Fire Loop Trail - Mica • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

[ checklist ] Arizona Black Rattlesnake Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

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

End of payment Drive to TH
After a minute of washboard, it's a series of corkscrew turns to gain elevation. After miles of wavy rock road, it turns into moguls. Finally, a sense of sanity for a mile or two passing Bellota Ranch, and you're at the trailhead.

Italian Spring Trail #95
The first 5.25 mi won't excite most. I think it's pretty cool on the edge of the Sonoran Desert with a different vegetation feel versus the outskirts of Phoenix.

Reached a creek crossing at about 5.1 miles, there's well over a hundred gallons of water. A larger pool in an unnamed tributary just 0.15 mi further to the next ravine. 7.2 mi up, you start getting shade and sanity if it's a hot day.

0.25 mi to the NPS gate, I noticed mica often on the trail.

Ferns were waist-high at Italian Spring. It started to sprinkle with calm waves of light rain to follow.

North Slope Trail - Saguaro NP
Only on this for its upper 0.5 mi. Satellite shows the east is torched. At least four fires, but it seemed trivial to me; most of this stretch is pine-covered.

Fire Loop Trail - Mica
Only on this for 0.35 mi. Notable for this out-and-back because the top is the high point at ~8607 ft.

Mica Mountain Trail
Have always taken this trail because it's the shortest distance to Manning Camp. It's not as nice as Jacinto or Big Bear, but seems as nice as Mount Baldy IMO.

Return
Expecting to see people at Manning Camp, I turned the sound off on RS earlier on Fire Loop, figuring I knew the rest of the hike by memory. Realized I was off-trail 0.2 mi up Cow Head Saddle Trail. Instead of heading back, I cut through the forest over a small rise.

Noticed evidence of large bears that ate large seeds. Perhaps hackberry seeds, as one was loaded with berries in various ripening stages.

It rained very lightly for maybe an hour total. Luckily, it was all in the pines and diffused because I ditched the umbrella. Only a couple of claps of thunder.

The Catalinas got pounded with squalls throughout the afternoon.

It was a light rain for the last couple of miles, so the hottest part of the hike never surfaced.

Synopsis
Furthest I've ventured solo since May 2020. This is one of my favorite hikes in Arizona. 2 months shy of 10 years since the good ol' days ended.

Almost in shape for lion season...

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Banana Yucca

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Carolyn's Creek Italian Spring Manning Camp Manning Camp Spring South Fork of Carolyn's Creek

	Carolyn's Creek	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	About 50 gallons, super clear with just a trickle of water I didn't notice this on the hike up, even though I heard it through Route Scout. On the return Route Scout mentioned it again. I looked and saw rain hitting the pool of water.

	Italian Spring	Dry	Dry
	I could not find any pooled water or any trickling water where the seep is notched out of the mountain, as MacEwen describes. The only moisture in the area was from a recent sprinkle.

_____________________

- joe

May 24 2025

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Memorial Mica, AZ

Backpack		May 24 2025
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Backpack	33.68 Miles	8,456 AEG

Backpack	33.68 Miles	3 Days
	8,456 ft AEG

no routes

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Douglas Spring Trail

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	chumley	John10s
	John9L	slowandsteady

Started from Turkey Creek Trailhead after the drive in Saturday morning. A bit warm in the lower slopes but still managable. It's about 2.5 miles before we hit any significant shade which is also about the time we reached Mud Spring and took the first break.

After the break it's into the trees and cooler as we gained elevation up to Deerhead Spring and the ponderoa pines. We passed Spud Rock Campground and then up and over the ridge to Mannign Camp at 8,000 feet. Reaching camp we setup and relaxed the afternoon away. Chumley and 10s were more motivated and hiked over to Reef Rock and Mica Secondary. Surprisingly not much water in the Manning Camp main pool near camp...never seen it that dry before.

Day 2 Chumley came up with a Grass Shack Loop about 10 miles or so. Leisurly start in the morning hiking down towards Cow Head saddle. Ran into a couple of backpackers heading to Manning at the saddle where we took a short break. Contining on and dropping down into Grass Shack it was getting warmer. Not much water at Grass Shack...emergency only!! Took another break before starting the uphill climb to Manning. It got a bit warm in spots but the trees in the upper ascent provided nice shade and a cool breeze helped a lot. Reached camp and ran into the backpackers we saw earlier in the day. Took a break in camp and contemplated another day hike.

Eventually Chumley, 10s and I decided on a 5 mile Mica and Spud Rock loop. Great views on Spud rock as always and very windy as always! Mica is just the high point but nothing special there. After break on Spud Rock we headed back to camp and another realxing night!

Next day it was back out Turkey Creek...however we took the long way past Devils (not) Bathtub and through a really cool Ponderosa Park forest back to the original trail. After that it was down Turkey Creek to the vehicles. Another great Memorial Day trip in the sky islands!!

_____________________

2 archives

May 24 2025

John10s

Guides 25
Routes 376
Photos 5,897
Triplogs 346

40 male

Joined Mar 01 2018
Chandler, AZ

Memorial Mica, AZ

Backpack		May 24 2025
		John10s • Triplogs 346

Backpack	39.50 Miles	10,156 AEG

Backpack	39.50 Miles	3 Days
	10,156 ft AEG		41.5 LBS Pack

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Douglas Spring Trail

[ checklist ] Devils Bathtub Galiuro Mountains Man Head Manning Camp Spring Mica Meadow Mica Mountain Mud Hole Spring - Mica Reef Rock Rincon Peak Santa Catalina Mountains Spud Rock Spud Rock Spring

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	BiFrost	chumley
	John9L	slowandsteady

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

This was my first backpacking trip in 7+ years, and I was excited to join the group on the second iteration of their previous 3-day / 2-night Memorial Mica trip in 2022.

Day 1 - Saturday
Hike 1: Turkey Creek TH to Manning Camp (8.85 mi / 4,017 AEG / 4h 19m)
Chumley, 9L, and I left The Valley ~5AM and drove to Turkey Creek TH, where we met Karl and Kathy. After some final packing, we were on the trail just after 8AM to start the climb up to Manning Camp. The first two miles were relatively flat as we hiked into Saguaro NP, then the steepness increased as we ascended into higher desert ~ three miles in.

We took a break at Mud Hole Spring, which was a small, muddy pool, and 9L and Chumley dug out some of the mud and debris in the hope that it would look clearer on the hike out on Monday. The steepness increased again as we resumed the climb, with a lot of rock steps built into the trail that increased the difficulty. Deer Head Spring was dry, and we detoured over to Spud Camp and Spring among a nice aspen grove. The campground was empty; the spring itself was dry, and the concrete spring box had some stagnant, murky water a few feet down...not a great time for moisture on the mountain.

9L and I arrived at the empty Manning Camp a little after noon and checked out the water situation. The fenced-in pool near the pump house was dry, and the the main water source below had two stagnant pools that didn't look too appetizing. After a short rest, Johns 9 & 10 explored down the drainage in an unsuccessful search for a more appealing water source. When the rest of the group arrived, we agreed that the pools were good enough to filter, and we set up camp and relaxed for a while.

Hike 2: Overlook Loop (5.22 mi / 1,168 AEG / 2h 5m)
Before dinner, Chumley and I hiked a lasso-loop from camp that included Reef Rock and an unnamed overlook. Great views from both spots that collectively included Rincon Peak, the Galiuros, Wrightson, and Mt. Graham among many other landmarks, and the second overlook included a fun scramble to the top with the help of a short tree stump ladder. Back at camp, we ate dinner and hung out under the party lights into the wee hours of mid-evening before retreating to our tents. We had the campground to ourselves, and comfortable daytime temps dropped into the upper 30s overnight.

