Red Hills Trail #262 - Mazatzal • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

LF East Verde River Shortcut Route

Deadman Trail #25

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I've wanted to do this hike for over a year now and when the temperatures spiked in late March I took the opportunity to make my first foray into the Mazatzals. I had briefly discussed the route last year with @JacobEmerick but conveniently forgot that he advised to avoid Willow Spring Trail. Before this trip I thought I was a fairly good backpacker - I am, quite literally, a professional - but the Mazzies turned my 6-day 60-mile plan into a 7-day 100-mile monstrosity that had me questioning much more than just my backpacking skills.

AZT
Starting from Mormon Grove Trailhead I'm going to skip over the Arizona Trail portions of the route until things get fun later on. Everyone knows what the AZT is about. ~40 miles from Mormon Grove TH to where the AZT splits off from Red Hills Trail.

Red Hills
Both maps I had (Nat Geo & USGS Quads) show the intersection where the AZT breaks off from Red Hills nearly a mile off of where it actually is. Red Hills was my favorite trail of the trip. A diverse hike that goes through a pine canyon before breaking out into open red rock hills. Simple enough to follow with obvious tread and big cairns. There are 2 horse camps along Red Hills and I was surprised at how built up they were (barbed wire corrals, wooden awning structures, tools stashed) considering the Wilderness designation.

Midnight
The brush began over the first half of Midnight but nothing bad. About halfway along Midnight around Wet Bottom Creek is another horse camp and after that it quickly gets much tougher. The trail fades out and rises steeply up the side of a brush-choked canyon. A good taste of what is to come. There was strong evidence someone had recently took stock up Midnight and down Willow Spring even along Midnight Mesa (or vice versa) which impressed me greatly.

Willow Spring
I spent 45+ minutes looking for the Midnight / Willow Spring intersection to no avail. Midnight peters out and Willow Spring doesn't peter in on a thick brushy ridge. That being said you will have to spend as much time as it takes to find Willow Spring coming around the side of Midnight Mesa because that 4-inch wide path is the only viable way to contour around the buttress. This part was the only area I could follow Willow Spring because a step in any other direction would be falling down the side of the Mesa.

Willow Spring then goes along a knife-edge ridge that afforded the best views of the entire trip. Really stunning terrain way back deep in the Mazatzals. I lost the trail quite a bit on the way down to the Deadman/Willow Spring/Dutchman Grave intersection - there are big cairns but they're so enveloped by shrubs that you can't see them until right on top negating the usefulness.

Deadman / Willow Spring
I had hoped to find water and camp in this area around the intersection and Mountain Spring but was mostly disappointed in both. I spent at least 30 minutes in the creek bed area that Mountain Spring showed to be in on my maps with nary a trickle or hint of water. There were water pools farther down the creek bed that saved me and since I was cowboy camping I just laid down underneath a tree but didn't see much in the way of tent camping options in the vicinity.

In addition to the 30 minutes I spent poking around Mountain Spring I spent another 45 or so looking for the beginning of the Deadman Trail. There is an obvious track from the newly-signed intersection leading down to those aforementioned pools but then nothing at all up or down or across. That scared me off Deadman potentially being a touch bushwhack the entire route and I decided to change plans and not pursue Deadman. Instead I would go back up Willow Spring, take another shot at finding that Willow Spring/Midnight intersection and then follow Willow Spring across to the AZT so I could still get back to Mormon Grove TH. The devil I knew over the devil I didn't - or so I thought.

Willow Spring / Off-trail to Midnight & back
The Willow Spring devil got a lot worse. There isn't even a hint of trail east of the non-existent intersection. It is thick, thick bushwhacking up and down ridges. I was able to go maybe a half mile an hour and was quickly exhausting my water due to the very physically demanding terrain and brush.

I stood on top of a mountain along the Willow Spring "trail" - physically and mentally broken after almost 2 days now of gnarly bushwhacking - and saw some water in the creek bed far below. Looking at the map I figured I had about 4 more miles of Willow Spring before reaching the AZT. Based on the conditions and my pace so far I estimated that would take 6 hours if I had good luck, 8 hours with mild luck. I didn't want to consider no luck or bad luck scenarios besides briefly contemplating how difficult it would be for SAR to get me out of there if injured.

If I could make it down the mountain to the creek below it looked like I could follow it off-trail to reconnect with Midnight around where the trail crosses Wet Bottom Creek. So I did just that, bailing, knowing I would have nearly 50 miles of hiking to get back to my truck and only 1.25 planned days left to do it in. For once the thick brush and steep terrain worked in my favor getting several hundred vertical feet down the mountain to the creek because I could slowly fall into each tight layer of Manzanita then pull myself through the woody branches before slowly falling into the next layer and repeating all the way down.

That off-trail creek, which was unnamed on both my maps and which I named Fortune Creek, ended up being my favorite part of the trip. It had water, it didn't have brush, it was beautiful hiking down a canyon that turned a little slotty once or twice and it represented a change in my fortune which had been very poor for quite some time. I was able to easily follow Fortune Creek down to its confluence with Wet Bottom Creek and subsequently with the Midnight Trail. I actually had a tougher time following the "better" half of Midnight on the way out than I did on the way in but was eventually back to Red Hills then the AZT. I had to extend my trip an extra day to get out the way I came but met a nice thru-hiker who let me text my mom and gave me some water tabs to tide me over.

All in all it was a really humbling experience to hike deep into the Mazzies. Due to the off-trail brushy conditions, challenging terrain & high miles I've never left a trip more physically beat up than this one. But definitely worth it to explore a lesser-seen side of this rugged & scenic Wilderness.

May 04 2024

John10s

Guides 25
Routes 376
Photos 5,897
Triplogs 346

40 male

Joined Mar 01 2018
Chandler, AZ

Mazatzal Doll Baby Ruins and Red Hills, AZ

Hiking		May 04 2024
		John10s • Triplogs 346

Hiking	15.94 Miles	4,218 AEG

Hiking	15.94 Miles	8 Hrs 40 Mns	2.06 mph
	4,218 ft AEG	56 Mns Break

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[ checklist ] Copper Mountain Doll Baby Ranch East Verde River L F Ranch North Peak

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TboneKathy

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

We returned to the Mazatzals today for the second time in three weeks. This was my first time starting from Doll Baby TH, and the road was in good shape on the drive in--just two shallow water crossings and some deep ruts on the part of the road that crosses Doll Baby Ranch. There was one other vehicle parked at the trailhead, and the temp was in the mid-50s and very comfortable when we set out.

Our first stop was the main ruins site on the red cliffs. It's labeled on the topo map, so it's not surprising that it gets a lot of traffic--there was an obvious, cairned use trail branching off FR 406. But it was an impressive site, with tall perimeter walls and outlines of a few interior rooms, and it's in a beautiful spot near the edge of the cliff overlooking the Verde River below. The big vertical slab of rock sticking up in one of the doorways is odd...not sure what purpose that served other than sealing off a doorway or if that's a modern addition.

[ youtube video ]

We explored the site for a while and returned to the road, continuing to the Verde River shortcut to connect with Saddle Ridge/Bull Spring/Red Hills. After a short break at Copper Mountain, we continued on Bull Spring as it started the steady climb. I made the Brush Trail intersection my turnaround point to leave some time to visit a smaller ruin site back near the trailhead on the way out.

We stopped for lunch in the shade near the gate/turnoff for the the cliff ruins, and a truck pulling a trailer drove up from the trailhead and passed us--the only people I saw all day. Once we were further down, TboneKathy returned to the trailhead while I left the road and started following the route that @Oregon_Hiker and Grasshopper took ~10 years ago to see the small (almost certainly non-ancient) rock wall on a rock outcropping en route to an overlook across from a small, second ruin site on a larger outcropping.

I'd seen close-up pictures of the site and knew it wasn't anything spectacular, but I still wanted to try to get over there, and by that time backtracking through all the brush I'd already endured was unappealing, so I continued past the overlook/turnaround point on their route and followed the ridge until I could drop down and cross the ravine and access the ridge with the ruin. The brush was relentless, right up to the rocks walls. As expected, I didn't find any pottery, just the whitish walls along the edge of the cliff, but it was satisfying to get up there and avoid backtracking.

I dropped down off the east side of the ridge and headed straight for the trailhead ~3/4 mile away. That was a very scratchy and unpleasant bushwhack through catclaw, manzanita, and various sharp stuff. At times, it felt like one of those nightmares where you keep moving but don't seem to go anywhere--especially frustrating when the trailhead is so close down below but feels so far away...it was a relief to finally get out of that mess. Ruin site #2 definitely has a very low reward/effort ratio...I don't see any enjoyable way to get up there, and TboneKathy had no regrets about skipping that part of the hike.

