened in the week before. Saw our second group of people car camped where 300 meets 76.

Went straight across 300 into Bear Canyon and followed the water down. The hike in Bear Canyon was probably my favorite part of the trip, along with the lake itself. Gentle flow of water and the travel was pretty easy with little brush and deadfall to contend with. The canyon widened out as it went down and revealed meadows and clearings that wouldn't be out of place in the White Mountains.

Took the Lake Trail around to the little rocky isthmus on the south shore. Bear Canyon Lake was as full as I've seen it, and the old timers at the lake who were more familiar made similar statements. Most of the people we saw on the day were at the lake. A couple people on floats fishing, and a couple families hanging out fishing around the shore.

From the lake we took the Lake Trail up to FR208 and headed back toward 300. Cut corners through the forest to shorten the trip to See Canyon's upper trailhead. See Canyon has significant deadfall higher up and a little bit farther down the canyon as well. Good flow of water, a little at the top a lot toward the bottom. Saw a few turkeys in See Canyon and one person out taking pictures near the lower th.

Climbed up Highline as the sun was getting low. Flew down the smooth Highline trail to Derrick where the tread is rough higher up but not so bad farther down. Saw a half dozen elk near the bottom of Derrick as the sun started to set. Made it back before dark having only seen two hikers/bikers the whole trip.

Bear Canyon Lake

76-100% full

Horton Creek

Medium flow

Horton Spring

Gallon + per minute

7 archives

Apr 11 2020

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 11 2020
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	15.30 Miles	2,943 AEG

Hiking	15.30 Miles	7 Hrs 2 Mns	2.59 mph
	2,943 ft AEG	1 Hour 7 Mns Break

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It had been 6 months since I had been up to the Rim Country, so I was way overdue. I rectified that situation by doing the Horton Super Loop plus a side trip over to the Gila County co-high point on Promontory Butte.

We started at the Horton Creek TH and hiked alongside Horton Creek on the Horton Creek Trail. We hit the Highline Trail, and went a very short distance over to Horton Spring. There was a good bit of water in the creek as well as the spring.

We then made the steep climb up to the Rim on the Horton Spring Trail. I got us off track a little bit on the first part of the trail, but I managed to hit the trail again in short order. This trail is steep, gaining about 1,200 feet in 0.9 miles. However, it is a decent trail and is fairly easy to follow with lots of cairns.

Once on the Rim Road, we headed east for a ways before going off-trail to FR 76. I probably could have turned sooner off the Rim Road and saved some mileage. Once on FR 76, we headed back to the west for a ways before going off trail and going to the Gila County High Point. At the high point we saw the cadastral survey marker and the summit cairn -- the summit register needs a new log book, which I forgot bring. Then we went a little SE over to where the benchmark and 2 reference disks are and ate lunch.

Then we went off-trail for a bit over to the Promontory TH, and descended on the steep, slippery, primitive Promontory Trail until we got to the Highline Trail. The Promontory Trail is about as bad as it gets for a named trail. Once on Highline, we headed south to the Derrick Trail, and then took Derrick back to the TH.

It was a great day to be up there -- the temperature was about 40 at the start of the hike, and it was mostly in the 40's for the entire hike, although it was 53 when we got back to the TH. There was a bit of thunder just before we got to the Promontory Trail, and there were a few snow flurries during the descent on the Promontory Trail. There was a smidgen of snow in a couple of places up on Promontory Butte, but snow was a non-issue on the hike.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Cadastral Survey Marker HAZ Food Reference Mark

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Horton Creek Horton Spring Mount Ord

Wildflowers Observation None
There were essentially no wildflowers to be seen right now.

	Horton Creek	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	There was a good bit of water in Horton Creek.

	Horton Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	There was a good bit of water coming out of the spring.