Day 2 - Sunday
Hike 1: Grass Shack Loop (11.41 mi / 3,102 AEG / 5h 3m)
After wakeup calls from the wild turkeys, we packed up for a day hike to some lower elevations and started a counter-clockwise loop, heading west along Cow Head Saddle Trail. With the low morning sun, we had pleasant shade and stopped at a few overlooks on the way down, with some steep sections of trail, much of which once again had stone stairs built in courtesy of the NPS. We took a break at the saddle and saw three guys hiking up from Douglas Spring, headed for Manning Camp. Tanque Verde Peak was only 2.5 miles away from there, and I was tempted to rush over there, but time and lack of water kept me from trying it.

We continued down to the deserted Grass Shack Campground and paused for another break. Chumley checked out the spring, which was almost completely dry, then we had the long climb back up to Manning. That included a lot of sun exposure and more steps, and it felt great to get back into the shade and cooler temps of the ponderosas at higher elevations. Chumley and I arrived just as the three guys we'd seen earlier hiked into camp.

Hike 2: Man Head - Mica - Spud Rock Loop (4.96 mi / 1,079 AEG / 2h 23m)
After hanging around camp for a few hours and filtering more water, Karl, Chums, and I went on another short hike to check out some of the upper destinations north of camp. The first stop was Man Head, another landmark that looked nothing like its name...Chumley told me it looked more like an eagle, but I struggled to see any resemblance to Bruce. We passed Mica Meadow, then stopped at the Mica highpoint. Karl had warned me it was one of the least impressive high points of any range in Arizona, and that was true: limited views, flat, and not much to see other than some small remnants of the old lookout.

Then it was on to Spud Rock, which looked nothing like a potato but provided the best 360° views of the weekend. We relaxed on top until the winds got too annoying, then completed the loop back to camp. Chumley and I went over to a water tank that had a random tent setup nearby, and back at the campsite, one other solo backpacker had shown up, along with two hikers from Colorado who'd hiked all the way up from Happy Valley to Manning to filter water because they couldn't find any down below. The most common question from the other backpackers after seeing the pools at Manning: "Did you guys filter that water?"

We cooked dinner, and I learned from the previous night's mistake and ate two of the undersized freeze-dried meals, and we hung out under the lights and had another night in the upper 30s.

Day 3 - Monday
Hike: Manning Camp to Turkey Creek TH (9.06 mi / 670 AEG / 3h 42m)
We ate breakfast, broke camp, and headed out around 8AM. We took a slightly different route down, leaving camp south via the AZT, then passing by the dry Devil's Bathtub, then north past Spud Rock Campground before eventually connecting with Turkey Creek Trail. Going down the upper stretches made me appreciate how steep that climb had been on Saturday. We stopped at Mud Hole Spring again, and the pool was a little clearer after Chumley and 9L cleared out a bunch of the gunk two days prior. We kept a fast pace the rest of the way and were back at the trailhead before noon.

The three of us relaxed in the shade of the sycamores near Happy Valley Campground, then drove into Tucson for lunch at BKs. Much better than I expected since my initial fear when I heard "BK" was that we were headed to Burger King. Traffic wasn't terrible for a holiday, and we were back in Phoenix by mid-afternoon.

Summary
I really appreciated the invite--it was a fun weekend from start to finish. This was 100% uncharted territory for me, so I got to explore an entirely new area. The phrase I heard most often during the weekend was some version of, "There was a lot more water here last time!" I can only imagine how beautiful it would be out there with water flowing. It was great meeting Karl, Kathy, and 9L...I always enjoy a good John-squared hike, and this one was sequentially numbered. And, after a long layoff, it was nice to backpack again...I had to borrow a lot of gear, and especially since I own almost no specialized backpacking equipment, I was happy my pack weight remained manageable. I suppose years of consistently overpacking on day hikes helped prepare me for carrying an actual backpack again

.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Madrone Arizona Pine Hedgehog Cactus

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Wild Turkey

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Cag Shot Post Hike Grub

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Deer Head Spring	Dry	Dry
	Completely dry; even with a sign, it was hard to tell where the spring would be

	Devils Bathtub	Dry	Dry

	Manning Camp Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Pool inside the fence near the pump house completely dry. There are two pools of water below that with a sign indicating that's where campers can filter. Pools were stagnant and murky but filterable.

	Mud Hole Spring - Mica	Dripping	Dripping
	Small pool that started out murky and full of debris. Looked more filterable two days later after the group cleared a lot of the debris out on the hike in.

	Spud Rock Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Stagnant pool deep in the concrete box; the actual spring was dry

1 archive

May 24 2025

chumley

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

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Memorial Mica, AZ

Backpack		May 24 2025
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Backpack	38.84 Miles	9,491 AEG

Backpack	38.84 Miles	3 Days
	9,491 ft AEG

Linked

Douglas Spring Trail

[ checklist ] Chimenea Canyon Deer Head Spring Devils Bathtub Grass Shack Spring Man Head Manning Camp Spring Mica Meadow Mica Mountain Mud Hole Spring - Mica Rincon Peak Spud Rock Spud Rock Spring

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	BiFrost	John10s
	John9L	slowandsteady

Spent another long weekend in the islands, which is always a nice option. Mixed it up a little bit from last time to cover some new ground for me.

Saturday
Turkey Creek TH to Manning Camp
8.23mi - 3,901aeg - 4:54
We got started around 8 to mild temperatures and some welcome cloud cover to help temper the morning heat before gaining some welcome elevation. Arriving at Mudhole Spring revealed our first glimpse of things to come all weekend. It wasn't exactly dry, but drawing anything consumable would have been quite a chore. We did some maintenance work with hopes that it would make it a better option for the next visitors here.

The stretch of trail between Mudhole and Deerhead (which I think has long-since ceased being even a seasonal source for water) is impressively steep, and it sort of broke me. Eventually, I regained my step and headed over to Spud Rock Campground. The marked spring there is dry as a bone, but the spring box did have a foul puddle at the bottom. I don't think I'd have figured out how to draw consumable water from this one.

Climbed the Switchback trail to the ridge and the final climb from there to the Fire Loop junction before rolling down into a deserted Manning Camp. Unease began to settle in as the reliable spring that NPS reports has only dried out twice in recorded history was a dust bowl

. This would make a quick end to any attempt to spend a weekend backpacking here. After dropping packs and doing some investigating, we discovered that there was about 20 gallons of water in the NPS-use-only rainwater collection barrel which eased the potentially very bad situation we found ourselves in. While there was no water in the spring and the pond was empty, there was still a pool of unappealing water in the bedrock below camp. After cutting through the oily surface film and treating a liter, we learned that this pool would suffice.

In later thoughts, I don't know if NPS reports of the spring drying out only 2 times historically also required the skunky bedrock pool to dry out too? If so, this doesn't qualify since there's still water available. If not, this would be time number 3 that the spring is not producing any water. Presumably it will take monsoon rains before this changes.

Reef Mica Head Loop
5.16mi - 1035aeg - 2:05
This was a first Rincon trip for 10s so after setting up camp, I tour-guided an afternoon jaunt across the top of the mountain, hitting a couple of the east slope viewspots. The dozens of miles of trails and cool rock formations at elevations in the 8k range are what make this such an enjoyable destination.

After a couple of hours exploring we headed back to camp. With water issues alleviated, we all settled in for the evening. Some periodic island breezes died down as the night went on and delightful late-May temps settled into the upper 30s overnight.