Despite that unpleasantness at the end, it was a good day--a new part of the Mazatzals for both of us, great weather and scenery, and plenty of solitude. And we saw a few colorful birds near the river in the morning, two small snakes on the road/trail later on, plus a few elk in Payson on the drive in.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Elk Woohouse’s Scrub Jay

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bushwhack

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Boardinghouse Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	A small pools where the East Verde River Shortcut trail crosses the canyon

	Bullfrog Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Didn't check spring source directly, but light flow of water across Red Hills Trail below the spring

Dec 01 2021

LJW

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Red Hills Loop, AZ

Hiking		Dec 01 2021
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	22.44 Miles	4,833 AEG

Hiking	22.44 Miles	7 Hrs 57 Mns	3.35 mph
	4,833 ft AEG	1 Hour 15 Mns Break

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7 linked trail guides

LF East Verde River Shortcut Route

Mazatzal Divide Trail to Knob Mountain

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

For my first trip to Doll Baby TH, I chose the most popular loop and destination. I looped the full length of the Red Hills AZT section with Mazatzal Divide Trail, and visited the "Spanish Ruins" along its track. I did alter the loop slightly, making the trip down to the river via the LF East Verde Shortcut Trail instead of hiking the road to Bull Spring Trail. Started at 7am and went ccw.

Should have went a week earlier for the yellow sea of cottonwoods and sycamores around Doll Baby and along Bull Spring Trail. Better luck next year. Road walked to the ruins turnoff. The trail up to the clifftop is obvious, wide, well-cairned. I'd make the trip for the cliff overlook as soon as for the ruins, though they were more interesting than I expected. Nearly 6ft tall, lots of rooms, and killer views toward Doll Baby, North Peak, and Whiterock Mesa.

More road down to the river shortcut. The shortcut trail is marked with a giant cairn and some pink ribbons. At first the tread is appalling, but once down to the river it's sandy and soft. It saved a half mile plus the climb on the road up and down around Copper Mountain.

Connected the shortcut trail with five minutes of Saddle Ridge Trail before getting onto Bull Spring Trail. Good tread and a reasonable ~3kft climb up into the Mazzies. Seems like a bummer section through-hiking south. Connected with Brush Trail which was very scenic from the top of Bullfrog Canyon to the Red Hills Trail junction. Patches of conifers delight as the trail winds through the brushy burn area. No water at Brush Spring where the AZT signage ushers passers-by, but continuing west through the campsite there was some water trickling into clear pools in the creek below the spring. Views widen as the trail climbs to Red Hills.

Red Hills is the highlight stretch of the loop. Descends to the canyon bottom through an old, orange forest of ponderosa pines as nice as I've seen in the Mazzies. Interesting geology complements the forest well. There were some pools of stagnant water of varying quality in the tanks of the creek. I opted for the overlook once reaching the Mazatzal Divide Trail and headed the wrong way up that trail toward Knob Mountain for a view back over the the course of Red Hills.

Took a short break and then descended the northern end of MDT. It is the better route up or down compared to Bull Spring. The tread is smooth, the incline gentle, with better views off into the distance. Big views toward the Sierra Ancha, Deer Creek, and Tonto Basin. The views that way were pretty smokey, and over the course of the day it worked its way up around North Peak and into City Creek. Ended just as the smoke rolled through and didn't see anyone all day.

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
The very end of fall in the Northern Mazzies

Boardinghouse Canyon

Dry

	Brush Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	S of Spring water tickling into clear pools

City Creek

Dry

3 archives

Dec 26 2020

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Red Hills AZT loop, AZ

Run/Jog		Dec 26 2020
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Run/Jog	23.07 Miles	5,180 AEG

Run/Jog	23.07 Miles	6 Hrs 55 Mns	3.38 mph
	5,180 ft AEG	5 Mns Break

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One of those days when we decided on a route after leaving home. Set off from Doll Baby TH, for either a Bull Springs Cabin ONB or Red Hills loop. One of my friends hadn't been to the ruins yet, so we took a little side trip. Before we hit AZT, I saw a route on my map that I thought could be a shortcut; when it appeared to be heading up Bullfrog Ridge before hitting AZT, we decided to just head back down to the trail. Waste of 20 minutes or so, but gotta make it fun somehow.

At the Brush Trail junction, we decided on the loop. Brush Spring was a nice area with good camping, but dry. We blew right by the Red Hills trail junction, which I realized when it started dropping down the west side. Turns out the AZT takes a hard left, and the sign is obscured by a tree when you're heading from Brush Trail. Bonus mile I guess.

Red Hills trail was nice, the upper part of Boardinghouse Canyon was pretty.

Drop down Mazatzal Divide trail was fun, cruised a lot of the way. Got back to the car right at sunset.

	Boardinghouse Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Some frozen pools in one of the upper arms along Red Hills Trail, otherwise dry.

Brush Spring

Dry

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Sep 03 2018

jacobemerick

Guides 38
Routes 182
Photos 1,602
Triplogs 232

40 male

Joined Dec 09 2014
Gilbert, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Sep 03 2018
		jacobemerick • Triplogs 232

Hiking	36.06 Miles	7,776 AEG

Hiking	36.06 Miles	1 Day 5 Hrs 11 Mns
	7,776 ft AEG	12 Hrs 33 Mns Break

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Lost Spring Trail #279

[ checklist ] Lost Spring Lower Dutchman Grave Spring Midnight Mesa Mountain Spring - Mazatzal Sycamore Creek Wet Bottom Creek

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This is one of those dayhikes that's usually done over two calendar days, right?

Willow Spring #223
Sheep Bridge was weirdly quiet for Labor Day weekend. Didn't see any other vehicles or campers as I headed over the Verde an hour before sunrise. Going was annoyingly tough for the first two miles, fresh grass was covering the tread and cairns, once the sky began to lighten things were easier. The tall hills in the east kept me in the shade for much of the climb to Willow Spring #224 spur. Thought briefly about checking out the spring and didn't.

I was dreading the next thousand foot climb, given how steep it is and everything, but managed to chug through it. Hamstrings started cramping on this section and slowed me down. The green growth in the Mazzies right now looks amazing compared to the dull brown on my last June visit, the hills are downright lush. Gnats are a less welcome result of the recent rains. Watered up at the very murky Mountain Spring before slogging up the next climb towards Lost Spring.

Lost Spring #279
There is a decent tread for a few hundred yards that devolves into brush and deadfall. A few game tracks swing below the thick nasty so I followed them. Reached the spring and startled a huge elk less than twenty feet away - wonder if it's the same one I saw out here a year ago. He was busy fouling the spring so probably didn't hear me. His annoyed bugles echoed around me as I checked out the views and water source. Returned about the same way and waved good-bye to the elk and his spa.

Willow Spring #223 - continued
Steady grade through the dead forest that opened up to epic views on top. Those views included a few big monsoon clouds in the east. More on those later. Paused here for a needed break before dancing along the narrow connecting ridge to Midnight Mesa. Trail was harder to follow along the side of the mesa than I remembered. Quick drop down to the Midnight Trail junction, where I briefly thought about bailing - was running low on time and energy. Decided to push on and instantly regretted it.

Midnight #272
The few cairns did little to ease the pain of deadfall, rolling rocks, and thick brush. Once the trail enters unburnt forest things do get easier. Plus each drainage, including Wet Bottom Creek, had fresh water running. A pleasant corral next to the creek has some Fuller Seep campsite vibes. Trail changed dramatically on the north side, with wide tread and large cairns. My legs hated the climb up to Red Hills. On the way I passed some discarded camping equipment that made for an eery foreshadowing.

Red Hills #262
Drop to Wet Bottom Creek is getting downright easy. Was able to track tread and cairns the entire way down, though I chose to tumble down some sections instead of following trail. Reached the creek and it was magnificent, tons of water. While I was down here, filling up to capacity, I checked in with wifey about the weather situation - there were now three storms surrounding me, all rumbling and dark, and I really didn't want to be caught in a storm while up near 5601'. She assured me they would miss me so I hit some roctane for the haul up.

Cairns and tread were well-defined for half the climb, then deadfall and manzanita hide any trace of a trail above the 'throne'. Those storms gave me plenty of shade and cool breeze for what could have been a real slog. I hit the top just as a quick downpour caught me, just enough to convince me to haul out my poncho. The rain passed but the shade and breeze lasted for the rest for the day.

