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| | | Pbar - Grant - Paradise Lolly, AZ | | | |
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Pbar - Grant - Paradise Lolly, AZ
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| Hiking | 11.12 Miles |
2,526 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.12 Miles | 7 Hrs 34 Mns | | 1.58 mph |
| 2,526 ft AEG | 31 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | I'm not ready for my hiking season to wind down, but getting to the higher elevations definitely makes things more challenging. Taking advantage of the long weekend to get further afield seemed like a good idea...the difficulty being selecting a location that wouldn't be overrun with others. Was glad for the invitation to join J for a trip to the eastern ranges - an area that I've spent very little time in, even when I was hiking more extensively.
We set out the previous day on the long drive to take us to our destination. The drive was timed to allow us to find and set camp before the sun went down - which also allowed us to drive 191 during daylight hours, gaining us much better visibility in case of large wildlife on the road. We saw numerous deer on the drive in, and a few other vehicles. While there were others camped in the area, we were able to find a nice spot off one of the forest roads to settle for the night. Upon our arrival, we were greeted with the gobble-gobble of wild turkeys in the distance. The turkeys kept up their serenade while we set up camp, then another bird took over for a bit while we quickly ate dinner as the temps started to drop with the sun having gone down and a night-time breeze picking up.
The next morning, we got up and struck camp - temps were anticipated to have dropped to the high 30s overnight, but things warmed up fast in the sun. Once everything was packed, we headed over to the trailhead and started our uphill climb towards PBar "Lake". The trail was easy going, though surprisingly dusty. To my eye, the lake much more resembles a pond...it's a shallow depression in a clearing amidst the pines with no obvious inlet or outlet - though today, it's completely dry. After a brief stop to get clippers out, we started the descent along the Grant Creek Trail.
Heading down the Grant Creek Trail, it was obvious that someone has done some maintenance. The locust and raspberries have moved in to take advantage of the full sun on the slopes - the trail is currently passable with some light contact, but as the season progresses, I suspect it will quickly get swallowed. Keep an eye out for poison ivy as you contour around a small drainage just below the switchbacks as you get close to the junction with the Grant Cabin Shortcut. When we passed over the drainage, there was a little bit of water flowing, with plenty of bees and butterflies enjoying the shallow pools.
When we hit the junction for the Grant Cabin shortcut, we decided to do the loop of the lollipop counterclockwise to break up our climb on exit - I was feeling the altitude on the small climb up to PBar Lake, and the idea of doing all the elevation from the Creek out was not pleasant. Lost track of the trail in one section on our way down, but was able to pick it up again in short order. Made it to the creek, where we were greeted by the neighborhood welcome committee (cows). We wandered upcanyon a bit to have a quick look at Grant Cabin - the surrounding area shows lots of evidence of bovine habitation (lots of fresh cow patties complete with loads of flies), and the area immediately adjacent to the cabin has evidence of inconsiderate human visitors by way of abandoned waterbottles and other trash 
After another quick break, we continued onward, along side the burbling Grant Creek. It wasn't long until we came to the post (missing the sign) marking the junction with the Paradise Trail. Knowing that things were going to get warm on the ascent, we both dipped our towels in the creek to help keep cool and started climbing. The initial climb out from Grant Creek wasn't terribly steep, but the footing was loose and the trail was eroded with off camber slope. As we continued climbing, we found our well established track deviating from the marked route in HAZ. A cross reference to another mapping database showed us on the Paradise Trail, though now that I'm home and have access to my computer and the USGS topos, I'm not sure where the other mapping database got its data because the USGS topo matches what's in HAZ. Ah well, either way, we made it to Paradise Park, where we sat for a break while being serenaded by a rather loud bird.
Knowing that we had a long drive home, we didn't lollygag for too long before joining back up with the Grant Creek Trail to close our loop and begin the seemingly long hot climb back out. The climb was definitely warm in the unshaded sections, and I was very glad for the cloud cover that rolled in, along with the breeze that would kick up now and again. Soon enough, we were back at PBar Lake and shortly after that, back at the truck. After cleaning up as best as we could, we headed homeward, catching sight of loads of elk in some of the meadows along 191 on the way. It was a nice escape for the holiday weekend - thanks for the invite, J!
Wildlife: On trail: butterflies, lizards, and various birds (oh, and we can't forget the bovine welcoming committee!). On the drive: deer, squirrel, chipmunk, bluejays, and elk.
Other people: None! Hooray! |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
some of my photos were blurry and not worth posting...but even so, there were few things in bloom...probably spent more time chasing butterfly photos instead of flower photos this time around. |
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Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually  |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
Before heading over to the other TH, I decided to do a quick mile hike up to the wilderness boundary on the Red Hill trail.