Sunday
Cowhead Grass Shack AZT Loop
11.51mi - 3014aeg - 5:03
I had never done any of the west side trails here on the east side of No Saguaros National Park, so I proposed the HAZ-reported 10.7 mile loop that dropped down to Grass Shack via the AZT and the parallel Cow Head Saddle Trail. On my suggestion we went ccw down via Cow Head, opting to make the return climb on the AZT, assuming it would be very nice tread and ample shade. I was wrong. Oh sure, the tread is nice, and the grade was great, but despite the forest being nicely wooded, the trail has been so well maintained that there is no shade to be found as the 20-foot wide trail cut takes care of that possibility!

Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable loop and I was glad to knock off another few miles in my quest to never complete any segment of the AZT. Cow Head was a very nice trail to descend to Cow Head Saddle. We cut down to the AZT via the Douglas Spring Trail, which was my least favorite mile of the loop. The low point on the day was 5300 feet at Grass Shack where we took a break in the shade. As with the other typical water sources, there was a small pool of unappealing water here. This one would have worked in a pinch, but we were happy not to have to rely on it.

We all made the ascent at our own various paces, finally reaching the more pleasant pondo shade of the upper mountain at around the 7kft contour shortly after the noon hour with the temp having topped out at 81 about halfway up. We all spent a couple hours recovering in the 71-degree mountaintop shade and breezes at Manning Camp.

Mica Spud Loop
4.85mi - 966aeg - 2:23
Karl and John and I decided to hit a couple of the highlights we hadn't gone to yesterday, with a visit to the technical highpoint of the range, which features the views and excitement of any county highpoint in a corn-growing state. Thankfully, a short distance away stands Spud Rock, and while a few feet lower, it offers the money shot views that should not be missed for any visitor to this mountain.

Back at camp we were joined by a trio of hikers who had come up from Douglas Spring earlier in the day, and one solo hiker who had come up via Turkey Creek. Two additional hikers stopped by on a 14-mile round trip from Happy Valley just to get water! Those 6 were the only other humans we saw all weekend save for a pair down near the trailhead as we finished up.

Monday
Manning Camp to Turkey Creek TH
9.17mi - 573aeg - 3:38
Another morning that started in the 30s but moderated quickly. We hit the trail at 8, taking the southern Tibberroute via the Bathtub Spring Trail across to Heartbreak Ridge. This time we opted for the East Slope Trail which was very enjoyable as it descends to Spud Rock Campground. From here it was a repeat of the ascent two days prior on the Turkey Creek Trail. You definitely notice the grade in the mile above Mudhole Spring and it was nice to take a breather there before bombing down the bottom half back enjoying a nice post-hike snack under the shaded canopy of Sycamores in (the very dry) lower Turkey Creek.

Recap
Incredibly dry out there. Lots of turkey and deer wandering through Manning Camp, probably because it's the only place for miles that has any water at all. Great views and enjoyable hiking on these great NPS trails as always. Good to hike with 19Ls, Karl, and Kathy. Thanks for the company and conversation. Tacos at BKs are as good as always but it's a $20 proposition for lunch now. Alas, the days of $2 tacos are a distant memory.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Madrone

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Wild Turkey

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Deer Head Spring	Dry	Dry
	There's no sign of this spring even existing anymore.

	Devils Bathtub	Dry	Dry
	Sandy dry.

	Grass Shack Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Not dripping. No flow. Just a small skunky, hot, algae-filled puddle in the sandy drainage.

	Manning Camp Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Spring is dry. The normally fenced in "pond" is dust. There is a pool of water in the bedrock where campers are supposed to draw water from. It's not flowing nor particularly appealing. But it works. It is conceivable that this pool does not last to when monsoon rain arrives.

	Mud Hole Spring - Mica	Dripping	Dripping
	A couple of gallons of filterable water in the pool. Barely a trickle otherwise.

	Spud Rock Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Signed spring is dry as a bone. Concrete spring box had a few inches of nasty water about 2 feet below the surface. Would be hard pressed to draw water from it.

_____________________

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

Mar 23 2025

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,124

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Mica Mountain, AZ

Run/Jog		Mar 23 2025
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,124

Run/Jog	27.40 Miles	6,982 AEG

Run/Jog	27.40 Miles	8 Hrs 28 Mns		3.54 mph
	6,982 ft AEG	43 Mns Break	12 LBS Pack

no routes

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linked

Douglas Spring Trail to Douglas Spring CG

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

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Finally got up the nerve for Mica Mountain since I am going for all the trails in Saguaro this year. Took the long way because, why not? The upper stretches of this hike are delightful. There was some good snow left up in the pines and I was able to find some water to filter on the way down.

Felt decent for the most part, though the last couple miles up and down were a bit of a vision quest lol. The steps on the way down were also painful. Whatever...Fantastic Hike

_____________________

hi

May 27 2023

PrestonSands

Guides 170
Routes 148
Photos 5,914
Triplogs 2,097

48 male

Joined Apr 12 2004
Tucson, AZ

Rincon Hike, AZ

Hiking		May 27 2023
		PrestonSands • Triplogs 2,097

Hiking	17.77 Miles	4,687 AEG

Hiking	17.77 Miles	11 Hrs	1.78 mph
	4,687 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

no routes

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partners

Jim

Jim and Brian and I carpooled out to the upper Turkey Creek trailhead for our long anticipated Rincon hike, negotiating some nasty spots along the upper trailhead road (road 4408) along the way.

We started late morning under a merciless sun, temps being pretty warm, our destination being Reef Rock and Manning Camp. No shade and lots of sweating for us all the first few miles until we reached some much appreciated pines and a small pool of cool water at Mudhole Spring, where we cooled off and ate lunch. A bit more climbing brought cooler temps, full pine forest cover, and a gentler rate of ascent. I made a quick side trip to Spud Rock Campground to see the aspen grove.

We met Mike below Man Head on Heartbreak Ridge Trail, and stopped to rest for a bit. Mike then continued downhill while we went up and on to Reef Rock. The beauty of the forest on top of the Rincons exceeded my expectations and I found myself taking a lot of photos. The views from Reef Rock were incredible, one of the highlights of the day.

We then went west through the mountaintop forest, passing under some massive and very tall pines, and on to Manning Camp, where we took a break, pumped water, and enjoyed the beauty of the area and the old Manning Cabin’s rustic charm. We checked out the little pool below the cabin and the helipad nearby, and then left to begin the long journey down a little after 6 pm, with golden light starting to flood the mountain summit.

We heard a turkey, a whippoorwill, and a poorwill calling on the way down as darkness set in. Also noted was what we assumed to be Mike’s taillights driving down the 4408 road far below. The last few miles seemed to drag on as we descended the rocky trail in darkness and wind.

We were all happy to reach the truck a little before 10 pm, where we ate a well deserved dinner on the ground in the moonlight. The drive down 4408 was less intimidating now that we knew what to expect, and after a long sleepy drive, we all made it back to Tucson, exhausted.

Great hike with Jim and Brian and very nice to finally see the summit of the Rincons, a place I’d been wanting to visit since moving to Tucson in 2013, but had never gotten around to doing. The Rincons surpassed my expectations, absolutely beautiful up there. A lot of effort to get up there, but it was worth it.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Rainbow Cactus

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cag Shot

_____________________

"…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan

May 27 2023

Jim

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Rincon Hike, AZ

Hiking		May 27 2023
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Hiking	17.46 Miles	4,657 AEG

Hiking	17.46 Miles	11 Hrs		1.75 mph
	4,657 ft AEG	1 Hour Break	10 LBS Pack

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partners

PrestonSands

Preston drove, which was good as an Outback can no longer get to that upper trailhead, and myself and Brian joined in a hike to the upper Rincons. It was nice to visit Reef Rock where the views are excellent, and also nice to get back to Manning Camp. Trails are in good shape. Really nice day.

We ran into Mike as he was returning to the Turkey Creek TH from Mica Mt/ Spud Rock, and Manning Camp, and so there were 2 vehicles at the TH today. Probably the busiest day it had seen in a long while.