Trail was shockingly well-defined and I cruised alongside the summit of 5601', enjoying the views of Midnight Mesa and Cypress Butte. Things got a little sketchy in the drainage on the far side and I focused on speed instead of hunting cairns, zipping under the pine trees and hopping in the drainage. Did see a few stretches of tread on the banks, found them to be mostly overgrown and not worth the effort. Trail got much easier to track once it climbed up the saddle and left the drainage for good.

The sun was setting as I looped around by 4927'. Cairns got harder to find in the waning light, especially since some of the rock piles were marking old mines instead of route. Once I reached the sharp bend down to the last descent I had to stop and weigh my options. 9 miles left, 3 of them on new trail, and I was exhausted. If I pushed on I would be risking injury and for what - just so I could nod off during the drive? I still had 3L and a few snacks, might as well bivy out here.

Picked a shallow mining exploration that was about 5' by 3' and cleared it out. Collected a large stack of firewood and broke it down, then stretched poncho over half the pit. Got everything squared away inside and immediately fell sleep in a curled-up position on the rocky ground... Did I mention I was exhausted? Woke up two hours later from the cold and began the cycle: start a fire, build up to larger sticks, nod off, then wake up an hour later to a bed of coals for starting a new fire. It never really got that chilly, the fire was just enough to keep comfortable and the smoke kept the mosquitos (mostly) at bay. When I finally got up around an hour before dawn I felt surprisingly refreshed.

Initial drop from the ridge was sudden and rocky, then more mines and tailings show up to make for an easy descent on the north bank of the drainage. Quick rock-hop and a tread picks up on the south bank and makes for a very easy walk. I had some trouble following the tread after it swings south, likely due to the recent rains smoothing out the dirt, so I spent more time cairn-hunting than I wanted to. A few overgrown sections and then this trail was done.

Dutchman Grave #22
Paused at the lower spring for water and to finish off the last of my food before making one last push. The spikey trees are just as spikey as my last visit and each little climb felt harder than it should have. HK Mesa was wonderfully green. Had one good fall dropping into Sycamore Creek where a rock rolled underfoot, glad it happened within a mile of the bridge and not further out. Hobbled the rest of the way to a still-empty Sheep Bridge.

FR 269 has some deep ruts that require extra care, and the storm on 9/3 did some noticeable damage to the rockier sections (they're more rocky now).

Mazatzal Miles: 233.1/275 (85%)

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Caltrop

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] White-lined Sphinx Caterpillar

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Camp-fire HAZ PicMimic

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Lost Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Two separate sources next to each other, both fouled by elk. One of them I'd consider pulling, though it'd take some patience.

	Lower Dutchman Grave Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Multiple deep pools for filtering, flowing from one to the next.

	Mountain Spring - Mazatzal	Dripping	Dripping
	Murky, unpleasant taste and odor. Probably the worst I've seen it.

	Sycamore Creek	Light flow	Light flow
	Looks great at Verde River #11 crossing.

Sycamore Creek @ Dutchman Grave Trail

Dry

	Wet Bottom Creek - Red Hills #262	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Amazing.

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Dec 29 2017

jacobemerick

Guides 38
Routes 182
Photos 1,602
Triplogs 232

40 male

Joined Dec 09 2014
Gilbert, AZ

Fuller Seep Loop, AZ

Hiking		Dec 29 2017
		jacobemerick • Triplogs 232

Hiking	30.74 Miles	7,366 AEG

Hiking	30.74 Miles	16 Hrs 43 Mns		2.18 mph
	7,366 ft AEG	2 Hrs 35 Mns Break	35 LBS Pack

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This was supposed to be a three day backpack, sort of a reverse Midnight Mesa Loop, but the lack of water out there forced me to turn around early. So I guess it turned into sort of training dayhike?

Mazatzal Divide #23
Car camped at City Creek Trailhead to the hum of Doll Baby Ranch. It was teeth-chatteringly cold out when I started at 5:30, definitely below freezing, and I didn't stop shivering until I was two miles up the trail and I got away from the lowlands. Trail is in great shape, as expected. The grade is constant and easy to maintain a decent pace going either up or down hill, although my uphill rate was annoyingly slow thanks to my pack weight.

Red Hills #262
The first two miles were breathtaking (literally, the temp must have dropped twenty a short distance into valley). This spared forest is beautiful and beats The Park hands down. Trail conditions continued to be great even after leaving the AZT on the far side, where footprints faded and horse tracks took over. Another stand of mostly-untouched pines lurk right before the drop off. Speaking of, that drop is ridiculously steep and I didn't look forward to climbing back out at all. Path was easy to follow all the way to the old corral and there was barely anything trickling through Fuller Seep. Took a quick break here to filter water and eat an early lunch.

Getting slightly worried about water conditions I pushed onwards, enjoying the easy trail to Midnight junction (which seemed to be in great shape from here) and beyond. 500 yards further west (at the saddle) is where things started to get dicey, and it did so slowly. First it got overgrown with some deadfall, though the tread and cairns were still easy to pick out. Then it got more dicey. A thousand yards to Wet Bottom Creek, while dancing along the ridge, is when elk tracks and two sets of cairns all diverged. Eventually I found a way down and found the anticipated majestic pool of awesome all but dried up.

This was the breaking straw. If this was dry, I figured there was no way that the branch of Sycamore Creek along my route or Dutchman Grave would have water, so I probably wouldn't see water again until Mountain Spring. That was too far out of my comfort zone, especially as my planned camping (and cramping) site was near Sycamore. Drank some water and turned around, slowly hauling my way back to Fuller Seep for an afternoon snack. Climbing up the overgrown hillside was no fun, and then climbing up the steep drop on the way back to Brush junction even less so.

Brush #249
First mile was beautiful and gave me a few good views north, then the second mile got a bit steep and rocky and I had to slow down. Bumped into two AZT section hikers near Brush Spring (there are other people who hike in the Mazzies?!?) and had a quick chat before starting those little climbs out. Sun fell while we were chatting so I only had a third of my loop to do after sunset, he he. Managed to reach the saddle between 5556' and 5610' before I finally gave in and pulled out my headlamp and sweater. Then it was some steep switchbacks in the moonlight until the next junction. All in all this trail was easy to follow, had some good views, and with the exception of that one steep rocky section during the first half, downright enjoyable.

Bull Spring #34
Had braced myself for a tough downhill on this trail and was pleasantly surprised to find it sandy, gradual, and easy on the knees. The views seemed good too, from what I could make out in the moonlight. At this point I was starting to get a bit heads-down so I'll have to hit this section again (heard the LF Hilton takes walk-ins). Last mile got a bit rocky and hard to track by headlamp, especially the little hop over Copper Mountain.

Doll Baby Road
Did not like. Those rocky sections were worse than anything on the last two trails, and the repeated little climbs after so many miles was just mean. Had to keep my headlamp on to help with navigating all the rocks and only turned it off once I hit Doll Baby trailhead. Speaking of, the road between City Creek and Doll Baby was impeccable compared to City Creek and the pavement - if you're willing to drive your vehicle of choice to the humble City Creek trailhead, the extra mile to the much more established Doll Baby is nothing.

Mazatzal Miles: 196/275 (71%)

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Fuller Seep

Brush Spring

Dry

	Fuller Seep	Dripping	Dripping
	Several small pools of clear water w/ some green stuff on bottom, easy to filter from, barely dripping from pool to pool before sucked back into the ground.

SE 5395 Spring

Dry

	Wet Bottom Creek - Red Hills #262	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Two tiny, stagnant pools above the trail crossing, barely worth mentioning.

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Oct 27 2017

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

Payson, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 27 2017
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	21.00 Miles	4,500 AEG

Hiking	21.00 Miles	10 Hrs	2.10 mph
	4,500 ft AEG

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Saddle Mountain - AZT #22

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From City Creek: up MDT23, NOBO on AZT24, road walk back to start. Didn't see any water other than the East Verde.

_____________________

Apr 09 2016

DallinW

Guides 1
Routes 105
Photos 1,740
Triplogs 228

33 male

Joined Feb 26 2015
Gilbert AZ

AZT: Roosevelt to Washington Park, AZ

Backpack		Apr 09 2016
		DallinW • Triplogs 228

Backpack	132.20 Miles	26,979 AEG

Backpack	132.20 Miles	7 Days
	26,979 ft AEG

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20 linked trail guides

Four Peaks - AZT #20

Vineyard Trail #131

Four Peaks Trail #130

Pigeon Trail #134

Pine Mountain - AZT #21

Boulder Creek Trail

Saddle Mountain Trail #91

Thicket Spring Trail #95

Cornucopia Trail #86

Whiterock Mesa - AZT #25

East Fork of Chase Creek @ Highline

Oak Spring Trail #16

Highline - AZT #26

Highline Trail #31

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April 9th
Miles: 19
AEG: 6,413 ft

We started the climb from the 188 around 7:30 AM. The goal for the day was to make it to Pigeon Springs. The weather was great, and the views of Roosevelt Lake got more spectacular as we climbed out of the basin. After taking a break at Buckhorn Spring, the trail climbs relentlessly before topping out and contouring the mountain.

