Dutch Kid Tank Trail #54 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Taylor Cabin Loop, AZ

Hiking		Mar 29 2023
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	24.84 Miles	4,278 AEG

Hiking	24.84 Miles	10 Hrs 20 Mns	2.89 mph
	4,278 ft AEG	1 Hour 45 Mns Break

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Jumped the gun on this one. Fourth year in a row, keep finding reasons to revisit this loop. This year it was for the big flow. Gage down stream by the Verde confluence said 75cfs. Was a lot lower than the 3000+ from the previous two weeks, but to be honest I still have little frame of reference for those numbers. I do understand, however, the provisional data disclaimer on the USGS website after this hike. Ended up fording the creek over my waist twice. Cold water, fast flowing. As the temps warm and the flow subsides, I think it'll prove a great year for Taylor Cabin and this stretch of Sycamore and all its top tier swimming holes.

Casner Trail, if you're thinking of driving it, was super eroded in the last year. There were tire tracks, so somebody managed to do it, but I can't imagine the set up you'd need for a couple of the switchbacks.

Taylor Cabin Trail is very much deteriorated since March last year. The big washouts are now impassible. More of the route is off trail. It's tough. Damage seemed worse this year. Little snow left up top, but what's there was iced over and tough to get across. By now probably good.

Got down to Sycamore and there were a dozen elk on the other side heading to the water. What was once a wide rocky section of the creek is now a deep mud hole. Water was too high, but I didn't want to head back up TC through the burn. Managed to stay dry by bushwhacking along the south side of the creek. Had to climb through some brush and over the flood debris. Got buzzed by a private helicopter flying through the cliff walls some way down.

Had to get wet to mid shin to get to the crossing where Sycamore Basin is still around. After that I realized I would have to cross again to get to the cabin, and it didn't hit me until later the most difficult crossing would be on Dogie sometime down the trail. Entered the creek to the knee on the rocky banks. The middle went above my waist. As the water shallowed up, it got rockier, and I fell into the creek with my clothes still on. Stumbled up and fell again. Got through it, hustled to the cabin. Earlier, climbing Casner, I saw a car drive in to Dogie TH, and I thought if no one was there by the time I got to Taylor Cabin, the water was too high for them to cross. Took off all my clothes and put them out on the line. The cabin, despite now mostly not having a roof, provided nice cover from the wind.

What a nervous several miles it was up Dutch Kid and down Dogie. To memory, a total blur until the Dogie crossing. Where the trail heads it was deep pools and white water, up stream even deeper pools edging out into cliffs. I found a line. Pulled my pack up my back and strapped the waistband around my chest after packing my warm clothes and electronics inside. Pulled a branch out of the flood debris. Rocky knee depth, and then a wide section nearly chest deep. There was a tree bending with the flow but 1/3rd the way out of the water. Climbed on top and after much consideration dropped my pack down my back and jumped to the shallow water several feet away. Scrambled onto the other bank and got rid of my boots opting for the warm sand. Bundled up and after a long while headed up Dogie.

Met one person on the way who had turned back at the crossing. The trail is in much the same shape as it's ever been. The tanks along the way had the most drinkable water I've seen in them. Awesome day. Would never do again. Great year for it, just got there too early.

	Sycamore Creek at Dogie Crossing	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	Very difficult to find a line. >waist deep for most, fast flowing

Heavy flow

	Sycamore Creek at Taylor Trail Jct	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	Water impassably high without swimming. Since the Rafael Fire this crossing is a deep mud pit

Sycamore Pass Tank

76-100% full

3 archives

Mar 09 2022

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Taylor Cabin Loop, AZ

Hiking		Mar 09 2022
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	24.62 Miles	4,419 AEG

Hiking	24.62 Miles	10 Hrs 42 Mns	2.91 mph
	4,419 ft AEG	2 Hrs 15 Mns Break

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I wasn't going to do this loop again this year, but after hiking through the Rafael Fire scar on Yew Thicket Trail a month or so ago, I got nervous about the Taylor Cabin Trail. It's one of my favorites, and since I couldn't find anything out about the damage, I went to have a look, fire maps being as reliable as they are. It turned out both Taylor Cabin Trail and the cabin itself burned this summer, though neither is a total loss.

