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Black Hills Rockhound Trail - 2 members in 37 triplogs have rated this an average 4 ( 1 to 5 best )
1, 2  Next
37 triplogs
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Jan 19 2025
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 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Jan 19 2025
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking3.00 Miles 200 AEG
Hiking3.00 Miles
200 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Parked at the corrals.
Off trail up to the ryolite formations.
Over to the rockhound collecting area.
Back to the corals.
1 hour stop on the way home for some evening saffordite collecting.
All with Lauren Jean
:D
_____________________
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Nov 22 2024
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 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Nov 22 2024
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking4.00 Miles 350 AEG
Hiking4.00 Miles
350 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Off-trail figure 8
Always scenic out there!
:D
_____________________
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Oct 06 2023
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 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Oct 06 2023
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking3.00 Miles 250 AEG
Hiking3.00 Miles
250 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Always a favorite area to explore!
No rock collecting on this day, just a little loop hike.
:)
_____________________
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Dec 16 2022
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Dec 16 2022
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking4.50 Miles 350 AEG
Hiking4.50 Miles
350 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Afternoon trip.
Been looking up at the hills on the southern section of the rockhound area for years ... finally got my butt up there and hiked around.
What a great area!
Saw some new expansive views, alcoves, big raptor nests, canyons and some classic desert terrain.
Will do this again to explore more in the future.
Also got a little flashlight rockhounding done after dark.
Good trip
:D
_____________________
https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/
 
Oct 04 2022
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Back Country BywayTucson, AZ
Black Hills Back Country Byway
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Oct 04 2022
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking3.00 Miles 300 AEG
Hiking3.00 Miles
300 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Owl Creek Campground and Trail
San Francisco River View
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Partners partners
AddSanz
Woke up to a surprising steady rain over the Gila Valley. We agreed that our planned mountain hike was gonna be a no-go. We quickly came up with a plan B for just a scenic drive along the Black Hills Byway and hope for a weather break for maybe a short hike. Steady rain as we got on the old Safford/Clifton Hwy.

Byway - A little of a butt pucker driving this old narrow dirt road in the rain with the mild flooding and big drop offs. We stopped for a bit at the big picnic overlook with temps at a cold 58. As we rounded the mountains to the other side the rain started to let up. A few more stops on the back end at the Old Safford Bridge, Gila River, Owl Campground and several overlooks ... this area is always very scenic! At the end of the 21 mile road, we hung a left and headed to Clifton.

San Francisco River - A stop in town and some directions had us on the San Francisco road for the river/canyon views. Wow, can't believe I've never drove this road before. What a spectacular scenic canyon this was. I think I have a new favorite area to explore in the future ... it just blew me away! We parked at a rest stop with the rain now stopped and hiked down to the river to poke around a bit.

Rockhound Trail - Back out of Clifton and on the way home we made a quick stop out at the rockhound area to look for fire agate. Just a couple of pieces found to take home.

With the morning/early afternoon rain I thought our day would end up not being much, turned out to be one of my favorite day trips ever with AddSanz ... Thx buddy!
:D
_____________________
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Aug 20 2022
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Aug 20 2022
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking5.00 Miles 350 AEG
Hiking5.00 Miles
350 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
A rare summertime visit out to the Black Hills courtesy of the 25 degree temp drop the overnight storms brought.
Parked about half way down the rockhound area road and just freestyled it across the desert.
Always a very scenic & unique area now looking more like the Green Hills then the Black Hills.
Only negative was the insane amount of skeeters. I had on more bug dope then ever, but still took an uncomfortable amount of hits.
Overcast most of the trip, but with a few breaks in the sky showing blue ... very humid throughout.
Half way into my hike I had to one hole up my belt from all the rocks I was collecting into my cargo pockets.
Found lots of good chalcedony, fire agate & saffordite crystals!
My stay ended with a great sunset 7/10 and I shall be right back in them there Black Hills come fall & winter.
:D
_____________________
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Nov 09 2021
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Haekel Road, AZ 
Haekel Road, AZ
 
Hiking avatar Nov 09 2021
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking2.00 Miles 100 AEG
Hiking2.00 Miles
100 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
Linked   linked  
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Partners none no partners
2 locations, 2 short hikes at sunset & after dark.
:)
_____________________
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Oct 02 2021
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Oct 02 2021
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking5.00 Miles 150 AEG
Hiking5.00 Miles
150 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Parked half way down the road and hiked in.
Collected fire agate, chalcedony & geodes.
It was good to hike & rockhound the open desert again, a tad warm, but good.
:D
_____________________
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Mar 30 2020
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Greenlee Black Hills, AZ 
Greenlee Black Hills, AZ
 