Eventually we turned a corner and BAM!, the four craggy peaks were staring us right in the face. Quite the view! The trail through the Four Peaks passage is very well maintained, except for a small stretch where we were pushing through overgrowth that nearly obscures the trail. Despite the large swaths of burned forest, this passage was one of my favorite so far. Eventually we reached Pigeon Springs and found a relatively flat spot to set up our tents.

April 10th
Miles: 19
AEG: 2,196 ft

The morning began with a clear sky. After packing up the gear we headed for Pigeon Springs Rd to begin the long road walk. I'm usually not a fan of road walks, but this was an exception. There were great views on either side of the Superstitions, Sierra Ancha, and Lake Roosevelt. The immediate area itself was very beautiful as well. Around 10 AM we could see clouds beginning to build on top of Browns Peak, and a storm hitting the Supes.

We stopped to take out the rain jackets and a white mini-van rolled up and asked if this road would take them all the way back to the 87. I pulled out my map and told them it looked like the road ended well before reaching the 87 and that they needed to turn around and take El Oso or the other forest road. The wife sitting in the passenger seat seemed concerned that we were about to be backpacking out in the rain. :roll:

By 11 AM it was lightly raining, which was initially quite exciting (I needed to test the rain gear anyway).

Just as we reached the Boulder Creek drainage the storm began to give us its all. Heavy rain, wind, and thunder! By the time we reached Sunflower, the trail was a muddy slip and slide, my phone was soaked and unresponsive (may it RIP ](*,)

), and we were slightly chilled.

We waited under the 87 underpass for my brother to arrive, who was picking us up so I could take an exam for an online class I'm taking before returning to the trail the next day.

April 11th
Miles: 12
AEG: 2,643 ft

After finishing up my exam, we were back on trail around 1 PM. Under the 87, we did some last minute gear prep before heading out and ran into three other hikers, Giltch, Kegel, and Minus. They were 17 days into their thru-hike and were excited to get into Pine for some much needed beer. We were all aiming for McFarland Canyon for the night.

We started up Saddle Mountain and enjoyed all the green scenery in the area. Just before reaching camp, we passed the half way mark for the AZT and celebrated with the thru-hikers before settling down for the night in McFarland Canyon.

April 12th
Miles: 21
AEG: 5,249 ft

The thru-hikers were up and leaving camp just as we were beginning to pack up. We weren't sure if we would ever see them again. The trail gets a little hard to follow just after McFarland Canyon to Thicket Spring. The Guthooks app says to head straight up a wash but apparently there is an alternative route that is clear of brush and well defined that you can take at the first junction past McFarland.

Once we reached the junction for the Peeley TH we stopped to take a break and ran into Joe, a gentleman I had met at a trail maintenance event about a month earlier. Quite the coincidence, if we would have left a minute earlier we probably would have never seen him. He was meeting up with another fellow to remove some downed trees along the trail.

The views along the Mazatzal Divide from Peeley to Y-Bar were my favorite for the entire trip. The rugged peaks of the Mazatzals and expansive views on either side were exciting to see. We ran into Minus again at the Bear Spring junction taking a lunch break. After taking our own lunch break at the spring, we headed for Horse Camp Seep.

As we approached Horse Camp Seep, we ran into the three thru-hikers again. There was another hour or so of light, so they continued on, we decided to call it a day where there was water. Horse Camp Seep was a sweet spot and had great camping.

April 13th
Miles: 18
AEG: 2,907 ft

The goal for the day was to make it to the East Verde River, a relatively easy day that was mostly downhill. We made our way along the Divide trail and passed "The Park", an inviting stand of pines and great campsites. We stopped to take a lunch break at the Red Hills seeps. From here the trail descends steeply to the East Verde River. Not very fun for the knees.

We camped just across the river and enjoyed the warmest night of the trip. We were now done with the Mazzies, and I felt the proposed "overgrowth" was kind of blown out of proportion, or there has been a lot of trail work in the past couple of months. Probably a bit of both.

I never felt like the trail was hard to find (except for the stretch between McFarland and Thicket) or that I had to deal with excessive brush that I wouldn't expect on most wilderness trails.

April 14th
Miles: 23
AEG: 4,196 ft

With burgers and beer on our minds, we got up early to make it into Pine with sufficient time to hit up THAT brewery and the market. The rocks along Whiterock and Hardscrabble Mesas were annoying and it felt like I was constantly stubbing my toes or rolling my ankle. Otherwise the area is quite beautiful and welcoming. The rocks put these two passages high on my list of "one and done" passages.

We reached Pine around 5pm with plenty of time to get burgers and beer. Lo and behold, we run into Minus, Kegel, and Giltch at the brewery along with another thru-hiker, Thomas, who was taking a zero in town. We joined them and enjoyed the comradery. Thomas decided to join us at camp for the night near the Pine TH while the others reserved the cabin in the back.

April 15th
Miles: 17
AEG: 3,303 ft

We woke up with frost all over our gear. :yuck:

After packing up, Thomas headed for the Highline and we headed for breakfast at the Early Bird. Just before we finished up eating we ran into Minus who was getting some breakfast himself.

We headed for the Highline. It was nice to be climbing on a well graded trail with less rocks, especially because a hole was beginning to develop in my right shoe. I could feel every rock under my foot on that spot.

At Red Rock Spring we made a quick stop and finished off the last bit of the Arizona Trail Ale we picked up the night before at the market.

Once we reached Webber Creek we caught up with Thomas who was drying out all his gear. We stopped to take a break, and eventually Minus came strolling down the trail to join us. Minus decided to hike with us for a stretch after the break. The Rim gets right up in your face along this stretch and red dirt contrasting with the green pines and cedars made for great scenery.

We were about 9 miles from the finish and a little antsy to finish up. Eventually Minus stopped to take a lunch break and we continued on after filtering some water. Now with only 5 miles left, we kicked it into high gear and made for the Washington Park TH. Clouds started to build along the rim.

We reached the trailhead and got ready to hunker down for a few hours of inclement weather before our ride would arrive. However, after a few snow flurries, the clouds broke. Eventually Thomas and the other three thru-hikers caught up with us, we exchanged information, and said our goodbyes. All of them were very enthusiastic about Arizona and couldn't stop commenting on the diversity of the state and how we had a pretty cool home.

---------------------------------------

Besides my foot issue due to my failing shoe on the last day, I felt great this entire trip. I never woke up sore or feeling exhausted. I listened to my body, and I was proactive about keeping my feet and knees happy. It really paid off and made the trip that much more enjoyable.

This concludes all of Southern and Central Arizona passages for me. I'm looking forward to the easy walking on the plateau to the UT border!

Wildflowers Observation Light
Lots of lupine in the middle elevations, not much at the highest and lowest elevations.

Bear Spring - Fisher

Gallon per minute

	Chilson Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Pools and light flow in drainage just south of spring.

Light flow

Granite Spring

Dry

	Hopi Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Flowing across the trail.

Horse Camp Seep

Quart per minute

North Sycamore Creek @ Highline

Medium flow

Oak Spring

Quart per minute

	Pigeon Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Flowing over the cement box.

	Polk Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Flowing across the trail, really muddy.

	Pool East of 4264 - Boulder Creek	Light flow	Light flow
	Pools with light flow in some areas.

Red Rock Spring

Quart per minute

	Shake Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Great flow, great water.

Upper McFarland @ #88/95

Medium flow

Webber Creek @ Highline

Medium flow

	Whiterock Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Best water of the trip.

_____________________

1 archive

Mar 12 2016

Reavis Ranch via 109 South

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

AZT Trail: Picketpost to Pine, AZ

Backpack		Mar 12 2016
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Backpack	161.56 Miles	32,262 AEG

Backpack	161.56 Miles	6 Days
	32,262 ft AEG

Linked

33 linked trail guides

Reavis Canyon - AZT #18

Reavis Trail Canyon #509

Reavis Ranch Trail #109

Reavis Gap Trail #117

Two Bar Ridge Trail #119

Superstition Wilderness - AZT #19

Cottonwood Trail #120

Vineyard Trail #131

Four Peaks - AZT #20

Four Peaks Trail #130

Pigeon Trail #134

Pine Mountain - AZT #21

Little Saddle Mountain Trail #244

Saddle Mountain - AZT #22

Saddle Mountain Trail #91

Sheep Creek Trail #88

Thicket Spring Trail #95

Cornucopia Trail #86

Mazatzal Divide: Peeley to Y-Bar

Whiterock Mesa - AZT #25

Pine Creek at Reavis Gap #117

Reavis Canyon - GET #2

Partners

partners

BiFrost

I was kind of looking to see where I was at for another big trek this summer and Karl was looking to experiment with a lighter weight higher mileage backpack, so I proposed Picketpost Mountain, or the beginning of section 18 of the Arizona Trail to Pine and the end of section 26 of the Arizona Trail. Karl was down for four days and had a somewhat flexible plan for ending his trip when he needed to. Meanwhile, I was about 50-50 if I could do the entire hike and was content with just seeing how far Karl and I could get and then playing the rest of my trip by ear, or I should say by body.

