Barbershop Cyn Upper Loop - Mogollon Rim • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Guides 48
Routes 510
Photos 9,555
Triplogs 578

79 male

Joined Dec 28 2006
Scottsdale, AZ

FR139C.C/Site2-OffTrail2BarbshopCrk, AZ

Hiking		Jun 19 2023
		Grasshopper • Triplogs 578

Hiking	1.40 Miles	264 AEG

Hiking	1.40 Miles	3 Hrs 19 Mns	0.67 mph
	264 ft AEG	1 Hour 14 Mns Break

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This was my third and last of three short, off-trail hikes from my planned 6nt/7day Mogollon Rim- Camp Grasshopper trip from 6/14 to 6/20/23.

A number of years back, I had researched and confirmed a recommended and safely doable off-trail hiking route into an upper section of Barbershop Canyon Creek from my [ Camp Grasshopper - Mogollon Rim-C/Site#2 ] . This June'23 visit I planned to reconfirm today- 6/19/23, to clean-up, and to rock cairn a/r this HAZ previously posted route.

Now with minor revisions, added "key" WPs and my 6/19 photoset with more detailed pics, pic captions, and pic tag notes, I am now reposting this recommended and revised Gps off-trail route to "Enter/Exit" Barbershop Canyon Creek.

As it turned out, it was a good decision for me to wait until today-6/19 instead of the day before as originally planned to do this hike section as it took me much longer than I originally thought, to follow and clean-up my old Gps off-trail route down to enter Barbershop Canyon Creek.

As I mentioned in my 6/18 triplog, hopefully on my next visit, I will now be able to more quickly hike down to Barbershop Canyon Creek via this updated 6/19 route and then hike down canyon (distance still tbd) to exit back up at my second recommended 6/18 off-trail hike Entry/Exit location, then connecting back with FR139C for a loop back to Park/TH Start at my Campsite #2 [ photo ]

_____________________

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

7 archives

Jun 18 2023

Guides 48
Routes 510
Photos 9,555
Triplogs 578

79 male

Joined Dec 28 2006
Scottsdale, AZ

M/Rim.FR139C-OffTrailRoute2EnterBarbShopCyn, AZ

Hiking		Jun 18 2023
		Grasshopper • Triplogs 578

Hiking	1.56 Miles	365 AEG

Hiking	1.56 Miles	2 Hrs 50 Mns		0.63 mph
	365 ft AEG	22 Mns Break	28 LBS Pack

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This was my second of three short, off-trail hikes from my planned 6nt/7day Mogollon Rim- Camp Grasshopper trip from 6/14 to 6/20/23.

A number of years back, I had researched and confirmed a recommended and doable off-trail hiking route into an upper section of Barbershop Canyon Creek from my [ Camp Grasshopper - Mogollon Rim-C/Site#2 ] . This June'23 visit I planned to reconfirm on 6/19/23, to clean-up and to a/r rock cairn this HAZ posted and known Gps Hiking Route.

Over the past couple of years, I had also been researching on HAZ Route Editor, a hopeful safe and doable second off-trail Elk Route an approximate one mile further down FR139C from this Camp GH #2. On 9/2/22 I first hiked this second off-trail route and posted it all on HAZ.

This 6/18/23, I had hoped to off-trail hike these two off-trail routes (in-down canyon-out) of Barbershop Canyon Creek then connect with FR139C for a loop back to my vehicle campsite. Unfortunately, on 6/18 when I had planned to do this loop, there was a group with a loud barking dog camping over this Father's Day weekend at Camp GH #2. Since I would have to go through their campsite to connect with the off-trail route into Barbershop Canyon, I decided to just redo my 9/2/22 off-trail hike route further down FR139C to enjoy a short, lush green and actively flowing creek down Barbershop Canyon hike section and that is exactly what I did this day!

I hope to go back again for one week sometime this coming AZ monsoon August'23, hopefully to hike (down canyon) this section of Upper Barbershop Canyon Creek between my two now recommended off-trail entrance/exit locations. Maybe a new HAZ Hike Guide will be justified too!

