Johnson Peak Loop aka Pole/Morse • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Oct 15 2022

Jackluminous

Guides 1
Routes 262
Photos 864
Triplogs 266

51 male

Joined Mar 24 2021
Tucson, AZ

Johnson Peak Loop aka Pole/Morse

Tucson, AZ

Johnson Peak Loop aka Pole/Morse

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 15 2022
		Jackluminous • Triplogs 266

Hiking	9.14 Miles	2,766 AEG

Hiking	9.14 Miles	6 Hrs 26 Mns	1.68 mph
	2,766 ft AEG	59 Mns Break

no photosets

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Pole Bridge Trail #264

Turtle Mountain Trail #219

Morse Canyon Trail #43

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

Spent the weekend car camping near Sycamore Campground, which was mobbed. We did find a nice dispersed site walking distance from the campground, and the huge group at Sycamore was very well behaved, so a pleasant time was had by all.

Saturday I led Bob and the kids up Pole Bridge, with the thought of descending Morse and walking the road back to camp.

I was expecting Pole Bridge to be a sketchy bushwhack with lots of deadfall, but was pleasantly surprised by the quality and beauty of the trail. There are a few stretches through old burns, but the forest is recovering nicely and there was only one creek crossing where the cairns were hard to see and I needed to check GPS to find the trail.

Tons of water in Pole Bridge Canyon, almost all the way to the switchbacks. The forest is mixed pine and oak, at times quite dense, and reminiscent of trails in the Santa Ritas.

The upper section is very steep, be prepared for a cardio workout! Like all the trails coming out of West Turkey Creek, the uphill is relentless until you reach the spine of the mountains.

We were very slow heading up.

We broke for lunch at Pole Bridge Saddle. The signs were lying on the ground and definitely not pointing the right directions, so I made some adjustments and managed to rehang the John Long sign using my multi tool. Next person up here should bring a longer screw! :-)

After Pole Bridge Saddle, the burn areas get worse and the trail conditions with them. The trail is generally easy to follow but there are exceptions. We did lose it fairly quickly after the saddle, but equally quickly found it again and never lost it after that. The remainder of Pole Bridge and the upper section of Turtle Mountain felt like “real” Chiricahua trails: sketchy, overgrown, and infrequently maintained whilst simultaneously exceptionally well built.

It was a cloudy day, but as we rounded Johnson Peak we saw the rain coming. It swallowed Monte Vista, then hit at Morse Saddle, moderately heavy with tiny hailstones. We began a somewhat hurried descent down Morse Canyon. The rain didn’t last long though, maybe 20 minutes.

Morse is a much easier descent than Pole Bridge would be, but still steep. The trail is excellent and very well done, even through a few burned sections higher up. While the drainages in the canyon have signs of intense flow, they were all dry.

The road was a road. I don’t much care to hike roads but this one isn’t bad.

Overall it was a great day and much fun was had.

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
Some fall color low on Pole Bridge. Leaves just turning yellow.

	Pole Bridge Canyon	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Plenty of water and very clear.

Apr 24 2016

John9L

Guides 6
Routes 183
Photos 5,612
Triplogs 1,647

male

Joined Mar 12 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Monte Vista Peak via Turkey Creek, AZ

Hiking		Apr 24 2016
		John9L • Triplogs 1,647

Hiking	10.91 Miles	3,369 AEG

Hiking	10.91 Miles	4 Hrs 49 Mns	2.62 mph
	3,369 ft AEG	39 Mns Break

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Johnson Peak Loop aka Pole/Morse

Morse Canyon Trail #43

Pole Bridge Trail #264

Monte Vista Peak - Chiricahua

Turtle Mountain Trail #219

Partners

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	chumley	FOTG
	Tough_Boots

On Sunday our group, minus Claire & Jackie, headed up the Morse Canyon Trail. The four of us and dogs made good time up this steep trail. We were glad to find it in good condition overall. The trail makes a lot of switchbacks and the lower stretch is completely clear. The upper portion has some deadfall but it’s only a nuisance. We eventually topped out on the saddle next to Johnson Peak and discussed our options. Chumley & I wanted to push on Monte Vista Lookout while Kyle & FOTG and the dogs would return back down Morse Canyon.

The going to Monte Vista Peak is fairly straightforward as it follows the Crest Trail. There was more deadfall but none of it was too bad. The last stretch makes a good climb to the peak and you know you’re close when you see the lookout tower and cabin on the summit. The views up top were better than Chiricahua Peak as there aren’t as many trees. We enjoyed this peak tremendously and then returned to the saddle above Morse Canyon. From there Chumley and I continued around Johnson Peak and headed for Pole Bridge Trail. This top section was loaded with deadfall and was a pain to get through. I was a little worried but luckily it didn’t last too long.

The Pole Bridge Trail makes a steep descent through the forest as it switchbacks down the drainage. You eventually hit the creek bottom and follow that down. There was some deadfall along this trail but it was fine overall. The top section was the nightmare! We continued down and eventually hit the road and returned to camp thus completing our weekend getaway to the Chiricahuas. We packed up camp and then made a quick stop at Johnny Ringo’s Grave and then returned to Phoenix.

I really enjoyed the Chiricahua Mountains. I had no idea there were so many trails out here. A return trip is a must!