Day 1: 29.92 miles 6268 aeg

We made it to our planned first night's campsite on day one, Walnut Spring. Section 18 really exceeded my expectations. This is about the best time of year to be walking though that desert right now and Whitford proved to be a real treat with the flowing water and abundance of green. The climb was grueling and relentless but it offered some very solid views of the area and was really made manageable by liberal use of switchbacks. Karl was so confident with our performance at that point in the day that he insisted we bag Montana Mountain while we were up there. I agreed, but only because I was born in Montana and I said it had to count it as our break. Reavis Ranch looked like Daytona Beech and I had not apprehensions about making the short trip past it to my cozy little campsite at Walnut Spring. Got to Walnut just at headlamp time. Blew through camp chores, made a fire, ate and got to bed as soon as we could.

Day 2: 25.67 miles 6392 aeg

We came up a little short on our proposed campsite on this day, but the hiking was great so no worries. No stranger to the Eastern Supes, but Sunday still offered me all new areas after Two Bar Ridge. Cottonwood Canyon was great! No shortage of water in there and some cool little sites in this random little riparian jungle in the far corners of the northwestern Supes. A little bit of road and then it was the traverse from hell along the 188 waiting for that damn bridge to come into sight. From the bridge it was up the stairway to heaven. Where fittingly we had a trail angel waiting for us with tons of snacks and H20. After our sugar, hops, and caffeine binge at Mills Ridge we decided to just push for Buckhorn Creek. However, on that side of Four Peaks, pushing for a few extra miles usually entails a nice chunk of aeg as well, so we earned it. I did find a set of Indian ruins though along the way, so that was cool. We were both excited to learn that after carrying all that fresh water from Mills Ridge, there was water flowing in Buckhorn Creek. Oh well no filtering to do, quicker camp set-up, quick fire and in bed even earlier than previous night.

Day 3: 31.24 miles 5239 aeg

Day three was all new ground for me. Four Peaks makes you work, but alas the beauty of nature is enhanced by the ardor of the journey. I really enjoyed this section, an instant new favorite! I hiked through perhaps one of my nicest sunrises in a long time and marked several rock pile sites along the trail for future exploring. This section just kept getting better for me as we neared Four Peaks and started contouring towards Pigeon Spring. The lingering and previous snow had some of the creeks flowing nicely along this stretch and the trail got very nice as we approached its end. The road felt a little like Mad Max with the amount of Jeeps, trucks and atvs out. However, I must say not one negative experience with any driver and I do not think I have been offered as much water in such a short amount of time as I was along that 11 mile stretch of road. One guy asked, "is there anything else I could give you?" I said I could use some sunscreen and he offered up the whole bottle. The hike down into Sycamore was also very nice, again a great time to be in the lowlands, a little water, some flowers and green. However, it was hard to appreciate at times with the fatigue and anxiety over coordinating a last minute drop off of some additional things I felt I needed, if I was going to have any chance of reaching Pine. The drop and pick went smooth, a small adventure, but relatively smooth. We did not get an ideal spot to camp, but spirits were high after our resupply.

Day 4: 24.7 miles 6297 aeg

This was the day Karl and I would be saying our goodbyes. Karl decided on a Peely exit and I would push on to Bear Spring from there. More new trail for me to start the day and again I was not disappointed. The canyons on the way up to Saddle Ridge were picturesque, there was a lot of water and signs of some pretty extensive trail work in spots. I will admit things got a little dicey after we left the quaint McFarland Spring area, but we endured. The trails definitely need some work in there. I found myself kind of embracing the ruggedness and challenge the area presented. However, I could see that area becoming another hiker's hell if they were not expecting it. Karl and I parted at Peely. Losing Karl sucked, as he and I had a good thing going the first few days. Karl was keeping our pace in the areas where I tend to day dream and I was doing what I could do to keep us at a respectable place for some of the more stout climbs. But no time to dwell, I was solo now and needed to reach Bear Spring, just another 2000 feet of aeg and a shade under ten miles. There is no sense harping on the point, but the Divide Trail is getting nasty along there and I did make it to Bear Spring before head lamp conditions, but I was obliterated from that last little push from Peely. I replaced Karl with another Carl at Bear Spring. I am going to assume he spells his with a C. Anyways, I ran into Carl, better known as Spiced Rum on HAZ. He was on the final night of a backpack to gather some information for future work in the area. We chatted it up for awhile and I am not ashamed to admit I took some extra snacks from him. He was leaving a day early and I could not believe the amount of food I was going through on these long days, so I had no problem taking the charity. Superb stuff too, some great dried fruit, trail-mix and a Rice Crispy treat. Good guy all around and a source of wealth on some other major trails that I am interested in. And what a nice little spot to camp near Bear Spring, that saddle is great, I see why toughboots is fond of the place.

Day 5: 26.9 miles 4051 aeg

This was my make or break day. I had my city creek trailhead bailout option if needed, or I was pushing for the East Verde via the dreaded Red Hills and making my final push for Pine from there. The divide trail has its ups and downs, both in terrain and condition, but overall it was pretty smooth going. There is a section of Divide Trail that is now immaculate from about the intersection with Brody Seep to the intersection with Barnhardt. Kudos to that trail crew. I stopped for way too long to soak my legs and filter water and then realized I was looking at about ten more miles to include the worst part of the Red Hills and it was nearly three. My rational side said, "set up camp here, hike out LF or Saddle Ridge tomorrow," however, my other side said, "quit making excuses and finish the original plan." I am not sure what it was, but I was really dreading the last half of the Red Hills. Out of paranoia of being too exhausted to complete the entire section and having to dry camp somewhere I carried way too much water. This weighed me down and annoyed me even more as several of the creeks and main valleys I crossed had running water in them. As it turned out, while my worries were warranted, I did just fine and to be honest felt the area did not seem as bad as it had before and I must give props to the horse(s) whose tracks I followed through the entire Red Hills section, a doable stretch, just may require more time and detail. Camped at the Verde where I was serenaded to sleep by cows, frogs, chickens, maybe peacocks, cats and perhaps even a species of monkey. A very lively river at night.

Day 6: 23.08 miles 4329 aeg

This was the one I was waiting for, the "easy" day. A nice early start, I don't think there is a better place to be in the world than a half hour before light in the mountains somewhere, just pure serenity. There were ankle breakers abound on this day of Whiterock and Hard Scrabble. A nice steady pace was all I tried to keep and I followed a liberal break plan, as I crawled into Pine. The final two sections were not my favorite, but they were also the last two sections of a 160 mile trek so they would have had to have been perfect to really capture my imagination. Nevertheless, I got through both of them and endured the lava rock tread and bland road. I did find the last few miles to be more redeeming with the scenic Oak Spring and Bradshaw tank area. It was a reunion at the trailhead with Jackie and the pups, Del Taco and then home.

Final Notes

I need to work on a better nutrition plan for these big ones. I simply did not bring enough caloric energy for the type of days I was doing and the amount of energy I was putting out. I need to go healthier and more efficient, just a good lesson to learn.

Karl played a huge role in getting me through those first four days, very glad to have him through there, he was missed later.

A good song to have stuck in your head while hiking is Passion Pit, "Take a Walk."

I can definitely go lighter on these ones too, I packed light, but by no means did I make any attempts to go ultra-light. In the future, that may be needed to knock out some of these more ambitious multi day treks.

The hardest days by far were Day four with its nearly 7000 feet gained and day five with its 27 legit miles through the Mazzies without as much as a foot of road relief until the very end.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Brittlebush

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Trail Signs and Markings

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Four Peaks Oak Spring Pigeon Spring

Wildflowers Observation Moderate
About normal to not so great, to really good in spots. Most action in the first few sections though.

	Bear Spring - Fisher	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Spring box full.

Bradshaw Tank

51-75% full

	Bullfrog Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Did not observe spring area, but light flow in canyon and some of surrounding drainages..