_____________________

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

3 archives

Sep 02 2022

Guides 48
Routes 510
Photos 9,555
Triplogs 578

79 male

Joined Dec 28 2006
Scottsdale, AZ

FR139C-OffTrRte2EnterB/ShopCrk, AZ

Hiking		Sep 02 2022
		Grasshopper • Triplogs 578

Hiking	0.80 Miles	300 AEG

Hiking	0.80 Miles	2 Hrs	0.53 mph
	300 ft AEG	30 Mns Break

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I arrived Wed-8/31 (for Labor Day Holiday Week 2022) on a second Summer'22 7nt/8day Vehicle Camping Trip with two short Mogollon Rim - Cabin Loop Area Hikes planned.

For my first very short 9/2 Out N Back and completely off-trail hike, I had previously done some HAZ-Route Cloud Planning to hopefully find a decent, Alternate, and well-defined entry/exit route option into Perennial Barbershop Canyon Creek from the Rim Top off FR139C. FR139C (which is a total of 4.5 driving miles) parallels from the top, a lengthy mileage section of what I label as Middle and Upper Barbershop Canyon.

The previous Primary off-trail routes into and out of these sections of Barbershop Canyon that parallel FR139C, many hikers have successfully used the Barbershop Canyon off-trail entry and exit locations that are part-of the HAZ Hike Guide- [ Barbershop Cyn Upper Loop - Mogollon Rim ] (using and following the "official" posted Gps Route for this Hike Guide).

This, my 9/2/22 Hike triplog, geocoded Photoset with detail Captions, and posted Gps Route with all "key" waypoints provides the Alternate , a third off-trail entrance and exit location for hiking this Middle and Upper Barbershop Canyon Creek Drainage section.

I felt very rewarded to locate this well-defined, and easy to navigate (Please note: ability to off-trail route navigate a must!), new entry/exit option which should open up some additional hike Out N Back, and Loop options, both longer and shorter utilizing FR139C

_____________________

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

2 archives

Aug 07 2022

mikemcg

Guides 2
Routes 127
Photos 1,478
Triplogs 129

male

Joined May 07 2019
Tempe, AZ

Barbershop Canyon, AZ

Hiking		Aug 07 2022
		mikemcg • Triplogs 129

Hiking	7.14 Miles	1,603 AEG

Hiking	7.14 Miles	4 Hrs 54 Mns	1.73 mph
	1,603 ft AEG	47 Mns Break

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Cabin Loop - Mogollon Rim

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

We decided to check out this area in between the monsoon rains. It was an easy descent into Barbershop canyon. The creek was flowing well, ranging from 3-15 inches deep, and 1-10 feet wide. There were well-defined use trails the entire way along the canyon, with numerous creek crossings necessary. There were wildflowers, butterflies, and birds chirping everywhere. Much of the canyon was carpeted in ferns. It was very peaceful. We saw no wildlife in the canyon other than the aforementioned butterflies and ferns, probably because of our voices.
We exited the canyon at the Barbershop trail, and followed the trail to Dane Canyon, which was completely dry. The original plan was to go a few miles up Dane Canyon, then loop back to the starting point, but the downpour and lightning started, and some of us were apprehensive about being in an unknown canyon during a monsoon, so we took Barbershop trail back to FR139C to our vehicle. We saw 2 elk while walking back on the road, and 6 more elk while driving out on FR139. Overall beautiful, peaceful experience, cut short by monsoon rains. Will be back.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Alpine Leafy-bracted Aster

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Elk Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly

Wildflowers Observation Substantial

	Barbershop Canyon Creek Upper	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Constant flow throughout the 2.5 mile stretch of canyon, 3-15 inches deep, 1-10 feet wide.

4 archives

Jun 04 2021

andrewp

Guides 3
Routes 13
Photos 231
Triplogs 15

male

Joined Sep 27 2020
Tucson, AZ

Cabin Loop de Loop, AZ

Backpack		Jun 04 2021
		andrewp • Triplogs 15

Backpack	36.45 Miles	4,620 AEG

Backpack	36.45 Miles	2 Days 21 Hrs 6 Mns
	4,620 ft AEG

Linked

7 linked trail guides

Houston Brothers Trail #171

Barbershop Canyon Upper

[ checklist ] Aspen Spring Barbershop Canyon Bill McClintock Draw Coyote Spring Dane Canyon Houston Draw Merritt Draw Mogollon Rim Pinchot Spring

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I came up with a combination on-trail / off-trail approach to the Cabin Loop area as I suspected that the real treasures of were in the canyons. I'm really happy I did it this way as the trails, while beautiful, didn't begin to show off what the area has to offer.