_____________________

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

Aug 15 2019

LJW

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 15 2019
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	22.77 Miles	4,556 AEG

Hiking	22.77 Miles	7 Hrs 16 Mns	3.25 mph
	4,556 ft AEG	15 Mns Break

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Wanted to combine a trip to Promontory Butte with the Horton-Derrick loop, but decided to make it a little longer in order to see more of the Highline Trail. Started at 5:20am on Horton and took the loop clockwise.

Horton Creek is very pleasant, a nice gradual gain always within earshot of the creek. Went to the spring and headed up Highline. Saw 4 elk, all bucks.

Made it to Promontory and saw it's still a long way to the top despite the 3/4mile distance posted on the sign. The trail has a good amount of deadfall and is pretty well overgrown in spots. Nice views distracted from the toughest part of the hike.

Walked cross country along the rim to Promontory Butte. As is true pretty much everywhere on the rim, nice forest with great views of the Mazatzals. Very quiet apart from the occasional passing plane. From the highpoint I cut through the forest to FR764 and took that to 300. The gate to 764 was closed, so seemingly no one was out on Promontory Butte.

Took See Canyon down. The only people I saw all day were 2 groups at the beginning and end of the trail. Trail's in great shape, those varmint callers do good work.

Once on Highline it started to get warm. It was more exposed than I thought it would be. Not too much shade overall, and the same was true for Derrick. Mid 90s by the time I finished, but it seemed cooler than that.

5 archives

Apr 30 2019

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Promontory Butte via See Canyon, AZ

Hiking		Apr 30 2019
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	15.20 Miles	2,658 AEG

Hiking	15.20 Miles	7 Hrs 32 Mns	2.58 mph
	2,658 ft AEG	1 Hour 38 Mns Break

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I enjoy hiking to Promontory Butte, but had never done it from See Canyon. What a difference a month makes! I attempted this hike in late March, and there was about 3' of snow up on the Rim Road, so I wound up turning around and going back to the TH.

I started and ended the hike at the See Canyon TH. I did a CCW loop by taking the See Canyon Trail up to the Rim; then taking Rim Road 300 to FR 76; then taking FR 76 and another forest road before going off-trail to the high point on the edge of Promontory Butte. From there I continued off trail to the Promontory Trail, took the Promontory Trail down to the Highline Trail, and then took the Highline Trail back to the TH.

The Promontory Trail is still in need of some TLC -- I don't think that there has been any maintenance on this trail in quite some time. The trail doesn't seem any worse than last year though, so the winter weather does not seem to have had a negative impact on it.

This was my first time on the section of the Highline Trail from the Derrick Trail junction to the See Canyon TH. It was nice hiking on this section, especially after coming down on the Promontory Trail. I have now hiked the western section of the Highline Trail from Pine to Geronimo, and the eastern section from the Fish Hatchery to the 260 TH. I still need to do the section from Geronimo to the Fish Hatchery.

It was a cold, damp day so unsurprisingly I saw no other hikers. I did see a camera-hogging elk up on Promontory Butte though.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Elk

Wildflowers Observation None
There were almost no wildflowers

_____________________

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

2 archives

Apr 15 2018

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 15 2018
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	16.00 Miles	3,000 AEG

Hiking	16.00 Miles	8 Hrs 36 Mns	2.73 mph
	3,000 ft AEG	2 Hrs 44 Mns Break

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General Crook Trail #140 - Apache SitgreavesNF

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Being a glutton for punishment, I decided to do this hike once again. This time, there were 6 of us with a meetup group that were on the hike.

We did the loop clockwise, so as to avoid going up the Promontory Trail. On this trip, going up the Horton Springs Trail seemed more difficult than last time, and going down the Promontory Trail seemed easier than last time.

Once we got on FR 76, I took a bit of a circuitous route getting to Promontory Butte -- a more direct route would probably have shaved a half mile or so off of the distance.

The views at Promontory Butte were very nice, as always. Actually, it was a very clear day, so the views were even better than normal.

When we started the hike the temperature was in the low 30's, and it was around 70 when we got back.