	Chillicut Spring	Dry	Dry
	Very dry in area, trough in disrepair, might find a seep if lucky.

Cottonwood Canyon

Pools to trickle

Cottonwood Creek

Pools to trickle

	Crabtree Spring	Dry	Dry
	Did not observe spring, but some light flowing water with small pools in wash near

	Oak Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Full trough, flow in wash, quality water.

	Pigeon Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Spring box full, quality water, seeping out around base.

Light flow

	Reavis Creek at Fireline #118	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Nice flow as usual

Reavis Creek at Gap Trail #117

Light flow

	Reavis Saddle Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	A pool in area marked spring, not overly reliable though from my experience..

Rogers Canyon

Pools to trickle

	Saddle Ridge Pasture Tank	51-75% full	51-75% full
	Muddy and dirty.

	Sandy Saddle Falls	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	some pools, not much in way of flowing water.

	Shake Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Medium flow in wash with several nice pools and small cascades.

Theodore Roosevelt Lake

51-75% full

	Walnut Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Spring box full, good quality water.

	Walnut Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Box is full, quality water

Whitford Canyon

Pools to trickle

Windsor Spring

Dry

_____________________

6 archives

Feb 27 2016

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Backpack		Feb 27 2016
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Backpack	16.60 Miles	3,848 AEG

Backpack	16.60 Miles
	3,848 ft AEG

Linked

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DallinW

I headed to the Mazzys for some trail maintenance this weekend. I wanted to combine a nice little over-nighter at a cool campsite with a solid afternoon of trail work. I chose the Red Hills, as I had been pining to camp in there since my Mazzys thru hike last year. That little stand of pines dotting the main drainage along the first few miles of the Red Hills trail after you leave the Mazatzal Divide is a real nice little area. I PM'd the boss to make sure it was ok and he offered some tools, but it was easier to borrow some from Chumley rather than drive across the valley late afternoon. On a hunch he might be interested I invited DallinW.

Jackie, myself and the dog pack met Dallin at City Creek trailhead sometime just before 8. Dallin finished up some packing and Jackie and I got a head start. It was not long before Dallin caught us. I picked his brain for a few miles about the Colorado Trail and then he was off well I coached Jackie up her biggest climb yet. I think there were ten, "one more switchback" from me. A quick hike from the divide to our nice little campsite. Then it was set up, grab a quick snack and hit the trail. Jackie stayed back to nap and enjoy a book. Dallin and I cleared from camp all the way back to the divide intersection. The section we did was certainly not the worst of the Mazzys, however, it was definitely in need of some TLC in a few areas. Chumley's pruners broke like ten meters from the signed intersection, so Dallin finished up that little area and we headed back to camp.

We rested a little and then continued our work north up trail. Jackie came along this time, but I had lost my zeal after transitioning to the hand clippers and saw. Nevertheless, we cleared another eight tents of a mile. That put the day's total at about 1.8 miles of trail cleared. I was hoping we could have done more, but not having a pair of loppers for our afternoon run, really killed our efficiency and productiveness. But hey if I was thru-hiking that area, I would find much appreciation in hitting a nice little 1.8 mile stretch of pretty good trail.

We had a raging fire most of the night and ate large amounts of food around it. We were in bed relatively early and generally slept well with what I thought was a chilly, but not overly cold night. There was about a half hour interruption in my slumber somewhere around 2 a.m. after Blanco got sprayed by a skunk. Not sure how it all went down, but he got it pretty good in the face. To his credit he did seem to minimize the smell some by rubbing his face in grass for about 20 minutes. But the initial attack was heavy.

We all had to be back to Phoenix relatively early so we broke camp rather early and made the easy hike out. Jackie was not overly thrilled about following skunk dog for most of the day, but she did give us two thumbs up for our trail work. The hike out was naturally fast with the 5.5 mile downhill and great trail. The Mazatzal Divide Trail is in great shape along from the divide to City Creek TH.

Final Notes:

I hope to get out on one of the more formal trail clearing operations in the near future, but it was still nice to contribute a little drop in the bucket. I could not think of a better place to put in an afternoon of work and it was nice to meet Dallin and get some good intel on the CT. The stand of pines proved to be a great campsite and we really enjoyed our surroundings. In the end, it was just nice that everyone came back with the same amount of fingers and tails after my first real trail clearing endeavor.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] North Peak

_____________________

2 archives

Feb 27 2016

DallinW

Guides 1
Routes 105
Photos 1,740
Triplogs 228

33 male

Joined Feb 26 2015
Gilbert AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 27 2016
		DallinW • Triplogs 228

Hiking	16.60 Miles	3,848 AEG

Hiking	16.60 Miles
	3,848 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

linked

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FOTG

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Some Mexican Poppies here and there.

_____________________

Nov 27 2015

nonot

Guides 107
Routes 249
Photos 2,067
Triplogs 514

male

Joined Nov 18 2005
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Backpack		Nov 27 2015
		nonot • Triplogs 514

Backpack	36.00 Miles	7,800 AEG

Backpack	36.00 Miles	3 Days
	7,800 ft AEG		38 LBS Pack

no photosets

Linked

linked

Sycamore Creek @ Dutchman Grave Trail

Partners

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HAZ - Event

fan3992

After the seemingly never-ending drive to the trail-head, we set off on the faint, but fairly easy to follow Willow Springs Trail, making it to Mountain Spring before nightfall. Unbeknownst to us, a mountain lion had made a deer kill within the last week about 10 feet from where I had setup my tent, and some critters, including a fox, visited during the night to try to snack on the little that had remained.

The next day was mostly a pleasant surprise, trail conditions were pretty good, to nearly highway like, along the remainder of the willow springs trail and the midnight trail. There are only two areas where it gets bad: the first is the area where willow springs trail intersects the midnight trail. The fire heavily damaged this area, and the beginning of the midnight mesa trail is not clear. The second is where the midnight mesa trail first meets Wet Bottom Creek. Though I was sure we were on the trail, the 6 ft tall bushes we had to wade through suggested this 100 ft span has already reverted to its natural state. A large camp was found setup at Wet Bottom Creek, and presumably this group had done the maintenance on the remainder of the Midnight mesa highway to its junction with Red Hills. :thanx:

The Red Hills trail from here on is pretty much a disaster, and is pretty much non-existent in several places, and overgrown (badly) in the remainder. Other than the nice part where it crosses Wet Bottom Creek, it was not enjoyable.

Thanks Fan for joining me! The 3 days went by quickly. The fact that some of the crazy people on this site hiked this in a day is mind-boggling. And from their GPS tracks, they only did about 70% of their loop on the actual trail.

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Mountain Spring - Mazatzal	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	The reservoir and the cattle tank were both pretty full, though I didn't observe how much was truly flowing. The main reservoir was several feet deep and looks to be pretty reliable.

	Sycamore Creek	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	The lower part was raging, though it was not clear where the water was coming from since it was bone dry a few miles upsteam.

Dry

	Wet Bottom Creek - Red Hills #262	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Good flow here through the creek. There is a large, pond like portion where the trail crosses, though it is not very deep.

_____________________

http://hikearizona.com/garmin_maps.php

Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!

2 archives

Mar 28 2015

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Payson, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 28 2015
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hiking	20.80 Miles	4,496 AEG

Hiking	20.80 Miles	10 Hrs 4 Mns	2.29 mph
	4,496 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

no routes

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none

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I did one of Topo's Mazzy hikes today and it did not disappoint.The last time I did the Red Hills it was with a head lamp so I had been meaning to get back to that area in day light and maybe hike further down the Red Hills Trail. I noticed a description for the Mazatzal TH to Wet Bottom Creek using the Red Hills. I decided to go with that itinerary. The Grand Canyon and two track meets this week left my dogs feeling a tad neglected, so I was looking forward to getting them out for a good walk.

The Mazatzal Divide Trail from City Creek TH to divide is in great shape. One gains some pretty good elevation along that nearly six mile climb to divide, however, the quality trail and gentle grade make it a pretty manageable climb.

The Red Hills started out a little dreary with a short stretch through a severely fire damaged section. However, after that the trail has several redeeming sections including a few stretches through some pretty nice stands of Ponderosa that parallel a normally dry creek that is flowing very nicely right now.

I actually did not make it to Wet Bottom Creek. With a little over a mile to go, I decided to turn around and head back. The trail was getting kind of nasty and I was losing patience, plus the dogs were having more fun playing in the water and after all this was their hike, so I decided to just go back and also enjoy the water. We had got kind of a late start anyways and we were already looking at a 20 plus miles day, so turning back was probably a good idea. It was a tad warm and I did not want to break Cup off with up to three more miles of some pretty rugged terrain when I knew she would much more prefer to cool off in the creek and start the trip back to the TH. Taking the dogs back to the creek turned out to be a great call. The dogs really enjoyed the water taking several swims between the two of them and tormenting about a dozen frogs along the way.