I wanted to do at least 3 days and knew that I wouldn't want to be making the 5 hour drive back to Tucson after a full day of hiking so I added a 4th day and made it purposefully short. This ended up being a smart move as the drive home was taxing enough on a Monday morning, so I can't imagine it on a Sunday night after a full day of hiking.

Day 1 - Pinchot Cabin to Coyote Spring
VERY early start from Tucson and took the back way up through Globe and along Roosevelt Lake rather than the route through Phoenix that Google really wanted me to take. Uneventful drive up, parked on FR139A at the Fred Haught trail intersection, and was ready to start hiking around 11am. Spent a few minutes at the Pinchot cabin and waited for another hiker to get going on the U-Bar trail so that we weren't right on top of each other. We ended up leapfrogging each other all day. Chatted a bit at Dane Spring... nice guy. Pointed him here as he was looking to abandon Alltrails app.

U-Bar trail starts out a bit ho-hum, but improves in terrain and scenery on the approach to Barbershop Canyon. Steep descent and climb out ended up being a workout that I wasn't expecting. Stopped in the canyon bottom for lunch and continued on to Dane Spring. I had originally planned on camping at Dane, but ended up continuing on as there was still some daylight to burn and there was already a group camped there.

Finished off the U-Bar trail and ended up making a campsite for myself on the hill above Coyote Spring. On the way down to the spring to get some water I found the skeletal remains of what appeared to be an elk and this was a little offputting. There only appeared to be remains of one animal so I assumed that this wasn't a popular dinner spot and hoped that I didn't have a visitor overnight. I didn't.

Day 2 - Coyote Spring > Merritt Draw > Camp Grasshopper #2 > Barbershop Canyon (upper-middle??)

Broke camp early and continued on Barbershop trail to Barbershop Spring where I refilled my bottles. After a bit of route finding I found FR139C which I followed a bit to a drainage that dropped into the head of Merritt Draw. Once into the draw I was treated to a really pleasant meadow walk for a mile or so. The riparian exclusion zones erected by the Forest Service appear to have gotten larger from those shown in previous photos and they take up almost the entire width of the draw. They also enclose the springs so pulling water with the current flow levels wasn't possible.

After the open meadow I continued on the abandoned FR9735P which is now a grade which is slowly going back to nature. This area is beautiful and it was interesting to watch the open meadow of Merritt Draw turn into a deep canyon. I continued walking the road around the nose of the ridge and to its intersection with FR139C. I stopped at Camp Grasshopper #2 for a quick lunch and then found the elk trail down the ridge into Barbershop Canyon. The trail was fairly easy to follow, but having the GPS track was definitely nice.

Where the elk trail dropped me, Barbershop was a deep and narrow drainage with a small, dry creek at the bottom. I started upstream in the creek bed and came to some pools within a few hundred yards. The water came and went for the rest of the journey. The canyon remained narrow with hardly any room for a consistent use trail and what little trail was there crossed the stream constantly. This area was beautiful and although there were a number of forest roads about 300ft above I felt like I was miles from civilization.

My intended stop for the night was one of the primitive campsites identified by @Grasshopper , but upon reaching the planned site I realized that it wasn't going to work for me. I was hammock camping and the tree arrangement was such that my hammock would have to span over the use trail. I imagined being awoken in the middle of the night by an elk colliding with me suspended in mid-air. I continued on and after a short distance the canyon opened up a bit and after about 1/2 mile I found an excellent spot on a high bench overlooking the stream.

Made camp, had some dinner, and hit the sack early.

Day 3 - Barbershop Canyon upstream to Rim > Houston Bros > Aspen Spring

I had been awake for about 15 minutes when a crash to my right alerted me to an incoming elk making her way down the ridge. She saw me (or my hammock) and froze. As I reached for my phone to get a photo she bolted back up the hill and from the sound of it she was stepping on every piece of downed wood she came upon!