One interesting thing about this hike was when we were hiking on Rim Road 300/General Crook Trail 140. We were walking east on the Rim Road and an off road vehicle came up behind us. When the vehicle got beside us, the driver told us that as he was coming up to us, a mountain lion went across the road just behind us. Since we were looking ahead, we never saw the mountain lion. I am just glad that the mountain lion was not looking for a meal...lol.

_____________________

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

2 archives

Apr 04 2018

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 04 2018
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	16.30 Miles	3,000 AEG

Hiking	16.30 Miles	8 Hrs 39 Mns	2.59 mph
	3,000 ft AEG	2 Hrs 21 Mns Break

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General Crook Trail #140 - Apache SitgreavesNF

[ checklist ] Cadastral Survey Marker Reference Mark Summit Register Log

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I have wanted to do this hike, and I decided to do the loop clockwise so as to go down, instead of up, Promontory Trail #278 -- I think that was the right call.

Starting at the Horton Creek TH, Tracie, my intrepid hiking partner, and I travelled on Horton Creek Trail #285 to get to Horton Spring, and then took the Horton Springs Trail #292 to get up to Rim Road 300/General Crook Trail #140. Then we went east on the General Crook Trail for a little over 2 miles, and then took an easy jaunt through the forest to get to Forest Road 276. We then took that to the Promentory TH, and then went to the SE to get over to Promentory Butte. At the Butte we stopped at the point where we saw a survey marker and the logbook that had been placed there by Joe Bartels back in 2003. From there we went SE to where the Butte juts out a bit, and saw 2 other survey markers. Then we backtracked back to the Promentory TH, and descended down to the Highline Trail on the very steep Promentory Trail #278. Then we turned left on the Highline Trail and after about 3/4 mile we took the Derrick Trail back to the Horton Springs TH.

As advertised, all but 2 miles of the hike are on easy to moderate trails. The exceptions are the Horton Springs Trail #292 and the Promontory Trail #278. I had never been on the Horton Springs Trail, and it was easier than I thought that it would be -- the footing was mostly pretty good and the trail was generally easy to follow. But it was fairly steep, gaining around 1,200 feet over 1.2 miles. I had been up and down the Promontory Trail before, and it does not get any easier. This is a primitive trail that is poorly maintained, is hard to follow, is very steep (you go down 1,150 feet in 0.8 miles), has poor footing on much of the trail, and there is a lot of deadfall to negotiate. Other than that, it is a delightful trail to hike!

Virtually all of the elevation gain on this hike is in the first 5 miles. In looking at a map, I could have shortened the distance by a mile or more by exiting the General Crook Trail sooner, and by not taking Forest Road 76 all the way to the Promontory TH and then backtracking back to Promontory Butte.

We saw a couple of people on the Horton Creek Trail who were camping; other than that, we did not see anyone else all day.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

_____________________

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

2 archives

Mar 22 2018

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 22 2018
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	13.30 Miles	3,200 AEG

Hiking	13.30 Miles	7 Hrs 45 Mns	2.46 mph
	3,200 ft AEG	2 Hrs 20 Mns Break

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This hike began and ended at the Horton Creek TH. We did the Horton Creek Loop Counterclockwise by taking the Derrick Trail to the Highline Trail on to Horton Spring. At the Spring, we came back to the TH on the Horton Creek Trail. Along the way, we took a side trip up to Promontory Butte by going up and back down on the Promontory Trail. The Derrick, Highline, and Horton Creek Trails were all in good shape and were easy to follow. The Promontory Trail was a different story -- you won't see too many named trails worse than this one. Going up was much worse than going down, mainly because it was very difficult to follow the trail. I had to refer to my GPS numerous times to make sure that I was still on the trail. Even though the trail was steep, on the way down you could see in advance where the trail was, so you knew where you were going. It was nice once on top of the Rim. We went over to the survey marker and signed the log book, which was place there by Joe Bartels back in 2003. Next time I might just do the Horton Super Loop Plus instead of this hike, and do it clockwise to avoid having to go up the Promontory Trail. Of course, then you'd have to go up the Horton Creek Trail which isn't a piece of cake either.