Not 100% sure, but car to car took about 11 hours. Lots of breaks while out.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Rainbow Cactus

	Deer Head Spring	Dry	Dry
	I don't recall there being water. Don't know either way.

	Manning Camp Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Plenty

	Mud Hole Spring - Mica	Dripping	Dripping
	Small pool one could filter.

_____________________

Oct 07 2022

GrangerGuy

Guides 34
Routes 138
Photos 931
Triplogs 111

68 male

Joined Dec 26 2018
Phoenix, AZ

Saguaro NP to Molino Basin, AZ

Hiking		Oct 07 2022
		GrangerGuy • Triplogs 111

Hiking	36.88 Miles	8,499 AEG

Hiking	36.88 Miles	3 Days 2 Hrs 12 Mns
	8,499 ft AEG		27 LBS Pack

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Redington Pass - AZT #10

Hope Camp Trail

Quilter Trail

[ checklist ] Barrel Cactus Coral Bean Desert Cotton Hummingbird Trumpet Morning glory Showy goldeneye Skunkbush Spiny hackberry Spotted knapweed

Bellota Trail #15

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In support of the Arizona Trail in a Day fundraiser for the AZT, I volunteered for a segment in the middle of the Saguaro Wilderness. This meant a day walking into the starting point, and two days walking out from the finishing point. As a reminder, walking across the park requires paying a park fee or having an appropriate pass.

Hope Camp Trail
I started at the Loma Alta Trailhead of the Hope Camp Trail. There is a short section of dirt road passable by any car and good parking here. I was surprised there is no outhouse here. This is a popular weekday trailhead for people doing day hikes, apparently. Hope Camp Trail is wide and pretty flat. At about 2.3 miles I met the AZT and …

Quilter Trail
Named after Jake Quilter, an enthusiastic trailworker, who died suddenly while doing trail work. Info on him: [ John "Jake" Quilter ] . According to trail signs, Quilter Trail from Hope Camp Trail to Manning Camp Trail is 5.5 miles, although I measured it at 4.6. It’s always tough to get these right. There was good water where the trail enters the wilderness boundary, at The “Quilter Trail – 1.35mi Water Crossing”. At a signpost pointing right to the abandoned Madrona Camp, begins the …

Manning Camp Trail
Continuing northeast on the Manning Camp Trail, I encountered at seasonal stream flowing cheerfully at several gallons per minute at N 32.1787° W -110.60955°. This trail is flagged for maintenance. It looks like the park service will soon be fixing many places where the trail has become a stream. Thank you, NPS! About 2.3 miles from the Quilter Trail, there is an intersection with the Douglas Spring Trail going off to the left. This intersection is a little confusing. From here the trail heads east and south. The sky was darkening, and rumbling, and I could see I was going to get wet, so I quickened my pace a little to Grass Shack Spring Camp, arriving and getting my tent set up just as it started to rain. Note that camping here requires a paid reservation at Recreation.gov, but it is a nice camp, with good bear boxes that make great tables, and a really nice outhouse. The camp is 3 miles past the end of the Quilter Trail, or 10 miles from the Loma Alta Trailhead.

Saturday morning, I began my commitment to Arizona Trail in a Day, leaving camp around 6:15 am. In 4.6 miles, arrived at Manning Camp, another place where you could camp after making the reservation at Recreation.gov. This camp is a backcountry camp for maintenance and fire crews, and is really well appointed with faucets delivering running water, giant wood furniture, picnic tables, solar showers, cabins, covered corrals, and a propane stove that would serve dozens. It’s a puzzle to me why there isn’t a circle drawn around this place excluding it from the wilderness. No one was around. I enjoyed a hot lunch (using my own stove) at their picnic table, and then continued NE on the …

South Fire Loop Trail
You only go about 0.1 mile on this trail before it bears off to the right, with the AZT / Mica Mountain Trail continuing straight.

Mica Mountain Trail
A quarter mile up this trail, I encountered something I had never seen before, a chronolog.io photo stand. The idea here is you set your camera on the stand and take a picture, which you email to their upload site and they add it to their time lapse photo series. Unfortunately, at 8000’, my brain doesn’t work quite so good, and I am “icon-challenged” in any case,

so I put my camera on the stand backwards. If you are in doubt, take pictures both ways and sort it out when you get home. At 1.5 miles from Manning Camp, I took the short detour left on…

North Fire Loop Trail
… arriving at the summit of Mica Mountain, my high point for the trip. Then back the way I came to the intersection with the Mica Mountain Trail. There is quite the trail network up here, and the trail labeling is imperfect up here, and people have scratched edits on the signs so you don’t lose the AZT. Mostly I was following my GPS, so I had no issue. I continued straight on the north Fire Loop Trail, which seems to be marked Mica Mountain Trail, past the intersection with the Bonita Trail and turning left on the…

North Slope Trail
I headed down this trail 0.6 mi to Italian Spring, which is a large grassy puddle, with good water. Just as I finished up stocking up my water and having a snack, the skies opened up with thunder and lightning and hail. Not my favorite thing on mountain ridges, but I hoped that the radio tower on Mica Mountain would be a better target than me. Hail stings on bare skin. I headed as fast as I could down…

Italian Spring Trail #95
I was much slower than a couple other parties of younger folks dashing from the storm, including an unauthorized dog, but there was no point in rushing and getting hurt. Once out of Saguaro National Park, and entering the Rincon Mountains Wilderness, I had completed my section of Arizona Trail in a Day, but I just kept walking until the rain stopped, setting up camp on a flat spot with great views.

Sunday, October 9, I was in no hurry to leave camp, and continued down the hill, with my pruning shears and saw handy. I trimmed a lot of catclaw and mesquite that was encroaching on the trail, but eventually ran out of time for this. Just before exiting the wilderness, I encountered a seasonal stream flowing vigorously, which I have added to the water sources.

Where FR 37 comes in from the left to go to Italian Trap Tank, there is a wide sandy wash flowing that had to be forded, but never more than an inch or two deep. I’m confused as to whether this is the beginning of the Italian Spring Trail or if Italian Spring Trail #95 begins at Reddington Road and follows the alignment of the AZT. Even the Far Out app shows this location as the transition from AZT Passage 9 to Passage 10, while the AZ Trail webpage shows the dividing line at Reddington Road.

From here it was clear I would have to push to get to my intended camp at The Lake where the trail crosses Bellota Road. I picked up a gallon of water I had cached at Reddington Road and pressed on the …

Bellota Trail #15
The hike through the rolling meadows of the Reddington Pass area is beautiful, and far different from the high rocky wilderness to the south. I watched numerous storms meandering through the area, but none hit me. A lot of target shooting goes on in the area, and even after dark

. I wished I was wearing my orange hunting season hiking gear as I walked along the ridge top. I arrived at The Lake just before 6 pm, set up my tent, and had dinner in the dark. A great horned owl serenaded me all evening. As I sat there, a helicopter and fixed wing plane came in and circled for about 20 minutes, looking in the dark for who knows what?

Monday morning, I was walking toward Molino Basin at first light. It is nice rolling country, and I watched the moon set and the sun rise as I went. Took a long break at West Spring, and then made the thousand foot climb up over the pass to Molino Basin.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Light

	Carolyn's Creek	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Flowing at gallons per minute of clear, cool water.

	Fletch's Creek	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Flowing at gallons per minute across trail.

	Grass Shack Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	The stream flows vigorously through the camp, by all the campsites.

	Italian Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Pretty pool of water in the grass. Good source.

	Manning Camp Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	I collected water at the faucet at the cabin. There was water everywhere.

	Quilter Trail - 1.35mi Water Crossing	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	Lots of water flowing in the ravine today, just where the Quilter Trail crosses into the wilderness.