Broke camp and headed up Barbershop Canyon with the intent of continuing all the way to the rim. This was the highlight of the trip by far as the upper section of Barbershop is absolutely beautiful. From my campsite this was an easy hike and once I reached the head of the canyon it was an easy walk across FR300 to take in the view off the edge of the rim. Spent some time here soaking it up and also took advantage of the cellular coverage to share the view with my wife via FaceTime.

Set off with the intent of following the General Crook trail to Houston Bros and although I was successful for a stretch I eventually lost the blazes and just hiked cross country in the approximate direction. I completely missed the trail and overshot it a bit then in backtracking got turned around. A quick check of GPS put me back on track, but it was an entertaining couple of minutes while I walked in circles.

The initial section of Houston Bros is quite pretty and the broadleaf trees in the drainages were a nice change from all of the pine and fir that I had been seeing for days. There were some good ups and downs in the first half of this trail and it was a bit more of a workout than I was expecting.

Once into Houston Draw the character changes and I was treated to alternating forest and meadow sections. This was easily one of the more enjoyable trail sections of the entire trip and I loved every minute of it. My intention was to camp at McFarland Spring, but after inspecting the area I decided that the area was too overgrown with too much deadfall to make for a pleasant evening.

I continued on and found an excellent site at Aspen Spring just east of the meadow in the side drainage. Nice site with some nice scenery. Setup camp, relaxed a bit, had some dinner, and then hit the sack.

Day 4 - Hike out and drive home

Very early start with a quick hike out to Pinchot cabin and my waiting truck. I was ready to hit the road a little after 8:30 and was very pleased that I had structured the trip this way. The drive home was long and tiring which was made worse by the closures due to the fire. Ended up taking AZ87 to the Bush Hwy and then picking up US60 in east Mesa and finally the straight line of AZ79 back to Oracle junction. Made it home by 1:30, which wasn't too bad at all.

Parting Thoughts

This was my first time in the area and I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. I knew that the trails were heavily forested and feared that the lack of views would get to be a drag after a while. That was absolutely the case and I'm so glad that I planned in the off-trail sections. If I had only done a trail hike I might not have a strong desire to go back, but after this experience I'll gladly make the drive again to explore more of the canyons.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Aspen Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Very light flow, but enough to create some shallow pools in drainage. MSR pump filter had no issues, but other methods might require some creativity.

	Barbershop canyon creek	Light flow	Light flow
	Fair amount of water at the U-Bar trail crossing. Light flow with large pools.

	Barbershop Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Very, very shallow trickle with some small pools. Was able to draw with my MSR filter, but other filters would have trouble. Nearby Barbershop Canyon had large pools and light flow.

	Coyote Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Hard to tell actual flow as it's just a large pool with a trickle down slope. Water was crystal clear which suggests a reasonably consistent flow.

	Dane Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Strong flow. Easily qt/min, probably more.

	Houston Draw Head	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Light flow but created fair amount of surface water in drainage.

	McFarland Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Good flow with pools to draw from

	Pinchot Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Good flow. Lots of pools downstream

7 archives

Aug 10 2020

chumley

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

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Barber Merritt, AZ

Hiking		Aug 10 2020
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	7.48 Miles	600 AEG

Hiking	7.48 Miles	3 Hrs 45 Mns	2.16 mph
	600 ft AEG	17 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

8 linked trail guides

Merritt - Barbershop Short Loop

Merritt Draw Loop (Lower) - Mogollon Rim

Barbershop Canyon Upper

Merritt Draw

Merritt Draw Loop (Mid-Lower) - Mogollon Rim

Camp Grasshopper - Mogollon Rim-C/Site#3

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dyellab

John9L

God help anybody who doesn't have a masters degree in Hazology to figure out where they've hiked here. Is it Merritt Draw Loop Lower or Merritt Draw Loop Mid-Lower? Or maybe just Merritt Draw? Is it a riparian area?

It's a good thing I didn't look these things up ahead of time or I'd still be trying to figure them out and missed out on the hiking altogether!

Kudos to @oregon_hiker who descended into Barbershop directly from Camp Grasshopper Mogollon Rim-C/Site#3 (don't worry, I linked that one too!). That's a steep and sketchy descent. One and done for that approach, thanks!

The canyon is pretty dry. Plenty of water, but not continual. We took a break at the U-Bar junction before heading up Merritt Draw (Lower?). There was no water in Merritt for the first mile but slowly more pools appeared which was great for Roshi to swim and cool off on what was a slightly warm day up there. Still beats the valley.