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1 archive

Apr 24 2016

chumley

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

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Monte Vista Peak, AZ

Hiking		Apr 24 2016
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	10.89 Miles	3,291 AEG

Hiking	10.89 Miles	4 Hrs 48 Mns	2.69 mph
	3,291 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

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Morse Canyon Trail #43

Monte Vista Peak - Chiricahua

Turtle Mountain Trail #219

Pole Bridge Trail #264

Johnson Peak Loop aka Pole/Morse

Partners

partners

	FOTG	John9L
	Tough_Boots

This was a fantastic day hike from the Turkey Creek area, and a great 2nd day in the Chiricahuas. If I had only one day to do a loop here, I would combine Morse Canyon, Monte Vista, Raspberry Ridge, Chiricahua Peak, and Mormon Canyon for the best possible loop. But you really can't go wrong with any of these options!

Morse Canyon 43
This is one of the nicest trails I have ever hiked. It climbs 2000 feet in 2 miles and you almost wouldn't know it. The trail cut is exquisite! (Seriously, when do you use that word for trail!?) Beautiful shaded pine forest, and consistent, steep grade. We did it in about an hour, and I remember thinking that JJ would probably motor up it in half the time. It would actually be a great trail for running (if you're a crazy person into that sort of thing!)

Turtle Mountain 219
We hiked this trail 1.5 miles around the north side of Monte Vista Peak to the summit spur trail. It's climbs gently through some patchy burn areas but is generally in great shape and there are no problems to hike it.

Monte Vista Peak
There's a short .2 mile spur from the Turtle Mtn/Raspberry Ridge/Monte Vista junction up the east slope of the peak. The views from the lookout were the highlight of the weekend. Make this one mandatory if you're in the area.

Turtle Mountain 219
We backtracked 1.5 miles to the top of Morse where we had come up earlier but continued on Turtle Mountain 2 more miles traversing around Johnson Peak and some other small peaks and ridges. This section of trail was in great condition and included a brief uphill stretch. There were a couple of short sections with easy deadfall, but for the most part this is pleasant hiking in unburned, healthy pine forest.

Pole Bridge 264
Upon reaching the saddle at the top of Pole Bridge Canyon, we began the steep descent. This trail was in fine shape and reasonably nice, but nothing compared to Morse Canyon. The first mile is steep, and features numerous switchbacks through an exposed burn area. There were a couple of spots where finding the trail took a second glance, but nothing treacherous. The grade moderated at the bottom of the canyon and the trail just followed the drainage, which was dry until the last mile or so when we encountered some pools of water. The bottom part of the trail appears to have once been an old road, and an older fire had burned through the area. Recent trail maintenance has made it fairly easy to follow, but the burn has left little shade and the lower elevation here makes it considerably warmer than the rest of the hike.

From the bottom of Pole Bridge, we had to hoof it a mile back up the road to camp in order to finish the loop. There were joined Kyle and Claire enjoying beverages by the fire before packing up and heading for delicious tacos at BKs in Tucson on the way home!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gould's Turkey

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Fire Lookout Structures Osborne Fire Finder Trail Signs and Markings

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Chiricahua Peak Cochise Head Dos Cabezas Mountains Galiuro Mountains Huachuca Mountains Huachuca Peak John Long Canyon Monte Vista Fire Lookout Monte Vista Peak Mule Mountains North Fork Rucker Canyon Paint Rock Pinaleno Mountains Pole Bridge Canyon Snowshed Peak

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Forecast

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Morse Canyon	Light flow	Light flow
	Not sure why this is called Morse Canyon, but the creek at the point this is marked on the map was flowing nicely.

	Pole Bridge Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	The lower mile had some small stagnant pools and areas with very light clear flow. The entire upper canyon was dry.

_____________________

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

Mar 20 2011

SkyIslander18

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,605

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Johnson Peak Loop aka Pole/Morse

Tucson, AZ

Johnson Peak Loop aka Pole/Morse

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 20 2011
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,605

Hiking	6.18 Miles	2,443 AEG

Hiking	6.18 Miles	2 Hrs 26 Mns	2.54 mph
	2,443 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

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no linked trail guides

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I found this one while thumbing through my Falcon guide, Hiking Arizona's Cactus Country. Drove out to the Chiricahua's and took the Turkey Creek road almost to the end parking at the Pole Bridge Canyon TH. I chose the counter clockwise loop starting with the Pole Bridge trail up to the John Long Canyon junction, then around Johnson Peak and back down to the Turkey Creek road along the Morse Canyon trail. Then I walked a little over a mile down the road back to my truck to complete the loop. Not being a very strong elevation hiker (bad back), the Pole Bridge trail and it's 2000+ elv gain in 2 miles really had me hurting & gasping for air once I reached the saddle! The trail then leveled off around Johnson Peak and had many excellent views of the surrounding peaks, the valleys in the distance, Monte Vista lookout tower & Cochise Head over in the monument. The Morse Canyon trail was all downhill and went through a very nice forest of ponderosa pines & douglas firs. I saw no wildlife on the drive in or on the entire hike, but on the drive out, I saw at least 30 wild turkeys in 3 seperate flocks and 4 does crossing the road! This was a very nice loop and one I'd like to do again, next time adding the Monte Vista lookout trail!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Pine

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Wild Turkey

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Fire Lookout Structures

_____________________

https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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