It was real nice to get back out with the dogs again and I know they enjoyed the exercise. The Red Hills are pretty amazing right now with all of the water I was very impressed. There are actually some very scenic stretches along that trail and it is worth a trip, or at least a trip before it dries out. I really want to get out there on an over night trip before the water dries up and the real heat comes. I would like to knock out Midnight Trail and see what is remaining of Willow Spring Trail.

_____________________

5 archives

Feb 14 2015

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Mount Peeley to Twin Buttes, AZ

Backpack		Feb 14 2015
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Backpack	47.34 Miles	8,911 AEG

Backpack	47.34 Miles
	8,911 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

10 linked trail guides

Whiterock Mesa - AZT #25

Horse Camp Seep - Mazatzals

Mazatzal Divide: Peeley to Y-Bar

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none

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I have been meaning to do hike since last Spring when I saw the sign just off Twin Buttes that said Mount Peeley 48 miles. The idea of a north to south or south to north trans-Mazzie hike really appealed to me and it would give me a chance to cover several areas of new ground in the Mazzies. There was also the added bonus of knocking out a couple sections of the AZ Trail, something that is still not really on my radar, but a little closer after this weekend.

The HAZ network helped make this one possible. I ran into slowandsteady after Serena's event two weeks ago and she mentioned her and bifrost were also looking for a shuttle in the area. As it turns out they needed a car left at Peeley to complete a section of trail they were day hiking and would also be traveling to Flag later that evening. Therefore, they had no problem using my car to complete their shuttle then dropping it off at Twin Buttes on their way to Flag. I should mention though, all week I kept telling Karl yup leave it at the Pine TH, until he informed me that was not on Twin Buttes road and another 12 miles further into town. I am glad we cleared up that before I stepped off with the intention of my car being on Twin Buttes ;)

My original plans were to do this in an ambitious over night trip. However, after mulling over the miles and AEG, I figured why not make it three days and utilize my Monday off? Even with the trip scaled back to three days, I had a bad feeling about bringing Cup along. I knew from the few areas I had hiked that although it was the AZ Trail, there were certainly some rugged areas in there and I felt with the warmer temps it just might be a little taxing on Cup, so it was just Blanco and I for this quick adventure.

Even though I planned for three days and packed for three days, I told myself if day one went smooth, I would shoot for two days. I got kind of a late start on the first day, but still seemed to be making pretty good time, so I thought I would revert back to my original plan and just turn this trans-wilderness romp into an ambitious over nighter. I ended up about three miles past the Park at the junction of Red Hills and Mazatzal Divide Trail. 25 miles covered just over 11 hours of hiking and about an hour's worth of breaks and filtering water.

I thought by hitting 25 miles on my first day, I was setting myself up for a pretty easy hike out to Twin Buttes. I got a much more FOTG approved starting time, however, the going just seemed slower all day on the second day. I was happy to cover some new ground but found Brushy Trail and Bull Spring Trail to be a tad underwhelming for stretches. However, I ran into several elk along Brushy Trail which was a pleasant surprise so there were some redeeming qualities about that stretch of trail. Tons of "goat heads," or what I call goat heads made life miserable for Blanco and myself coming up the initial stretches of White Rock Mesa. Cacti the dogs easily learned to avoid, but impossible to avoid this plant for the dogs, seems to be more prevalant in cattle country. Poor Blanco could barely make it 20 feet without getting several of those balls of spikes in his pad. He even laid down in frustration and gave up at one point. The trail finally got a little more scuffed up and rocky and the goat heads passed. The trail seemed to drag a little towards the end, it got pretty warm and a few of the short climbs kicked my pumpkin a little more then they should have. We reached TH and vehicle just after 5:30 p.m. Just over 22 miles covered on second day in a little over 11 hours with probably an hour of breaks and water refills.

Overall, a nice little test of endurance and mettle. I wish I did not carry three days worth of stuff and such warm clothes. I certainly had to keep a steady pace, but it never felt too much like a death march, trails are a tad nasty in spots, but I enjoyed their ruggedness. Blanco was a perfect companion for this trip, no complaints, just hard hiking, he hit the wall a little on the first day, but led us out most of day two. In hindsight, I should have ended in Pine and knocked out that final AZT section in there, with the road miles it could still be done as an over-night I think.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Elk

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3 archives

Nov 07 2014

BiFrost

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Mazatzal Divide-AZT#23 & Red Hills-AZT#24, AZ

Backpack		Nov 07 2014
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Backpack	38.79 Miles	6,035 AEG

Backpack	38.79 Miles	3 Days
	6,035 ft AEG

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6 linked trail guides

Brody Seep Trail #264

[ checklist ] Bear Spring - Fisher Deadman Canyon Falls - North Fork Hopi Spring Horse Camp Seep Mazatzal Peak The Park

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desertrat13

slowandsteady

We wanted to do the Mazatzal Divide AZT #23 and Red Hills AZT #24 together so with that plan in mind we decided to make it 3 day backpack. However, before we could start the car shuttle had to be completed which involved dropping a vehicle at Doll Baby TH and then driving around to Peeley TH. After the long shuttle we finally started very late at 10am.

Out of Peeley TH the trail is decent with about 700 foot climb but the trail gets a lot rougher after 3.5 miles. The section between there and Bear Spring is pretty tough by AZT standards and much of it still recovering from fire damage. The trail tops out at about 7200 before dropping down to Bear Spring which we reached just before 3pm. We took a break and filled up on water with the good condition of the spring. Heading over from Bear Spring the trail definitely improved especially after Y Bar saddle near Windsor Spring. From there we headed down towards Chilson Camp for the night but with time against us we didn't arrive until almost 7pm. Regardless Chilson was a welcome sight and we really enjoyed the night and good fire.

Next morning we started somewhat earlier at 830 and headed towards Horse Camp Seep but stopped by the Deadman Falls overlook. The drainage at the overlook had several pools with good water just below where the trail crosses. We checked out Horse Camp Seep after that which had decent water as well in pools and the seep. Then it was on to Hopi Spring which is not the easiest to find with all the burn damage but it did have some cloudy water that was filterable. Later we found out that we missed Chumley and FOTG at Hopi Spring by about 40 minutes. We left shortly before they arrived and headed over to The Park were we had lunch. The Park is a great area that we didn't really have time to wander around since we had to make camp another 5 miles down trail. Now on the Red Hills section out of The Park the trail goes over a couple of climbs about 300 and 400 feet each. Trail then tops out before dropping back down into a drainage called the Seeps of the Red Hills Trail. There is a good section of pools here so we found a camp spot this time before dark:)

Another nice camping night with nearly full moon and again headed out in the morning around 830. Trail goes by some decent pools as it follows the drainage out of the bottom. Not sure how long the pools will last but some were pretty deep and would take awhile to dry up. After that we topped out and hiked across the mesa over to where it drops down to Brush Spring. Trail drops about 600 feet to Brush Spring which has some nice camp spots. The spring was a little tougher to find but it's about 200 feet above where the trail crosses the drainage. Lots of brush to fight through but assuming it's reliable the spring looked good considering how dry everything looked. We took a break before heading up the hill to the next saddle which overlooks the East Verde Valley just before dropping down. You can see the LF Ranch from this saddle but it's a long way down and over 5 miles still to go.

Another quick break and headed down the steep descent. Trail condition is rough and needs some work but appears to be the patchwork of old mine roads. After a warm descent we made the ranch a bit after 3pm. Kathy and I wanted to check out the East Verde and finish the section while the other member of our group went to see if he could score a ride to Doll Baby TH. Made it to the river and took a few pics...no problem crossing at the ford for the start of the next section of AZT. Then headed back to the road by the ranch just in time to hear a vehicle. Mary Ann the owner of the LF Ranch was gracious enough to give us a ride to Doll Baby TH. Riding the road we could see what people mentioned in previous triplogs about the hill on the road. It's an aggressive climb and would have put us at the vehicle after dark for sure. Really happy Mary Ann gave us a ride:) Awesome to get these two sections done together as a backpack!!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cairn

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Bear Spring - Fisher	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	small pool in the concrete box but good clear water

	Hopi Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	water was cloudy but could filter if needed

	Horse Camp Seep	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	good pools and seeps with plenty to filter

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1 archive

Mar 27 2014

joebartels

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Mar 27 2014
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	32.25 Miles	7,800 AEG

Hiking	32.25 Miles	13 Hrs 12 Mns		2.61 mph
	7,800 ft AEG	50 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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JuanJaimeiii

Ken and I knocked this out two weeks ago. I really enjoyed what I saw. Unfortunately 9 hours was in the dark so I didn't get to see half of the hike.

jj and I started out 40 minutes before sunrise with just enough light to avoid headlamps. Well at least I thought so until the Travelocity Gnome scared the crap out of me. On closer inspection I was looking at the vertical attention of a skunk's tail. Lucked out and moved on.