It was nice to cruise on the closed-to-driving road 9735P after miles of rock hopping in the canyon bottoms. It's nice to explore these drainages, and I don't think I had done this stretch before.

[I edited the 4,177 feet of gain that apparently I recorded

]

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Unknown VV Triangle Marker

_____________________

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

1 archive

May 20 2018

MountainMatt

Guides 3
Routes 202
Photos 3,513
Triplogs 530

male

Joined Jan 24 2016
Arizona

Payson, AZ

Hiking		May 20 2018
		MountainMatt • Triplogs 530

Hiking	5.38 Miles	527 AEG

Hiking	5.38 Miles	2 Hrs 14 Mns		2.43 mph
	527 ft AEG	1 Min Break	25 LBS Pack

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I wanted to dive into one last canyon before I headed home and since last Saturday was so successful here I’d figured I would check out the section above from where I dropped in.

I can’t even begin to count how many elk I came across in the few hours, easily over 20 dead and alive.

Barbershop really is my favorite out of the many paralleling canyons I’ve checked out lately, now I just need to spend an overnighter here already and actually take some photos.

Great evening of isolation making it back to the truck just before complete darkness around 7:45pm.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Barbershop canyon creek	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	No shortage of gracious pools and slow flowing water in some spots.

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Jul 15 2017

arizona_water

Guides 9
Routes 118
Photos 1,079
Triplogs 118

35 male

Joined Mar 06 2016
Salt River Valle

Barbershop and Dane Loop from FR 321, AZ

Hiking		Jul 15 2017
		arizona_water • Triplogs 118

Hiking	3.55 Miles	514 AEG

Hiking	3.55 Miles
	514 ft AEG

Linked

linked

Barb Shop Cyn - Dane Cyn Loop fm FR139C End

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This section of Barbershop Canyon is really nice. After reading Joe and Bruce's descriptions of this area, I chose to make a short loop approaching from Dane Canyon. Getting down into Dane is pretty straight forward. The first few hundred meters are a little dull, but once you enter the confluence with Barbershop it quickly becomes clear that this is a rewarding hike through a unique part of the Rim.

Dane Canyon had a trickle of water flow and multiple pools. Barbershop was flowing well. The sound of the water was mesmerizing. There are few things that calm the desert soul like a steady sandstone stream.

In Barbershop, there are clear game trails that stop and start along the banks. Bushwhacking is fairly minimal. However, there are still a couple mandatory crossings. Exiting Barbershop was a little steep, but I had identified a break in the Coconino Sandstone as my exit route and I stuck with it. The first 350ft of climbing was the most challenging. The incline soon relented, and I enjoyed the views over the canyon.

Another item to note, FR321 has recently been graded and was in pretty good condition (still some sharp rocks in the middle of the road).

	Barbershop canyon creek	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Lots of flowing water that you can hear up to 1/2 mile away.

Dane Canyon

Pools to trickle

_____________________

- there's nothing like finding Water in the Desert -

7 archives

Jun 27 2015

OdinWiski

Photos 2,351
Triplogs 99

53 male

Joined Jan 31 2015
Chandler, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Jun 27 2015
		OdinWiski • Triplogs 99

Hiking	7.70 Miles	1,512 AEG

Hiking	7.70 Miles	5 Hrs 35 Mns	1.62 mph
	1,512 ft AEG	50 Mns Break

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Another lush beautiful canyon! We started off around noon from Campsite 2 on FR139C. Continued on FR139C until it started dropping down into the canyon. It was very lush and very green down in the canyon and the water was nice! For the last two hours in the canyon we were caught in the hail storm. Had to keep going because it didn't look like it would pass anytime soon and the risk of flash flood was there. Of course the thunders and lightning. It was strange to feel cold in the hot summer

Had to keep going to generate enough heat to not feel cold. A great and epic little hike!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bracken Fern New Mexico Locust Western Wallflower

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Jun 14 2014

JoelHazelton

Guides 16
Routes 11
Photos 1,006
Triplogs 410

39 male

Joined Mar 22 2006
Phoenix, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Jun 14 2014
		JoelHazelton • Triplogs 410

Hiking	4.00 Miles	400 AEG

Hiking	4.00 Miles	2 Hrs	2.00 mph
	400 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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No loop- Just out and back in Barbershop Canyon from the FR139 crossing.