	The Lake	51-75% full	51-75% full
	Plenty of water in the Lake, although I did not check it out for drinking quality.

	West Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	There was good water in a pool at the spring.

1 archive

May 28 2022

chumley

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

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Memorial Mica, AZ

Backpack		May 28 2022
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Backpack	34.34 Miles	8,952 AEG

Backpack	34.34 Miles	3 Days
	8,952 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

12 linked trail guides

[ checklist ] Devils Bathtub Italian Spring Mud Hole Spring - Mica Spud Rock Spring

Partners

partners

	BiFrost	cmatheez
	desertchild	John9L
	slowandsteady

What better place to spend a long weekend than in the islands!?

We rolled out of the valley late Friday for a car camp in Happy Valley along Turkey Creek. This allowed us to get a relaxed start and still be on trail in time to cover the lower elevation miles before the heat would become bothersome. In actuality, pleasant breezes and a layer of high clouds made the temperatures quite enjoyable.

Turkey Creek 34 was new to me and after a couple of easy miles it really kicks into gear. There was good water at Mudhole Spring, guarded by a beautiful AZB rattlesnake. We took a break here as this is the end of the exposed stretch and the rest of the climb is wooded.

Some of this trail has some pretty rough erosion and can be really steep. Especially just above and below the Mud Hole Spring area. Several reroutes have been constructed to bypass damaged sections with beautiful tread and nice switchbacks. I presume that similar construction will occur to fix the remaining stretches over the next year or two?

We cut over to Spud Rock, a campground I had only previously seen while looking down on it from above, so it was nice to check it out on the ground. It's set in a nice grove of pine and aspen. From here we headed up to Heartbreak Ridge via the Switchback Trail before dropping down to camp on the Fire Loop.

We arrived to a deserted camp and had our choice of sites. Despite the holiday and positively wonderful temperatures, I knew that there were no other reservations for the weekend.

Later in the afternoon, we did a four mile loop from camp to hit up Spud Rock for the views and the true Mica Mountain highpoint. Upon returning to camp we met the NPS ranger along with a small trail crew who had been sweeping the AZT with a fine-tooth comb. Aaaah, NPS money!

Sunday we did a nice 10 mile loop hitting the North Slope Trail, Italian Spring, the east side of the Loop to Mica Secondary, Reef Rock, Mica Meadow and Man Head, before taking an offtrail route down a drainage to Devils Bathtub. The entire drainage was dry, including the bathtub. The ranger said there hadn't been any flow in over a month, so it wasn't surprising that all the pools had dried up by now too. We saw a couple of turkeys that delighted Kathy by gobbling back at her.

The last half mile back to camp, Karl and I followed the drainage that Manning Camp Spring feeds. While the flow was light, there were some nice pools, narrows, and a cave, and we were both able to go for a refreshing swim.

After a break at camp, Karl and I headed out to see if it was possible to summit Helen's Dome, but we came up a little short, settling instead for Helen's Secondary, which is just a few feet shorter, and also keeps the view to about 340 degrees ... with the missing 20 degrees blocking the civilization of the greater Tucson metro.

Monday morning we opted for the Tibberoute, starting on the Manning Camp Trail (AZT) to Devils Bathtub and then headed down Heartbreak Ridge before cutting back via the Deerhead Springs Trail. We saw a couple more turkeys near the Heartbreak Junction and the same snake was relaxing at Mud Hole as it was on Saturday, but that was all the wildlife we encountered on the weekend. From this point we covered the same ground back to the cars as we had hiked on the way up. The last 2 miles seemed to drag a little more than they did two days earlier and I spotted a group of locals a hundred yards from the trailhead ... the only other hikers we saw all weekend!

I really enjoy this mountain. It has some great terrain and you can peel off some good miles in cooler temperatures (it hit 38 at night ... 78 during the heat of the day). It was great to hike with Sam and Chris again.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Claret Cup Cactus

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Black Rattlesnake

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Deer Head Spring	Dry	Dry
	No sign of spring or water or anything that resembles a spring location. Except the NPS sign identifying it.

	Devils Bathtub	Dry	Dry
	Not a drop!

	Italian Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Nice pool of clear, clean water.

	Manning Camp Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Light flow through the narrows and pool below. Faucet was on at the cabin which made collecting and filtering easy.

	Mud Hole Spring - Mica	Dripping	Dripping
	Nice pool with problably 20 gallons at the spring and a few yards of trickling water in the "creek" that it creates. Rattlesnake seen in the same spot two days apart.

	Spud Rock Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Open spring pool was full of very cloudy unappealing water. The covered spring box was cleaner. No noticeable flow, but plenty available for filtering.

_____________________

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

1 archive

May 28 2022

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Memorial Mica, AZ

Backpack		May 28 2022
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Backpack	34.34 Miles	8,952 AEG

Backpack	34.34 Miles	3 Days
	8,952 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

Partners

partners

	chumley	cmatheez
	desertchild	John9L
	slowandsteady

Great weekend in the Rincons on a holiday weekend. Car camped the night before and made it to Manning Camp via Turkey Creek Trail pretty early. Surprised we didn't see any other hikers or backpackers. The NPS crew was at Manning Camp but that was it. Then in the afternoon we day hiked to Spud Rock taking a break in windy conditions but still nice. Then a quick stop by Mica Mountain high point on the way back to camp.

Relaxing night around camp with Kathy, Chumley, 9L, Chris and Sam so a good group to spend in this awesome sky island! Next morning slow rolled it out of camp and did about 9 mile loop on top. First over to North Slope hitting Mica Secondary viewpoint taking a short break. Then continued on to Italian Spring and up the trail towards Reef Rock. At Reef Rock we took our lunch break and really enjoyed the spot and views. My personal favorite for views on the mountain with the Galiuros, San Pedro Valley and everything eastside as well as Rincon Peak to the south. Finishing up we headed downtrail passed Manhead and then took an off trail drainage route to Devils Bathtub. Unfortunately no water to speak of in the drainage but still some fun downclimbs. On the way back to camp Chumley and I split and hiked off trail up the drainage that flows out of Manning Camp. Best water on the mountain for sure with a few good pools for a swim.

Back at camp made a short trip over to Helens Dome before sunset. Really can't get to the summit without ropes so Chumley and I opted for the secondary high point which was a solid backup plan. After that another great night in camp.

Next morning we hiked out slightly different route than hiking in with some new trail but still exited Turkey Creek trail for the last 6 miles. Awesome to hike in the Rincons again with a great group!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Claret Cup Cactus

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Black Rattlesnake

_____________________

2 archives

May 15 2022

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Mica Mountain meander, AZ

Run/Jog		May 15 2022
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Run/Jog	21.17 Miles	5,064 AEG

Run/Jog	21.17 Miles	7 Hrs 20 Mns	3.02 mph
	5,064 ft AEG	20 Mns Break

no photosets

Linked

Partners

none

no partners

Main event for the weekend, and attempt to check off all (or most) of the trail I haven't yet seen in the Rincon Mountains. Started up Turkey Creek (NPS has been doing a lot of work on this trail since last year) and it was already quite warm at 8:30AM, so the grind up to Deerhead Spring trail was quite a slog, such that I felt fine sitting in the shade while my friend checked out the campground. The aspen grove is leafed out, which has not been the case in my April visits.

Took East Slope over to the Heartbreak Ridge junction, so I can hit the 0.6 mile stretch of that trail I hadn't seen yet. Then up to Man's Head for another little break. Still felt warm even up there. Next we headed up Bonita Trail to the summit, which we didn't bother stopping at despite its sweeping views.