Casner Mountain Trail is the same as ever until the last few miles to the Taylor Cabin Trail TH. Efforts were made to confine the fire to Casner #8 and above Mooney Canyon in order to prevent the spread to Sedona. The fire didn't cross the road much except at the TH. Walking Casner it looked like while the fire had torched the north rim and Cedar Creek, much of the canyon bottom and forest North/East of Buck Ridge are still green.

The Taylor Cabin Trail TH was burned some. Not nearly as shady. TC Trail starts with some brief switchbacks onto a fairly epic ridgeline. The Canyon to the west and its pockets of fir and pine were completely destroyed. Maybe a half dozen left. From above, the side canyon to the East where TC descends looked burned but encouragingly green. The heavy rains that extinguished the fire caused serious erosion in the side canyon, and the TC Trail has a couple massive washouts. It has many more minor ones, and in general it is eroded and mostly missing. The summer rains widened the creek and filled it in with gravel and sand, and some of the slick rock features are buried. While the forest along the way was not burned completely, almost every tree was touched by fire. It's still a beautiful course but a more difficult one and not quite what it, up until very recently, was.

Sycamore Basin Trail is good from Packard Mesa to a mile or so east of the cabin, that is apart from the section where Dutch Kid now takes its place. This being the case, I rocked hopped down the creekbed. There was flood debris 6 feet up the sycamores. There was only one pool of green water in the shade of a cliff 30-40 minutes east of the cabin. The Cabin was burned by the juniper that hung over its north wall. It took out the wooden frame of the north window, as well as the cypress beams of the roof. The back half of the roof had collapsed, and the rest is on its way. Otherwise it had been cleaned up and emptied out since I was there last year. No water at the cabin, down on provisions. Met a couple guys who had hiked in for a two night trip from Parsons TH.

Dutch Kid was burned, but it was patchy and not too unlike in years past. Sycamore Basin and Dogie were as well, mostly by the junction. Overall the fire damage wasn't too severe. Taylor Cabin needs restoration desperately, but I'm sure it will get it. I thought the Great American Outdoors act or some legislation like it had it slated for some TLC. The real bummer is the damage to the Taylor Cabin Trail. The jewel of the wilderness area doesn't shine as brightly.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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Sycamore Creek at Taylor Trail Jct

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4 archives

Mar 05 2021

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Taylor Cabin Loop, AZ

Hiking		Mar 05 2021
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	24.04 Miles	4,154 AEG

Hiking	24.04 Miles	8 Hrs 43 Mns	3.02 mph
	4,154 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

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Robbers Roost - Sedona

Mooney Trail #12

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One of my favorite hikes of last year, had another go but subbed Mooney Canyon for Casner mountain. Prefer it the tried and true way, but it was nice to have a reason to go back. Started the loop at 7am from Dogie Trailhead. Drive in is low clearance passable, albeit annoying, to the Casner Trail, after that I wouldn't chance it.

Walked back down the road to Casner and cut corners up to Robber's Roost. Got around the corner to a stone's throw away and saw that a couple people had camped in it and were just waking up. Turned around and headed down toward Robber's Roost Tank before heading toward Sebra Tank. Easy walk through the grass with no bushwacking.

After Sebra, headed down to Mooney Trail. Where the route starts on HAZ and RS is, I believe, private property. I think you can drive around via FR 4498 to a legal starting point. I met the trail someways down. The real track is only a hundred yards or so East of the RS track, but I saw a cairn and headed along the old alignment(?). Got caught in a ton of brush and eventually made my way to the creekbed. I found Mooney Trail at a crossing within a mile. Much less scenic way of making the climb as opposed to Casner. The trail leaves the creek just as the pines thicken. Shaves some elevation gain, however.

Best part of the hike for me is the descent on Taylor Cabin Trail. Thick forest of tall, orange pines with a red rock and limestone background plus some narrows near the bottom. Impossible quiet. A little snow, but it's been cleaned up nearly all the way down and was much easier to follow than last year. Nearly all of the deadfall has been recently cleared.