Hiking avatar Mar 30 2020
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking3.00 Miles 300 AEG
Hiking3.00 Miles
300 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
Linked   linked  
Guthrie Peak
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Black Hills Back Country Byway
Partners none no partners
Plan was to drive up to Clifton and slowly make my way back to Safford for the day.
Arrived at Clifton to an almost completely shut down town, only Circle K was open.
Walked around the historic Chase Creek District then headed back.
Stopped along the Byway and off-trailed down and across several wildflower fields.
Next stop was at Guthrie Peak, not nearly as many poppies as 2 weeks ago, but still many.
Quick stop at the Rockhound area, not much going on in this area.
Back home to Safford at sunset.
Enjoyable road trip day!
:D
_____________________
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Mar 17 2020
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills, AZ 
Black Hills, AZ
 
Hiking avatar Mar 17 2020
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking3.50 Miles 200 AEG
Hiking3.50 Miles
200 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
Linked   linked  
Guthrie Peak
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Gila Box RNCA
Cottonwood Trail - Gila Box RNCA
Riverview Campground-Gila Box RNCA
Partners none no partners
Overnight road/hiking/camping trip into Graham/Greenlee county's Black Hills.
First stop Guthrie Peak - Covered in poppies, quite the sight, many people pulled over along 191 taking pics.
Rockhound Area - Not as many poppies as Guthrie, but still many big patches.
Gila Box - Lots of wildflowers starting along the road in.
Cottonwood Trail - Many wildflowers throughout.
Riverview - Home for the night, site #5 was my choice. Campsites were all full of wildflowers.
The Gila River down below was flowing strong with chocolate color water and overflowing in many places.
Excellent poppy show this year, good amount of wildflowers in Gila Box and lots of green coming in ..... and it's only gonna get better!
:D
_____________________
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Mar 09 2020
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Mar 09 2020
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking3.00 Miles 350 AEG
Hiking3.00 Miles
350 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Gila Box RNCA
Bonita Creek Watchable Wildlife Area
Bonita Creek
Riverview Campground-Gila Box RNCA
Partners none no partners
Off-trail across The Black Hills. Chased 10 deer ... cool!
Hiked around Riverview, Serna Cabin & the Watchable Platform at Gila Box.
Ended with a short one up Bonita Creek.
Sat on a perch over the Gila River for coffee & sunset.
Good trip today!
:D
_____________________
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Jan 20 2020
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Jan 20 2020
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking3.75 Miles 350 AEG
Hiking3.75 Miles
350 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Loop hike across the desert east of the rockhound area.
Lots of formations & area not before seen.
Mostly overcast and a bit windy.
1 hour coffee/r&r break under a lone juniper.
There is nothing quite like the Black Hills of SE AZ ... Beautiful as always!
Lone jack, several screaming hawks & many cows were the wildlife on this one.
I shall return ...
:D
_____________________
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Nov 12 2018
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Nov 12 2018
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking3.00 Miles 350 AEG
Hiking3.00 Miles
350 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Absolutely love this time of the year!
Temps are perfect now for open desert hiking.
Black Hills always a scenic favorite - I enjoyed a little hiking, rockhounding, car camping & photography.
60 degrees all day was nice, but the constant wind gusts were a little annoying.
Met a cool hippie girl with her dogs along the Rockhound Trail, other than that I had the whole area to myself.
I saw more scardey cows then fricknaley could count on his hands, cottontails & jacks darting bush to bush, butterflies & grasshoppers were plentiful and there was still a good showing of yellow sunflowers spread out along the way.
Great trip!
Black Hills Rock
_____________________
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Feb 25 2018
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Rockhounding avatar Feb 25 2018
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Rockhounding3.00 Miles 350 AEG
Rockhounding3.00 Miles
350 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Black Hills Back Country Byway
Partners none no partners
Perfect day for collecting pretty rocks!
Sunny day with low temps and the always amazing scenic Black Hills.
Looped the trail and along the way I found a few geodes, tons of chalcedony & some new finds that I'm still trying to identify in my field guides. The main draw of the area is Fire Agate which I found plenty, nothing gem quality, but a couple of shelf display pieces and a ziplock bag full of rough that will go into the cactus garden for the neighborhood to view.
During my visit I met a few (hardcore) rockhounders in the field and let me just say ... these rock people are a very different & unique breed! :lol:
Black Hills Rock!
:D
_____________________
https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/
  1 archive
Nov 20 2016
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Nov 20 2016
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking4.20 Miles 415 AEG
Hiking4.20 Miles
415 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Very scenic drive in today with semi-overcast clouds above.
Parked at the collecting field and hiked the old 4x4 road clockwise completing the lasso loop.
I then off-trailed to North Tank and back around to the start.
I always have the batteries fully charged & an extra SD card when in the Black Hills.
This is one of my all-time favorite places to photograph in Graham County.
The desert, hills, rhyolite formations, twin buttes, tanks, flora & fauna to me are just spectacular !!!
Spent the last hour hunting Fire Agate and came home with a pocket full of rocks.
:D