On Friday night, Kristen, Cholla and I car camped next to the Barbershop Trail with the intent of backpacking into Barbershop Canyon the next day. Saturday morning after packing up, Kristen realized she forgot her hiking boots :doh:

. Reminds me of a certain someone on this site... I'll keep him nameless, though since he's so involved with some brewery nowadays he probably wouldn't see this anyhow

A trip to the Payson Walmart and 2+ hours later and we're ready to start hiking! Barbershop Spring was bone dry... Even the mud had formed into hard, cracked dirt. We reached Barbershop Canyon at a nice stagnant pool. Wet mud and vegetation on the perimeter of the pool suggested water levels should be about 2 feet higher. We headed downstream past several stagnant pools with not so much as a trickle anywhere else. This isn't quite what I expected and I think the exceedingly dry winter had a bad effect on this canyon. Those who have spent time here can correct me if I'm wrong. Either way, after about 1.5 miles of dryish canyon I decided I wanted a more enjoyable perennial water source to hike and camp next to. It was still early in the afternoon and we had time to change plans and still have an enjoyable trip. From there we hiked back out, threw our stuff in my car and drove to Woods Canyon, which will be the next triplog...

_____________________

"Arizona is the land of contrast... You can go from Minnesota to California in a matter of minutes, then have Mexican food that night." -Jack Dykinga

http://www.joelhazelton.com

Jun 13 2013

Guides 48
Routes 510
Photos 9,555
Triplogs 578

79 male

Joined Dec 28 2006
Scottsdale, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Jun 13 2013
		Grasshopper • Triplogs 578

Hiking	5.00 Miles	629 AEG

Hiking	5.00 Miles	3 Hrs 40 Mns	1.88 mph
	629 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

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The last time I day hiked this two mile off-trail section of Upper Barbershop Canyon to its intersection with Barbershop Trail #91 was with GPSjoe in September, 2010. It was good to finally be back for a revisit. It did not disappoint in Sept'10 and neither did it this revisit

This June 13th loop hike was a deviation from the original hike description write-up further explained in the "information notes" section of my posted 6/13 GPS Route.

This visit I wanted to further document via photos and way point locations for all others qualified and interested, the possible and recommended overnight backpack campsite locations within this two mile section of Upper Barbershop Canyon. I located two to three possible backpack campsites that I would recommend. These campsite locations with views of and associated pic captions are documented in my geocoded picset with reference way points/comments also noted on my posted GPS Route (hiking up canyon, these two recommended backpack campsites are at elevations of 7336ft and 7424ft respectively).

While hiking this lush green with seasonal/perennial water flow and pooling sections of Upper Barbershop Canyon, I noticed a significant amount of deer and elk activity via well worn use routes, droppings, and I also noticed more alcoves and minor cave areas up into the cliff walls. This canyon surely must be a very active early morning and evening/night mecca for wildlife and thus one of the reasons why I feel it would be an awesome location to spend the night. I can visualize waking up in the early morning and seeing : rein :

outside my tent. I'm not sure what else might roam around from inside the numerous alcoves and caves :lol:

This has been mentioned before by others, but I might repeat that for those who have exhausted hiking the standard Cabin Loop Trails in this area, that Barbershop and Dane Canyons should offer a pleasant off-trail minor challenge alternative for those qualified. In my opinion, Upper Barbershop Canyon (between U-Bar TR 28 & Barbershop TR 91) is a good choice for either day hiking or backpacking. Dane Canyon (between U-Bar 28 & Barbershop TR 91), the "center" section up canyon from Dane Spring being better for day hiking or backpacking with the "lower end" and "upper end" of Dane Canyon being better suited for day hiking.