Got to Sycamore creek hoping for water, and found it completely dry. Was around the Parsons TH last week and found it to be swollen with water. Oh well. Didn't try to find the trail until the last mile or so to the cabin. The canyon bottom is so scenic through that stretch it'd be a shame to miss it. That, and last year had a lot of trouble with it.

Had a break around the cabin and hit Dutch Kid. Would like to do the loop next year and stick to Sycamore Basin/the bottom of the creek for that mile and a half to the junction. Would really only want to do it with water. Dutch Kid is well maintained and the views back down the canyon are great. Weather started to feel warm, any warmer and it'd have been too much. Nice breeze all day.

The friend I went with last year and I have been arguing about Dogie for as long. After this trip started to see his point. It's a bit of a slog without the awesome canyon views that are present for the rest of the hike. Saw the only people of the day at the end. Trio of campers headed in with two bottles of water, who weren't sure where they were. Convinced them to turn back before heading home.

Robbers Roost Tank

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Sebra Tank

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10 archives

May 02 2020

survivordude

Routes 61
Photos 1,008
Triplogs 224

44 male

Joined Aug 19 2009
The Basin

Taylor Cabin Loop, AZ

Backpack		May 02 2020
		survivordude • Triplogs 224

Backpack	24.37 Miles	4,454 AEG

Backpack	24.37 Miles	2 Days
	4,454 ft AEG

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[ checklist ] Greater Short-Horned Lizard Western Patch-nosed snake

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3rd time’s the charm, I guess. 3 of us had planned on staying at the cabin after a 6 hour hike. Went up Casner first to get it out of the way but it really burned everyone out with the packs on. The trail (road) goes up over the mountain and then rides a ridgeline for a while which is pretty cool because it literally dissects 2 different wilderness areas. Sycamore Canyon to the west and Red Rock-Secret Mountain to the east. J had some pain in his quad but kept pushing on to the Taylor Cabin trail. Hiking down seemed to make it worse for him than the uphill. We were pretty much at the point of no return when he seemed to really slow and started breaking down. Also learned that he drank all his water for the entire trip so far. I took the leadership role and made sure we all stayed positive. Chase and I discussed options. The trail here is really fantastic. It stays down in the bottom of the canyon with very narrow cliffs to either side. After several miles and even more breaks we finally made it to Sycamore Canyon proper. No signs of water. Followed the super easy trail about 1 1/2 mile short of the cabin and we found a huge pool. The range of emotions this afternoon was grand. Elated, we jumped in and had a swim, then pumped gallons directly into us.

Followed the creekbed most of the way to the cabin in the AM and, although not too impressed with the grounds there, the cabin itself was cleaner than my shed at my house. Loved the Sycamore Basin Trail. The canyon is sooo huge and green, I almost got that feeling of smallness and insignificance you get when you hike the GC. The hike out of Dogie was a hot slog, and it has much better views going into the canyon, so we made sure to stop (shade) and just look around once in a while to soak it in.

Finally glad to check this one off, though it was a reminder of great importance to not only make sure you are prepared, but to make sure those in your party are adequately prepared, also.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

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Feb 06 2020

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Taylor Cabin Loop, AZ

Hiking		Feb 06 2020
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	24.79 Miles	4,554 AEG

Hiking	24.79 Miles	10 Hrs 33 Mns	2.82 mph
	4,554 ft AEG	1 Hour 45 Mns Break

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Friend and I made our first trip into Sycamore Canyon. Wanted to see all that we could so we did the Casner-Taylor-Dogie loop. Went counterclockwise in order to get the elevation gain out of the way first.

FR525 is in great shape, and any car should have no problem. There are spots toward the end on 525c where the road dips that make taking a passenger car a strategic drive. Started at the one parking spot for Casner Mountain trail around 7:30 and headed up. I didn't know this in advance, but Casner trail is at least as much a road as a trail. Follows underneath power lines most of the way. Nice views into Sycamore Canyon and toward Sedona that would be much better at sunset than sunrise.

On the way down Taylor Cabin Trail there were at least two dozen trees fallen over the trail. Overgrown with brush in parts and the leaves and snow obscured the trail. Seemed like a more interesting way to enter the canyon as opposed to the Dogie trail, however.