water 1 out of 5water 2 out of 5water less than maxwater less than max North Tank 26-50% full 26-50% full
_____________________
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Mar 13 2016
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Mar 13 2016
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking3.15 Miles 400 AEG
Hiking3.15 Miles
400 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Drove out to the Black Hills in search of poppies, fire agate & photo ops.
Poppies - Bad year as expected, still there were a few here and there.
Fire Agate - Found lots of agate, but not much of the fire that I like to collect.
Photo ops - For myself, one of the most scenic areas in all of Graham county! Lots of images today.

Perfect weather.
As many people as I've ever seen also out in the area camping, rockhounding & hiking.
Lots of wildflowers in and coming in, should look amazing in the next few weeks.
A return trip will be upcoming.
:D
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Moderate
A few poppies here and there, lots of everything else especially globemallow.
_____________________
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Mar 03 2015
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Mar 03 2015
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking5.10 Miles 750 AEG
Hiking5.10 Miles
750 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Black Hills Back Country Byway
Partners none no partners
My annual Black Hills poppy hunt.
First hit up the Guthrie Peak area, None :o
Second up was the Black Hills Rockhound area. Lots of good patches, but nothing like years past :-k
I completed the lasso loop with some off-trail across the foothills to also hunt for fire agate, found a couple of lower shelf pieces.
Last up was a scenic drive up the Byway. Again some good patches of poppies, but not blanketing the hills like in years past. I left the Black Hills a little disappointed, but satisfied! Where the poppies were lacking was very made up by the many other wildflowers that have come up this year, quite a rainbow of colors out there.
And of course the landscape scenery of the hills alone was worth the trip out!
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Moderate
_____________________
https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/
 
Jan 13 2015
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Guthrie Peak LoopTucson, AZ
Guthrie Peak Loop
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Jan 13 2015
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking11.25 Miles 2,215 AEG
Hiking11.25 Miles
2,215 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Partners partners
AddSanz
Another Tuesday, another great day well spent with Addie on our day off!

We started with an early chilly clockwise loop hike up and around Guthrie Peak.
Arrived on top to mostly clear skies that quickly turned nasty & cold when fast low flying clouds engulfed the entire peak. The endless 360 degree views we came for were gone and it became a quick decent to get out of the very cold overcast.
Rest of the hike down (and up) was very scenic, these SE AZ Black Hills are quite unique.

From Guthrie, we traveled a few miles down the Highway to the Black Hills Rockhound Area and completed the lasso loop trail followed by an hour of Fire Agate hunting.

Fun trails, many laughs & a pocket full of rocks = :D
_____________________
https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/
 
Jan 13 2015
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Rockhound TrailTucson, AZ
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Tucson, AZ
Rockhounding avatar Jan 13 2015
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Rockhounding
Rockhounding   1 Hour      0.00 mph
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
AddSanz
After mine & Addie's Guthrie Peak hike,
We spent a couple of hours at the rockhound area hiking & hounding.
Collected a bag of chalcedony for flower pots and found a few decent pieces of fire agate to bring home.
_____________________
https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/
 
Jul 28 2014
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Black Hills Back Country BywayTucson, AZ
Black Hills Back Country Byway
Tucson, AZ
Scenic Drive avatar Jul 28 2014
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Scenic Drive21.00 Miles 1,800 AEG
Scenic Drive21.00 Miles
1,800 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Black Hills Rockhound Trail
Partners none no partners
Picked up Lauren and together we traveled out to one of my favorite areas of Graham County.
I had no real plan for the scenic Black Hills area this evening as we drove out and just winged it upon arrival. We first drove up the byway stopping at a few places including the Twin C Ranch overlook, cinder mine and a couple of the canyon overlooks. Had a very fun photo session with a few of the resident byway horses and a exciting shoot with a black-tailed rattlesnake!
We then turned around and traveled back to 191 and up to the back entrance of the rockhound collecting area. The 2 mile drive in to the collecting field always has been & always will be one of my favorite scenes in the Gila valley, I just love it!
We then hiked a short ways up the rockhound trail where I found a couple of very nice fire agate pieces for my friend to start her collection. The evening ended with a classic Black Hills sunset and a feeling of wanting to come right back out to this awesome area soon!
_____________________
https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/
 
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