At the Spud Rock junction, I had to decide whether to head down past Helen's Dome to do an out-and-back to hit one stretch of trail I haven't seen yet, but opted to skip it, since I was feeling a little rough. So we headed down the Spud Rock connector trail and up the Mica Meadow trail (this section was nice). Back at Fire Loop, I ran out of water, and we made the planned descent to Manning Camp.

At Manning Camp we saw the first, and only, human we would encounter all day, an NPS employee who actually recognized us from a trail work outing a few months back. Filled up at the Manning Camp spigot, and she recommended a dip in the cold creek water. I took this advice, submerging my shirt in the pool, and it was indeed very cold and very refreshing. This was a winning suggestion for sure, and I actually felt pretty good the rest of the way down the mountain.

We took Devil's Bathtub (falls were dry, recently according to our friend at Manning Camp), then Heartbreak Ridge/Deer Head, quick douse in Mudhole Spring, and back to the bottom, where it was quite hot, but for some reason tolerable compared to how I felt up on the mountain.

Still have ~1.5 miles of trail left in the Rincons, but that'll have to wait until cooler weather.

	Deer Head Spring	Dry	Dry
	Nada

	Devils Bathtub	Dry	Dry
	No flow, a couple of stagnant pools on top of the falls.

	Manning Camp Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Still lots of nice cold water flowing into the pool.

	Mud Hole Spring - Mica	Dripping	Dripping
	Still dripping, enough to filter in the little pool.

_____________________

2 archives

May 01 2021

andrewp

Guides 3
Routes 13
Photos 231
Triplogs 15

male

Joined Sep 27 2020
Tucson, AZ

Rincon Tour, AZ

Backpack		May 01 2021
		andrewp • Triplogs 15

Backpack	41.29 Miles	10,633 AEG

Backpack	41.29 Miles	3 Days 7 Hrs 1 Min
	10,633 ft AEG

Linked

11 linked trail guides

Rincon Peak

Happy Valley Lookout 7339

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none

no partners

I’ve wanted to do a multi-day tour of the Rincons since I was a teenager, but interest, fitness, and proximity never seemed to line up. Fortunately for me that alignment finally happened and I had a great (and sometimes challenging) trip.

The overall plan called for a four day / three night trip that included a visit to the summits of both Rincon Peak and Mica Mountain.

Day 1 — Going up!
The plan for the first day was to hike to Happy Valley camp via Miller Creek and drop the bulk of my gear there. I’d then take a day pack to Rincon Peak and return to camp for the night. Since it appeared that water wasn’t available anywhere near Happy Valley I had to carry all that I would need for the first two days. In case you’re wondering that ended up being 11 liters of water (at 2.2lb per liter it made for a heavy pack).

After an especially brutal 4:00am alarm I was on the road and heading for the trailhead before dawn. I arrived at Miller Creek around 6:30am and upon opening the rear hatch of the truck found my pack in a puddle of water! Not an auspicious start. As best I could tell the pack rolled over onto the hydration bladder mouthpiece and the bladder drained outside the pack. Fortunately something told me that I should put an “emergency” gallon of water into the truck the day before so all I had to do was refill out of that. I was extremely lucky that the leak was external to the pack. Although my entire sleep system was in a dry bag it would have sucked to have the rest of my gear get wet.

I was intent on getting to Happy Valley as quickly as I possibly could. Not only did I want to ensure that I had plenty of time to make it up and down Rincon Peak I knew Happy Valley was fully booked and I wanted to ensure that I got one of the two “good” sites there. I pushed hard up the Miller Creek trail with only a few brief stops.

Lesson learned — never race up a steep trail while carrying a heavy pack! By the time I got to Happy Valley I was absolutely spent. I had never pushed myself that hard on a hike and I was feeling it. The entire campsite was empty so I snagged site 3 for myself, hung my hammock, and got my daypack setup.

After a quick break I set off for Rincon Peak and was marveling at how much better I felt with such a lightweight pack. Then the trail started climbing and my morning adventure really started taking its toll. Getting up Rincon Peak was hard. My legs were spent and my energy reserves were depleted. On top of that I was concerned about water. I knew that I had plenty, but was a bit concerned that this day’s hiking was going to have a heavy impact on the water I had available for myself tomorrow.

After a lot of stops to take pictures and give my legs a break I arrived at the peak. The views were outstanding as expected, but the wind made it really hard to enjoy. I snapped some photos and took shelter behind the remnants of the giant cairn to have a snack.

The hike down was mostly uneventful, but due to the steepness of the grade and my overall exhaustion I was getting concerned that I would end up rolling an ankle. Ultimately, I made it down without any injuries and returned to camp.

The evening was relaxing and the campsite never did fill up. After dinner I read a bit and turned in really early.
Day 2 — Moving to Mica Mountain
Although I got over 9 hours of sleep I was still up before dawn. The plan was to break camp and hike Heartbreak Ridge to cross over to Manning Camp, which would be my home for the next two nights. Knowing that part of this hike was exposed I wanted to be sure to get an early start. I had a quick breakfast, broke camp, and was on the trail by 7:20. I have to say that switching to a hammock has made camp setup and breakdown sooo much easier.

The hike was mostly uneventful. Knowing that I really overstressed myself the day prior I made an effort to keep my overall exertion level in check. I didn’t want to risk overdoing it again as that would be a surefire way to injure myself.

I made a stop at the Happy Valley lookout (the hantavirus hotel) and found it completely locked down. The views were stunning, but the wind was just as bad as the day before so I didn’t stay too long.

After the climb to the lookout the rest of the hike was nice and easy. I routed via Devil’s Bathtub and was bummed to find that there was barely a trickle of water over the falls. I took another break here, but not for long due to the wind.

With a little more climbing I made it to Manning Camp and found the place completely empty. At first I though that the cabin was open, but that was only the door to the breezeway. The kitchen was setup out back and it looked like it had been recently occupied, but there wasn’t a ranger in sight. I didn’t see one the entire time I was there.

I walked through the camp and ended up selecting site 3 (farthest from the cabin). Found some trees for my hammock, cleaned myself up, and took a little nap. After that it was dinner and another early night.

I have to say that Manning camp is a bit spooky after dark when there’s no one else there. It’s kind of like the summer camp setting from a bad horror movie. As I was reading in my hammock I swear I saw a headlamp coming up the trail and later some spillover light from the direction of the cabin on the trees above me. I didn’t think much of it as I assumed that it was a late arrival (it was only about 8:30pm at this point).

Day 3 — Touring Mica Mountain
I had another very restful night (loving this hammock thing) and used the fact that it was 33 degrees to lounge in my quilt for an hour. My view was of Rincon Peak and I spent the time watching the change of colors on the mountain as the sun rose while listening to the forest wake up and get on with its day. I can’t imagine a more peaceful way to start a day.

After getting up I walked around manning camp expecting to see the owner of last night’s light, but found no one. None of the campsites were disturbed and there was still no sign of life at the cabin. Spooky…

I had a lazy morning and eventually hit the trail with a day pack. My intention was to hike as many of the Mica Complex trails as I could. I set off on a counter-clockwise walk of the Fire Loop trail and went off trail on several occasions to take in the view from a rock outcropping or to investigate the forest around the trail. The views from Reef Rock were outstanding and as luck would have it the wind wasn’t too bad so I was able to soak in those views for a bit longer than at prior stops. One thing that caught my eye was a stand of aspens on the hillside below me. At the time I didn’t realize that they were adjacent to the Spud Rock campground which I would end up visiting on my way out.

I continued on the Fire Loop and ran into a pack of 5 or 6 Coatimundi just a little bit past Reef Rock. Based on other trip reports this appears to be a popular spot for them. I always enjoy a Coati sighting as they always appear to be having so much fun.

Shortly after the Coati I started getting a very uneasy feeling as if I was being watched. I stopped several times to look around and saw no one and nothing. I kept moving and the feeling subsided, but I do wonder if I had caught the eye of a bear or mountain lion. It was all very unnerving to say the least.