Wildflowers Observation Light

_____________________

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

Aug 24 2012

Oregon_Hiker

Guides 9
Routes 473
Photos 8,433
Triplogs 626

79 male

Joined Dec 07 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 24 2012
		Oregon_Hiker • Triplogs 626

Hiking	5.90 Miles	586 AEG

Hiking	5.90 Miles
	586 ft AEG		15 LBS Pack

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Merritt Draw Loop (Mid-Lower) - Mogollon Rim

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This is a shortened version of the Barbershop Cyn Upper Loop. I started from Camp Grasshopper on FR139C on the north rim of the canyon after having a hearty breakfast of chorizo burittos at the Grasshopper suite. I dropped down into the canyon at an entry location identifed on Grasshopper's GPS track for the "Barbershop Cyn & Dane Cyn" hike. The canyon wall is steep in this section but Grasshopper's track takes advantage of a well traveled elk trail to lead you to the bottom without mishap. The canyon bottom was lush with grass and ferns and was easy hiking on the elk trails along the creek bank. I tried to be quiet as I hiked up the canyon hoping to see some elk but failed to see any interesting critters. For some reason I see more elk when driving than when hiking.

I followed the canyon up to the Barbershop trail and then took the trail to FR139. I was beginning to psyche myself up for the 3 mile hike on the road back to camp when I heard the characteristic growl of Grasshopper's jeep. This was supposed to be one of his down days when he relaxes around camp but his idea of relaxing was to go fill a deep road pothole with rocks. I was more than happy to catch a ride back to camp since the monsoon clouds were beginning to threaten. Shortly after we arrived back at camp Trish Kabob showed up bringing the rains with her. This was my first up close experience with AZ monsoon rain - Wow! It was like standing under a waterfall. I crawled into the back of my FJ and waited for it to end which it did about 30 minutes later just in time for dinner at Camp Grasshopper.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] HAZ Rides

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Barbershop Canyon

_____________________

Aug 12 2012

nonot

Guides 107
Routes 249
Photos 2,067
Triplogs 514

male

Joined Nov 18 2005
Phoenix, AZ

BarbershopCynMerritDrawLoop, AZ

Hiking		Aug 12 2012
		nonot • Triplogs 514

Hiking	13.50 Miles	1,250 AEG

Hiking	13.50 Miles	6 Hrs 30 Mns	2.08 mph
	1,250 ft AEG

Linked

9 linked trail guides

Merritt Draw Loop (Lower) - Mogollon Rim

Merritt Draw Riparian Area - Mogollon Rim

Merritt Draw Upper Loop - Mogollon Rim

[ checklist ] Richardsons Geranium Western Wallflower - Orange Yellow Coneflower

Barbershop Canyon Upper

Partners

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Parked along the Barbershop trail and headed down into Barbershop Canyon. Down Barbershop Canyon is initially easy, with good elk trails on benches. After awhile the going gets a bit tougher, but Barbershop Canyon is wonderful, with plenty of flowers, intermittent water, and two impressive springs along the way.

With monsoons clouds forming at the time I started the hike, it wasn't surprising I got rained on. After getting a bit wet, I finally found a spot out of the rain to wait out the second half. Thoroughly wet, I continued down the last part of Barbershop, where the elk trails got much better, and found the Ubar intersection.

Barbershop canyon is a true gem on the rim, probably the best hike anywhere in the area.

I went up Merritt Draw, which initially wasn't too bad but quickly required scrambling, bushwhacking, and crawling over many, many downed trees. After awhile of this the elk trails began to improve and I headed up the draw at twice the speed. Reaching Hank's "best entry point", I surprised two elk. One of the elk spotted me and ran away. The other elk didn't see me, but panicked when the other ran.

The elk happened to end up running right at me, not having spotted me. This was good and bad - the bad part was that I had 600 pounds of animal barreling right at me at 15 mph and about 1.5 seconds to react. What to do? Dive behind the tree! While moving, grab the camera, fire off a shot! I haven't checked, but I think I go it!

The rest of the trip wasn't as eventful, I used an elk trail to bypass a portion when I wasn't having any fun climbing over tree after tree and bushwhacking. I think I skipped about a quarter mile. The upper part of Merritt Draw has lots of fences to keep the elk out.

It was pleasant walking through the vast meadows of Merritt Draw. This part is an easy hike that anybody can do, and it goes on for quite a ways. Lots of flowers and green fields. Very nice indeed!

I continued all the way to the top of the draw, cross country to find the trail, and crossed through Barbershop canyon again to finish the loop.

Spring reports - the springs in Barbershop were flowing quite well. They are amazing, but not on the map!