_____________________

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

1 archive

Jan 13 2018

The_N

Routes 54
Photos 1,508
Triplogs 325

39 male

Joined Mar 18 2015
Payson, AZ

Derrick-Prom-See-High-Horton, AZ

Hiking		Jan 13 2018
		The_N • Triplogs 325

Hiking	24.63 Miles	4,944 AEG

Hiking	24.63 Miles	7 Hrs 48 Mns	3.18 mph
	4,944 ft AEG	4 Mns Break

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none

no partners

Good little Rim Country leg stretcher. I figured hitting Promontory would increase my chances of seeing snow. Started up Derrick and onto Promontory. The climb up was over quicky. The trail is in great shape and easier than ever to follow. Thin layers of snow clung to the shade. There was some snow on top of the butte, not nearly as much as there should be. A mere inches of crunchy snow blanketed the forest floor. It was a desolate road walk across the butte. My 'winter wonderland' for the day. Tread was snow, ice and frozen earth. Avoid the ice and you're fine. The short walk on Rim Rd was the same. The upper reaches of See Cyn was a little winter-like. That ended quickly. Trail was dry, no mud. Midway down it turns to a fall scene. Passed a couple of dog walkers as I cruised on down to the TH to jump on Highline. Ate my lunch as I made my way over to Horton. It was sunny and warm now. The 30 degree starting temp turned to 60. Stopped at the spring to grab a little water before making my dash back to the TH. Passed a couple families out for a stroll. Fantastic weather for an outing in Rim Country. Saw a dozen elk and a few deer.

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If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

2 archives

Aug 19 2017

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 19 2017
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	2.00 Miles	290 AEG

Hiking	2.00 Miles	54 Mns	2.45 mph
	290 ft AEG	5 Mns Break

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

partners

John9L

We had some time to kill, and though I'd done this one before, it had been many years. We used to drive out all the way to the point and camp here. Over the years, the road that once existed has been lost to nature. I'm actually pretty ok with that despite the fond memories of camping here.

There's a register and cairn at the witness corner monument. I'm 99.97% sure that's not the high point, but whatever. We walked down to the Promontory benchmark too, so somewhere along the way we crossed the high point for sure. It was nice to get back here and see how it's changed over time.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Cadastral Survey Marker

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Promontory Butte

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

May 19 2017

Jim

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Payson, AZ

Hiking		May 19 2017
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Hiking	13.00 Miles	3,500 AEG

Hiking	13.00 Miles	7 Hrs 45 Mns		1.86 mph
	3,500 ft AEG	45 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

no routes

Linked

linked

Partners

none

no partners

Did the popular loop with the side trip to Promontory Butte, except I went up Horton and down Derrick. Pretty nice out. Lots of birds, and the air was chilly. Nice to be on the Rim. Good views of the Arizona Highlands.

Promontory seems to be a trail in name only, and should either be decommissioned or rebuilt. Lost it in a tangle of dead and down, game trails and rough spots on the way down and I ended up doing an off trail hike down slope. That wasn't fun at all. Due to this I came down on the Highline east of Derrick and went a bit further out to the east before I realized I was too far below Promontory Point. Turned back and I easily found Derrick Trail. For some reason people don't want this high point from below.

Adjusted the AEG and miles to reflect what are the more accurate GPS routes for this.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Horton Spring

Horton Creek

Heavy flow

Horton Spring

Gallon + per minute

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1 archive

Mar 19 2017

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 19 2017
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	13.29 Miles	3,589 AEG

Hiking	13.29 Miles	6 Hrs 59 Mns	2.07 mph
	3,589 ft AEG	34 Mns Break

Linked

linked