Once to the canyon floor and across the creek, Sycamore Basin trail is overgrown and a bushwhack. Found it difficult to stay on route. Opted to rock hop down the creek a ways instead. Was nice to be on the creek bottom as after the cabin the trails climb away from it. Caught up with the trail at a creek crossing and it was clearer closer to Taylor Cabin.

Hung out at Taylor Cabin for a while and walked around the grounds. In great shape and well stocked.

Dutch Kid and Dogie were the best maintained trails of the day, and it made the going easy the rest of the way, apart from the incessant ups and downs on Dogie. Only people we passed were backpackers on Dogie around the Sycamore Basin junction and at the only creek crossing farther down the trail.

Medium flow

Sycamore Creek at Taylor Trail Jct

Medium flow

Medium flow

2 archives

Mar 24 2017

John9L

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

male

Joined Mar 12 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Sedona, AZ

Sedona, AZ

Backpack		Mar 24 2017
		John9L • Triplogs 1,647

Backpack	19.66 Miles	3,336 AEG

Backpack	19.66 Miles	2 Days
	3,336 ft AEG

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Kyle and I headed out to the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness for a few days in the backcountry. Our original plan was to make a clockwise loop spending night one at Taylor Cabin and night two at Buck Ridge Cabin and then return via Casner Mountain. Our plan changed when the mostly dry Sycamore Creek rose 2-3 feet overnight. We decided to play it safe and hike out.

We drove out on Friday morning and navigated FR525 and 525C to the Dogie Trailhead. The roads were a bit wet and 4WD helped with traction. The hike in went well. The trail was muddy but drying out as the sun shined overhead. We made our way and were eager to see the creek. Roughly four miles in the creek comes into view and we could tell it will not be an issue. It's mostly dry with sporadic large pools. We continued on and found the creek dry at the crossing. The last three miles to the cabin began to drag but we pushed on and arrived around 3pm.

The rest of the afternoon was spent setting up camp and relaxing. We were the only ones at the cabin and selected the prime campsite behind the corral. The site is shaded and has a nice fire ring. Water was a short walk down trail. There was a huge pool just below camp. The creek had a slight trickle. Our plan for day two was to hike up canyon where we had to cross the creek at least five times and then make the big climb towards Casner Mountain. We settled in for the evening with a nice campfire and pleasant temps.

I went to sleep relatively early and thought to myself how quiet it was. I could barely hear the creek trickle. I fell asleep and slept hard. At some point in the night I woke up to the sound of the river raging. I wondered if it was the wind but had a feeling it was the water. I went back to sleep and decided to check on conditions in the morning. I woke up around 7:30am and headed out to check the creek. I noticed right away it's way higher. I would guess it rose 2-3 feet overnight. Our plans were in jeopardy.

Kyle and I took time in the morning. We got the fire going again and had breakfast and talked about our options. We were confident we could get across the river if it doesn't rise any higher. The thought of five unknown crossings up canyon was not in our best interest. We decided to play it safe and hike out. Once that was decided we packed up and doused the fire and started the hike out around 9:30am.

The return hike went well. The hike started with puffy clouds and the sun shining through. We made good time as we paralleled the creek. It had a strong flow but we could tell the crossing was doable. We continued on and arrived at the crossing. We scouted the crossing and decided to cross just below the trail. I brought hiking poles for this alone and they proved very helpful. I made my way across and had water up to my knees. Kyle worked his was across and Lily crossed like a pro. She went up creek just a bit from Kyle and swam diagonally as the current carried her down roughly 15 feet. She eventually climbed out with no incident. Kyle completed the crossing and we took a short break.

The final five miles were very enjoyable. The cloud cover built and a light rain fell. It was perfect hiking weather. Roughly a mile from the TH we passed a couple with two dogs. I recognized the guy as Elias Butler. He coauthored Grand Obsession which is one of my favorite books. I went a little fanboy on him but kept my cool. It was great meeting him in person! The last mile flew by and we headed back to Phoenix. The road out was mostly dry and easy going.

This was a great trip and good company. It was too bad we couldn't make the loop but it was truly the best option for us. It gives us a reason to go back another time. I really enjoy this area and could see myself making a trip every year or so.