Throughout this hike I was struck by the overall health of the forest. Sure there was evidence of recent fire, but it wasn’t the scorched earth that I’ve grown accustomed to in the Catalinas and Santa Ritas. I don’t know if it’s a difference in how the NPS manages the land or just pure luck, but I was thrilled to be able to experience it. This is what Mt Lemmon used to be like when I was growing up.

I continued on the Fire Loop and made a stop at the Mica summit then took a detour to scramble up to the top of Spud Rock. This was another impressive view and I had to chuckle to myself that even the most mundane lookout points had stunning vistas and I was becoming a bit jaded. Unfortunately, the wind had picked up again to I didn’t stay longer than a few minutes to take it all in and have a snack.

At this point I was debating on doing the North Slope trail or heading back to camp. It was still early but I also wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with what some trip reports had described as an exhausting bushwhack. Ultimately my stubbornness won out and I dropped down to check it out. I promised myself that if the trail got too sketchy I would turn back. Of course but the time I hit the bad sections I felt I was too far in to turn back.

If you’re not familiar with the North Slope trail it generally parallels the NW Fire Loop, but does it 200 - 300 ft down slope. In 2003 this area was hit HARD by the Helen’s 2 fire and it still hasn’t recovered. This was a hot fire and is one of the few spots on the mountain where it is truly scorched earth. Very few trees are left standing, but most of what has fallen has been cleared from the trail. There were still some rather large obstacles to climb over, but it wasn’t one tree after another as I had feared.

Overall the trail wasn’t too bad and some of the reports either exaggerated its state or were of very different conditions. The trail did simply disappear in several places, but most times I was able to find a blaze to get me back on track. In the times that a blaze wasn’t available I realized that there was a certain method to the madness of these trails and I could generally predict where it should go if the pattern held. I never had to backtrack and always ended up back on the trail so it wasn’t too bad. The biggest issue was overgrowth of thorny bushes (fortunately no cat’s claw) but those areas were limited and easily pushed through.

There were a couple of unburned areas in the middle of the overall carnage and they provided a picture of what the forest had been like. This was a beautiful stand of Douglas Fir with some Ponderosa Pine mixed in. As mentioned by @ShatteredArm the trees that are still there are enormous (especially by AZ standards). The most impressive healthy section was at the NE end of the trail near Italian Spring. The trees were amazing in this area as was the view from a large granite outcrop.

Once I hit Italian Spring I hung a right on the AZT and took that all the way back to Manning Camp.

Upon arrival I met my new camp neighbors who had a clogged water filter. After filtering some water for them I settled in for a relaxing evening.

Day 4 — Going down
I was greeted with another chilly morning, but knowing the stats of the hike ahead of me I knew I had to hit the trail as early as possible. The cold was slowing me down as I wasn’t packed up and on the trail until 8:30. This was a little later than I had hoped.

The plan was to follow Fire Loop trail

Heartbreak Ridge

Switchback Trail

East Slope

Spud Rock CG

Dear Head Spring Trail

Turkey Creek Trail

Road walk

Miller Creek TH. That’s about 3 miles of trail before I hit Turkey Creek and started descending in earnest.

The first part of this hike was beautiful and I was making good time. While the Switchback Trail is an apt name, I do think that a better one would be the ‘Overgrown Thornbushes with Ankle-Rolling Rocks’ Trail. I was glad to be done with it.

I wanted to stop by Spud Rock campground in order to see what it was like and decide whether or not I would want to stay there on a future trip. Upon arrival I passed through the aspen grove that I had spotted from Reef Rock and it really was a beautiful sight up close. The campground was nice, but I’m not sure I would want to make it a destination. I really appreciated the solitude, but feared that it might be a bit far from everything to be a good place to stay. The spring was bone dry and that further underlined the disadvantage of this site.

Once on the Turkey Creek trail I was making reasonably good time, but was slowed down in spots by the steepness of the trail. Add in some really annoying gnats swarming my head and I was not enjoying myself at all. Fortunately, I had brought along a head net or I would have been truly miserable.

Roughly halfway into the hike I had to stop in order to attend to a hotspot on one of my toes. This was a bit of a shock to me as I haven’t had a blister in decades, but something wasn’t right. Turns out that my big toe was rubbing in a small gap between the edge of my orthotic insole and the upper. Apparently the descent had made the geometry just right to form the start of what looked to be a pretty nasty blister. Out came the Leukotape and after wrapping my toe I was able to stand and walk without pain so I pressed on.

Soon after the steep descent stopped and the trail transitioned into a combination of shrub and grassland. The tree I stopped under to attend to my toe was one of the last spots of shade that I had until I hit the bottom of the road. While I was thankful for the gentler trail tread I was cursing the exposure. I could make good time on this trail, but with the temps already in the high 80s and the sun directly overhead I had to manage my exertion very carefully.

Fortunately, I had plenty of water and was able to maintain a sensible pace, but I wouldn’t want to be on this trail at all if it were any warmer. After about a mile I completely understood the benefit of an umbrella for hiking and made plans to acquire one as soon as possible. Hell, had I run across a pop-up umbrella stand on the trail I likely would have paid a premium for anything that would provide shade.

Aside from the brutal conditions the trek to the trailhead and then down the road was uneventful. Once I hit the campsites near the junction with FR35 I stopped and took a much-needed break in the shade. Continued on and found my truck just where I left it. Fired it up, cranked the A/C, had some lunch, and then started the drive home.

All in all this was a fantastic trip and I have tons of great memories and photos to serve as a reminder of the challenge and sense of accomplishment. Most importantly I learned a lot about myself and some of the stupid things that I end up talking myself into (like rushing up Miller Creek). This experience pushed me outside my comfort zone on many occasions and will definitely impact choices that I make on future trips.

The Rincons really are a special place and I definitely want to spend more time exploring Mica Mountain (off trail) as well as the area around Happy Valley and Rincon Creek. The forest is beautiful and since it requires so much effort to reach you are unlikely to see many people. I saw a total of 7 people over the course of the entire trip and that isolation made it much easier to enjoy nature. There weren’t any noisy people over the ridge disturbing the wildlife nor were there the constant reminders of human presence that you see on so many other trails.

I have to say that I’m somewhat in awe of the people who manage to do a similar loop as a day hike / run. That’s a level of strength and fitness that I can’t really fathom right now. On the other hand I couldn’t fathom doing the trip I did 6 months ago so my perspective will likely change. Even if I get to the point where I could do this in a day I’m not sure that I would want to give up the overnight part of the experience. This forest is truly magical in the early morning and that’s something that can only really be appreciated when you wake up in the middle of it.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Douglas-Fir

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark

Deer Head Spring

Dry

	Devils Bathtub	Dripping	Dripping
	Very slight trickle over the falls to a very shallow pool below.

	Italian Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Small pool of algae soup.

	Manning Camp Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Reasonable flow over the falls to decent sized pools below. Saw deer browsing inside the fenced area so this water really should be filtered, treated, or boiled before use.

	Miller Canyon	Dry	Dry
	One damp spot just up from the trailhead.

	Mud Hole Spring - Mica	Dripping	Dripping
	Very small amount of water dripping down from the spring.

Spud Rock Spring

Dry

Turkey Creek

Dry

Apr 10 2021

jacobemerick

Guides 38
Routes 182
Photos 1,602
Triplogs 232

40 male

Joined Dec 09 2014
Gilbert, AZ

Rincon Double Feature, AZ

Hiking		Apr 10 2021
		jacobemerick • Triplogs 232

Hiking	31.88 Miles	7,927 AEG

Hiking	31.88 Miles	15 Hrs 29 Mns	2.59 mph
	7,927 ft AEG	3 Hrs 10 Mns Break

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Happy Valley Lookout 7339

Rincon Peak

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

Been curious (jealous) of all the fun trips in the Rincons, so headed down there and was absolutely blown away. This range is fantastical.