Couldn't tell with the Merritt Draw springs - too many fences in the way.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Elk

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Maverick Canyon Merritt Draw

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

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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!

Jul 30 2011

Felecia

Triplogs 14

47 female

Joined Jun 05 2007
Fountain Hills

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 30 2011
		Felecia • Triplogs 14

Hiking	7.80 Miles	1,325 AEG

Hiking	7.80 Miles
	1,325 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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Partners

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HAZ - Event

G Maurice

te_wa

Great weather! Just a couple small showers to keep it nice and cool - never have I seen SO many butterflies, there was at least one for every flower (and lots of flowers)! Best rim country hike of the season!

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Jul 30 2011

hikeaz

Guides 6
Photos 346
Triplogs 225

69 male

Joined May 13 2002
Tempe, AZ

Payson, AZ

Backpack		Jul 30 2011
		hikeaz • Triplogs 225

Backpack	7.70 Miles	1,512 AEG

Backpack	7.70 Miles	1 Day
	1,512 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

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Partners

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As an adaptation of this route we started at the Barbershop T/H on FR139 and headed east on the Barbershop Trail. Upon reaching the U-Bar Trail we headed north on it until its intersection with Barbershop Canyon - we camped there. Note: plenty off mudbugs and even a few trout in the pool here - good place for a dip on a warm day, too.

We then headed up Barbershop Canyon back to where the Barbershop Trail crosses it, following the Barbershop trail back to our vehicles.
I'd guess-ti-mate that the trail sections of this hike total about 7 miles and the off-trail-but-easy Barbershop Canyon section is about 6.25 from the U-bar Trail crossing up to the Barbershop Trail crossing.

Notes: Gobs of water everywhere, although there were portions in Barbershop Canyon where it was dry - but keep hiking and the water will again appear. There are also at least two large springs entering Barbershop Canyon from creek right - one even has a beautiful waterfall.
Dane Spring STILL has some of the best water that I've ever tasted!

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

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"The censorship method ... is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient."
George Bernard Shaw

Jul 14 2011

Guides 48
Routes 510
Photos 9,555
Triplogs 578

79 male

Joined Dec 28 2006
Scottsdale, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 14 2011
		Grasshopper • Triplogs 578

Hiking	7.70 Miles	1,512 AEG

Hiking	7.70 Miles	6 Hrs 10 Mns	1.81 mph
	1,512 ft AEG	1 Hour 55 Mns Break

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no partners

Last September'10 from this hikes same TH Start, I was able to locate a good off trail route down to enter Barbershop Canyon to hike the 2.1 mile distance up canyon to where it intersects Barbershop Trail 91. We called this HAZ hike description "Barbershop Cyn & Dane Cyn".

My plan this July'11 trip was to research and hike a mostly off trail loop which would start from the same TH Start to include the 4.4 mile section of upper Barbershop Canyon from where I entered Barbershop Cyn on my Sept'10 trip to where it intersects the U-Bar Trail 28. We now call this new HAZ hike description "Barbershop Cyn Upper Loop". This new loop turned-out to be a very pleasant route covering a quiet, easy, and scenic 2.6 mile hiking section of FR139C to its road end before reaching an off trail route finding section for ~350ft downhill to intersect U-Bar Tr 28/Barbershop Canyon.

As my picset with captions hopefully confirms, this 4.4 mile mostly easy to navigate off trail upper section of Barbershop Canyon 7k'to 7.3k' (following existing Deer/Elk use trails and needing to cross the sometimes flowing creek numerous times and dodging a few downed trees), during our summer monsoon months June-Sept offers a remote, lush green landscape of various flora including lots of ferns, wildflowers, and butterflies. Never thought I could fatigue of such, but honestly the last 1.5mls of this 4.4 mile section I was ready for it to end.. I think so much lush green for 6 hours straight was starting to play with my mind :lol:

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Yellow Coneflower

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Crayfish Mormon Fritillary Butterfly

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cairn Route - finding Labels Trash Hauled Out

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

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

Jul 13 2011

Guides 48
Routes 510
Photos 9,555
Triplogs 578

79 male

Joined Dec 28 2006
Scottsdale, AZ

Payson, AZ

Car Camping		Jul 13 2011
		Grasshopper • Triplogs 578

Car Camping

Car Camping		6 Days

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