Dutchman Grave Trail #22
Still the trail I fell in love with weeks ago. Not as many yellow wildflower varieties, just green green green everywhere!

Red Hills Trail #262
The first few miles are outstanding. Experience paid off on this bad boy. Navigation was easier. I can now say this one takes the most time in route finding having done the others in daylight. Still unique and worth it once for those that haven't checked it out. Well at least the portion in this loop anyhow.

Midnight Trail #272
Not on my favorites list for the Mazzies. Yet easier to follow in daylight. The best part being my two planned bushwhack detours worked out great. Willow Springs Trail came quicker than anticipated.

Willow Springs Trail #223
The moment of truth. Ken & I had a heck of a time negotiating the 0.5 miles of trail around Midnight Mesa. Today in was still sketchy for a tenth of a mile. Yet easier to see, negotiate and didn't look so steep in daylight. That's it right? Head down and it's over.

Not so fast. The hike down was phenomenal. Perhaps the weather. Perhaps the stunning views all the way down. I really enjoyed this trail in the daylight. Nice backside views of Peeley, Sheep and Saddle Mtn too!

Second scare of the day was looking straight down the purple throat of a gila monster. I'm beginning to notice a pattern after a week of three snakes, a skunk and a gila monster at close range... jj is in the back wolfing down taffy!

How it panned out
I felt better on this loop. 20 hours was outta my comfort zone. JJ would probably knock off an hour or two without me and I'd probably add an hour two without him. So a nice medium. I hit 40g protein, 3 quarts of water, 2 Qts Gatorade, four ibuprofen, sunflower seeds, pistachios, half a pepperoni beef stick, 1 large chewy yet crunchy sweet tart. Feel great now a few hours afterwards. Of course jj survived on unfiltered creek water and his typical plethora of sugar treats...lol Also tried one super anti histamine to ward off the quickened paced snots a couple hours in. Yeah that worked for maybe ten minutes.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gila Monster

_____________________

- joe

Mar 27 2014

JuanJaimeiii

Routes 596
Photos 9,604
Triplogs 2,400

58 male

Joined Jan 30 2011
Chandler, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Mar 27 2014
		JuanJaimeiii • Triplogs 2,400

Hiking	32.01 Miles	7,758 AEG

Hiking	32.01 Miles	13 Hrs 11 Mns	2.56 mph
	7,758 ft AEG	40 Mns Break

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joebartels

Up at 3:15am, off by 3:45. Meet Joe at 4:30, hiking by 5:40.

Todays fantastic journey included:

The Sunrise

A Skunk that Joe thought was the Travelocity Gnome

A Hawk with fresh prey in it's Talons

Flowing water (that I drank 3 times)

A Gila Monster

Killer views ALL day long

The Sunset

Sheep Bridge

And Great Company....

Couldn't ask for much more. Oh yeah the weather was perfect from start to stop as well.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gila Monster

Wildflowers Observation Light

_____________________

Mar 15 2014

joebartels

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Mar 15 2014
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	33.60 Miles	8,400 AEG

Hiking	33.60 Miles	19 Hrs 52 Mns		1.81 mph
	8,400 ft AEG	1 Hour 20 Mns Break	16 LBS Pack

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topohiker

The inner Mazzies have intrigued me since 2001 when I created a FLASH map of the wilderness. Ken suggested this loop. I spent a solid twenty minutes throwing it together with his previous routes. Posting my gps route realized Richard did this loop CCW as a 4 day backpack. I should have known... lol!

Driving across the Verde shaves about 1 hour off the drive to Sheep Bridge. Even with Horseshoe releasing 5 cfs the Verde was bone dry. We started the longest day hike of my life at 8:05am. "Wow" expectations where pretty low for this hike. If there is a cool hike in Arizona surely I know about it... right? Storybook temps albeit breezy set the stage.

Dutchman Grave Trail #22
Enjoyed this trail the most. Spring was dancing and changing tunes along the way. Healthy, out of idiot range, saguaros cover the hills.

Red Hills Trail #262
Some of the coolest mazzie terrain. Notably in two less burned creek areas and one mine area. Finding the trail is difficult. Year 'round water in the pools? One of 'em seems likely...

Midnight Trail #272
Welcome to the show. Dreams are filled with ridiculous access trails in the middle of large wilderness. The sun was setting and a full moon rose as we stepped into dreamland. The 2004 Willow Fire has destroyed a majority of the route. Extremely difficult to follow at night. Probably easier in daylight. Considerable amount of cairns. Unfortunately most are spaced out of view leaving no clue, aside from gps, which direction to go.

Wind was really cranking. Plenty of water. My growling stomach was so loud it sounded like it was digesting internal organs. Ken whipped out the best mint chocolate Cliff bar I've had in my life. Then came the cherry on top. Literally too! A BAG of dried cherries. Wow, wow, wahoo! Christmas isn't usually this good!

Willow Spring Trail #244
Back to reality. #244 skirts the ESE side of Midnight Mesa proper for a half mile. Either we missed the trail or it is gone. Ken was not liking it. He slipped down and started yelling in Stiller tongue. A little further, then he slipped in a precarious spot. Looked like Luke hanging onto the edge of the weather vane under Cloud City. The situation called for some emergency jedi training. Ken used the force and denied the wrath of the dark side. Yoda would have been proud.

We made it to some cairns rounding out the final third of the half mile skirt. Perhaps we just missed the rest. From there the majority of the trail down is easy to follow. Night hiking under a full moon is cool. Even better when the wind stopped.

Horseshoes - 6
Mylar Balloons - 1
Crested Saguaros - 1
Gila Monsters - 1
4am Finishes - 1

Carried 5 quarts, consumed 6

Anyone interested in a predawn start at a quick pace or jog a few flats hit me up for a redo!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Hopbush Saguaro - Crested

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gila Monster

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cairn

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mazatzal Peak

Wildflowers Observation Moderate
predominantly along Dutchman Grave Trail #22
Blackfoot Daisies are abundant 2200-2700ft, crazy hopbush for a half mile, claretcup, strawberry hedgehog, Dichelostemma capitatum, poppies, lupine, Dudleya, Cream Cups, Desert Anemone, Desert Phlox, Verbena, Dune Primrose, Filaree, Narrow-Leaved Popcorn Flower

	Wet Bottom Creek - Red Hills #262	Light flow	Light flow
	No snow melt this year, still plenty of water in the trickling pool for a small army.

_____________________

- joe

May 17 2013

topohiker

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

male

Joined Oct 29 2005
Scottsdale, AZ

Payson, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		May 17 2013
		topohiker • Triplogs 3,536

Hiking	32.33 Miles	7,048 AEG

Hiking	32.33 Miles	12 Hrs 40 Mns	2.81 mph
	7,048 ft AEG	1 Hour 10 Mns Break

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With sub-100 temps, I decided to get in another Mazzy hike.

I started out at the City Creek TH. The trail has been cleaned up from the TH to the Red Hills intersection. The CREC crew went a little past the Red Hill trail, but by then the trail is pretty wide open anyway. I went past the Red Hills trail and then the sky clouded over and a cool breeze started blowing.
I then decide to go with my original plan and go to the LF Hilton. I double back to the Red Hill trail and took that to the Brush trail, to the Bull Springs trail.

There was some recent activity on the Bull Spring trail. There were fresh footprints and cattle prints going to the cabin. I got to the Hilton, but they lost my reservation :sl:

I took Bull Spring back to FR406. Some part of the Bull Spring trail had been cleared up. The Forest Service did some work at the Doll baby TH. They setup wire mesh cages full of rocks marking the wilderness boundary. They spaced the cages so horse and people could get through. BUT, they left the gate OPEN!

The weather was perfect the entire day. The creeks were boon dry with an occasional small pool of water. The Bull spring looked more like a seep.

	Bull Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Looked more like a seep

_____________________

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

Apr 13 2013

topohiker

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

male

Joined Oct 29 2005
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Apr 13 2013
		topohiker • Triplogs 3,536

Hiking	29.31 Miles	7,336 AEG

Hiking	29.31 Miles	15 Hrs 21 Mns	2.11 mph
	7,336 ft AEG	1 Hour 27 Mns Break

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