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| Hiking | 17.34 Miles |
3,905 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.34 Miles | 8 Hrs 31 Mns | | 2.20 mph |
| 3,905 ft AEG | 38 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Made some variations to a Mingus loop I had done a few years ago to include more trail portions and less road walk.
Drive: From 89A a few miles south of Jerome, we headed east on FR-338. It's easy to spot the road, as it's directly across the highway from the big Prescott National Forest sign. We drove a little over half a mile on 338 and parked just east of Mescal Spring. The road is definitely medium clearance required, and 2wd is okay when dry, but is rocky in a few places.
Hike: We started the hike from Mescal Spring, and continued walking up FR-338. It starts gaining elevation right off the bat, but is a pleasant, shaded road walk. Passed a few old mines.
North Mingus 105. This one might be my favorite trail of the day. We wound our way uphill through ponderosa, juniper, oak, and maple. The trail is well defined, although brush encroaches in a few places. The only drawback was lots of gnats. It's a steady uphill climb, getting a little steeper as it approaches the top.
At the top, we walked across some forest roads and made our way over to the top of Gaddes Canyon 110 trail. The road walk is easy, views to the east are great. Saw a few cars parked up there, but not many.
Gaddes Canyon 110. Headed south down Gaddes, seeing three hikers--the only other hikers we saw all day. The trail gets steeper as it heads down into Gaddes Canyon.
Gaddes Canyon Two 9037. This one might be my second favorite trail of the day. It's a nice hike down the canyon. Lots of water and trees, but was warm. We saw one deer while taking a break for lunch. It watched us the entire time, but seemed to not mind our presence.
FR-213. At the bottom terminus of Gaddes Two, we took FR-213 east for half a mile to the start of Coleman. The road immediately starts regaining the elevation we lost in Gaddes Canyon.
Coleman 108. This was a new one to me so I wasn't sure what to expect. We headed north from the road, climbing back up to the top of the mountain. The southern end of the trail was steep, but in good condition. I stepped over one bull snake that refused to yield the trail. Once up top, the incline became more gradual, eventually flattening out, but the trail became a lot rockier. I preferred the steeper sections. Hot. Saw one bear print. After Coleman, some more road walk over to the start of View Point 106.
View Point 106. Headed east from the parking area. Very steep downhill. Very steep. Lots of loose rock and dirt. I was happy to be carrying poles. The less steep sections were quite nice. Excellent views, as the name suggests. Saw some horned lizards.
Mingus 105A. Took that west from View Point to reconnect to North Mingus at the saddle. Short trail, but I like it. Shade and trees. The uphill going this direction is reasonably gradual.
From the saddle, we took North Mingus and FR-338 back down to where we had parked. Going downhill seemed a little rockier than going uphill in the morning. Nice to get some stretches of shade. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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| Stop crying and just go do the hike. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
Moist from recent rain, otherwise appears dry
. This one had a little overlap with a Mingus route we hiked two years ago 