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[ checklist ] Campsite

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1 archive

Feb 25 2017

FOTG

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Sedona, AZ

Sedona, AZ

Backpack		Feb 25 2017
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Backpack	21.06 Miles	3,820 AEG

Backpack	21.06 Miles
	3,820 ft AEG

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I had been wanting to backpack in to Taylor Cabin since last year's day hike out there. A New Years attempt to backpack in was foiled by high water, so I started thinking of alternative routes in to the cabin that were not at the mercy of Sycamore Creek and came up with this one from Sycamore Basin Trail's trailhead.

We drove up on a Friday night to mitigate, or eliminate the length of the drive on Saturday. The drive ended up being very slow going and rough, but we persevered. We slept in a little at the TH and then I coaxed Jackie into getting ready with a quick fire, a very chilly morning, below freezing. The backpack in went pretty quickly and the trail was in pretty good shape. We hit the Doggie Trail intersection after 4.6 miles and the cabin at 8.7 miles, maybe a better way in as far as the hiking goes than Doggie Trail in my opinion. We camped at the cabin and visited the main attractions in the area after set up and nap time. There is a ton of water flowing down Sycamore right now, with several deep pools near the cabin and some picturesque little areas now enhanced by the presence of water. After visiting some of the close stuff, we pursued a lead on a cliff dwelling in the area. I stumbled across one dilapidated site during this endeavor, but we did not find the site we were looking for. The early evening exploring had us running late on camp chores and dinner so I think we may have hit 9 p.m. for the first time in a long time. The overnight was nearly perfect and not as chilly as we had anticipated after our cold car camp.

With lighter packs, the hike out went even quicker and we made the trailhead in less than four hours. The drive out went quicker, but it's still a slog, however, its annoyance was easier to take after such a nice little backpack. The ruins, the destination and the views from Sycamore Basin Trail really made this a nice little overnight backpack. In fact, I would probably put this trip near the top of my list of memorable over-nighters. I definitely will be back to this area to follow up on that ruin lead, visit a few other attractions and to hike some of the trails we passed this weekend, but I don't be back from the same TH.

Some HAZ appreciation to @Oregon_hiker for the driving route and rock pile lead.

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3 archives

Apr 07 2012

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Casner-Taylor-Dutch-Sycamore-Dogie Loop, AZ

Hiking		Apr 07 2012
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	22.87 Miles	5,200 AEG

Hiking	22.87 Miles	12 Hrs 6 Mns		2.27 mph
	5,200 ft AEG	2 Hrs 2 Mns Break	12 LBS Pack

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This is good loop. Glad I finally got to tackle it after knowing about it for so long. Casner seems under rated to me. The best views of the loop are from the top in my opinion. The sweetest part of the hike is going down Taylor through the thick forest. A lot of dead fall, luckily it's relatively easy to get over. The worst part is from when Taylor enters the creek over to a quarter mile before reaching the cabin. Either friendly or lazy backpackers have left over ten bottles of used coleman fuel in the cabin cabinet. Overall it's a cool little area and well maintained. The most enjoyable part of the loop was on the short Dutch Kid Tank Trail #54.

Believe the only water seen all day was in the creek about a mile ENE of the cabin near-ish 34.996719, -111.973172. Personally I wouldn't count on water down there much ever.

Our temps ranged from 43 to maybe 75. Any warmer at the bottom would have been hot. The rocks radiate the heat back with such little shade.

Wildflowers: one sprig of Dichelostemma capitatum, wallflowers on a couple occasions, indian paintbrush maybe a dozen times and a few other varieties I'm unsure of on the identification

First serious hike now 16 days after the foot injury. At times it wasn't too bad, at times it was quite painful. Obviously not the wisest choice yet I have no regrets.

Wildflowers Observation Light

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Sycamore Creek at Taylor Trail Jct

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Sycamore Pass Tank

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Apr 07 2012

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Casner-Taylor-Dutch-Sycamore-Dogie Loop, AZ

Hiking		Apr 07 2012
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	23.27 Miles	5,250 AEG

Hiking	23.27 Miles	12 Hrs 6 Mns		2.28 mph
	5,250 ft AEG	1 Hour 54 Mns Break	15 LBS Pack

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