Turkey Creek Trail
Parked at Miller Creek Trailhead (46F, brr) and walked the roads in the dark, passing a half-dozen RVs along 4408 and reaching the trail in time to turn off my headlamp. Trail construction is fantastic (a common theme for the day) and I made quick work of the foothills, rounding 5220' and starting the meat of the climb with the rising sun. Temps were perfect - the steep slope worked up a healthy sweat, and I only had to pause for a few minutes for the cool air to chill me down. Anyways, reached Mudhole before 7AM and had decent shade for the rest of the climb, and I enjoyed the views of Reef Rock and the relentless uphill.

Deerhead / Switchback / Heartbreak
Deerhead was... a trail? After so much uphill this mostly flat route passed in a blink. Poked around Spud Rock campground, checking in on the spring. Quick break, then strode up Switchback, which was more memorable because it had (well-built) switchbacks. Heartbreak dragged, mostly because I was looking forward to topping Reef Rock. The marked drainage below Man Head had a trickle of water.

Fire Loop
Quick haul up to Man Head, during which my legs briefly thought about cramping, and then easy going under tall pines, with a soft breeze rustling underneath. The views from Reef Rock are fantastic, especially after gazing up at it all morning. There are a few lovely meadows to pass through, a handful of annoying drainages to roller-coaster through, overall this is a fun loop. Continued up to the summit of Mica Mountain, which offered no grand vista, just the remains of a fire tower.

Heading down was neat, with Spud Rock and Helen's Dome to check out, plus some good views north to Santa Catalinas. Spent some time gazing at Mount Lemmon, trying to retrace my visit last year and guess which flanks were hit hard with the fire. Eventually turned south and headed into Manning Camp (which was only manned by deer) and tanked up on water.

Manning Camp / Devil's Bathtub
Long, busy lunch break, and then headed down and quickly passed a few backpackers on their way up. Turned and headed east, where the burn damage picked up some. Didn't enjoy Devil's Bathtub as much, even with the big views - the day's heat was picking up and there's a lot of rocky exposure. Spring was trickling enough to almost be called a waterfall.

Heartbreak Ridge
I missed the tall pines of Mica Mountain quickly. There are views and interesting flora, and the trail is well-maintained, it just felt rather toasty in the afternoon sun. Made the quick haul up to the lookout, was neat to be halfway between the two peaks and have such a great view. Then there is that sudden, beautifully built set of switchbacks (boy was I happy to be going down them) and I was finally at the saddle.

Rincon Peak
Time for the "burnout". First mile is flat, and I used plenty of words to describe the rest of it, and flat was not one of them. Some overgrowth, some deadfall, and that last half mile had some confusing tread. Part of me enjoyed this trail, and I can see it being a fun standalone summit from Miller Creek. Doing it at the end of a long day was painful. When I reached the top I gazed at the panorama, swam in the vertigo, and then zoomed back down, ready to be done. Going downhill wasn't quite as tough as I thought it would be, and there were even a few sections that I jogged along.

Miller Creek
Not sure if I loved or hated this one. The trail construction is creative, and for as much elevation as it covers, there are a lot of flat switchbacks winding around the huge boulders. Had to turn on the headlamp about two miles in and navigate a few confusing twists. Last mile through the creek dragged. Think I need to do this again in the light to fully appreciate it.

Maybe a dozen people on the trail, along Manning Camp and Heartbreak.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mud Hole Spring - Mica

Deer Head Spring

Dry

	Devils Bathtub	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Large pool above rock falls, dripping flow over the lip.

	Manning Camp Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Amazing.

	Miller Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	A few sad, scummy pools at the bottom.

	Mud Hole Spring - Mica	Dripping	Dripping
	A few pools deep enough to scoop from.

Spud Rock Spring

Dry

_____________________

1 archive

Apr 10 2021

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Mica Mountain outer loop, AZ

Run/Jog		Apr 10 2021
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Run/Jog	21.97 Miles	5,403 AEG

Run/Jog	21.97 Miles	7 Hrs 39 Mns	2.89 mph
	5,403 ft AEG	3 Mns Break

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Didn't have any ideas for other places to go, so I decided to head back to the Rincons for a loop around Mica Mountain. Decided to try the outermost loop possible using official trails, which was almost 12 miles starting at the top of Turkey Creek trail. Parked at the end of the road, and it was already hot at 9am, but the temps were nice past Mudhole Spring. The climb on this route was worse than last weeks Heartbreak Ridge loop, because instead of being more or less done climbing at Spud Rock Spring, the climbing continued all the way up to Man Head.

I hadn't been up there much besides just passing straight across via AZT, but it's beautiful up there. Still stray patches of snow near Mica Meadow. The reef rock view was impressive, probably my favorite in the range after Rincon Peak. After I got done taking a pano, a coatimundi appeared from over the edge of the cliff, and didn't even see me until he was about 10 feet away. His reaction when he realized his mistake was priceless.

Just a couple minutes after leaving Reef Rock, saw a band of 4-5 coatis. Guess that's the favorite part of the park.

North Slope was nice, not as bad as some of the triplogs suggest. Very few fallen trees left. The unburned stretches have some of the biggest fir trees I've seen.

By Manning Camp, I was pretty tired. That was the first place I saw anybody. Filled up water, then continued down to Devil's Bathtub, and back to Turkey Creek trail. Was worried it would be hot down low, but it was probably just in the 80s, which wasn't too bad with a low level of exertion.

Much tougher route than I envisioned; it took me about the same amount of time to hike, fully-laden, 20 miles out of the grand canyon a couple weeks ago.

	Devils Bathtub	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Flow above the trail crossing has dried up, but below is still going strong. Some trickle still at the Heartbreak Ridge crossing farther up.

	Italian Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	No flow, but there's stagnant water.

Manning Camp Spring

Gallon per minute

	Mud Hole Spring - Mica	Dripping	Dripping
	Still the tiniest seep.

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Dec 02 2020

LJW

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Mica - Spud - HVLO Loop, AZ

Hiking		Dec 02 2020
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	24.45 Miles	5,503 AEG

Hiking	24.45 Miles	8 Hrs 31 Mns	3.15 mph
	5,503 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

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Happy Valley Lookout 7339

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

Hoping for a thorough introduction to the Rincon Mountains, I gave this loop a go. Covers a lot of ground on the eastern side of the mountains and reaches the high points of Mica Mountain, Spud Rock, and the Happy Valley Lookout. Sort of fell in love. Saguaro NP East designation means the trails are in tip-top shape, but the lack of access roads, along with the current lack of traffic on the AZT, ensures good solitude for walking under the pines. Started at sunrise and went counterclockwise from Miller Creek TH.

Road to Miller is bumpy, but I made it just fine with low clearance and economy tires. Started with the 2.5 mile road walk to Turkey Creek TH. Temperature was around 20 degrees and felt it in the shade. Warmed up quickly as the road climbed out of the creek bed and up the ridge to Turkey Creek TH. Saw the first people of the day, a few hunters spread out down the trail surveying Turkey Creek just outside the NP boundary.

Trail is pretty tame before the NP boundary and makes it easy to find a rhythm. Starts climbing beyond the gate and gets steeper and steeper. Payoff starts around Mudhole Spring as the trail enters the forest. TC to Deerhead Spring Trail. At this point the trails come in quick succession. There's a nice network on top of Mica.

Switchback Trail is short and leads up to Fire Loop. From this point until after Manning Camp the trails wind through the healthy forest of pines and between the rock outcroppings on the top of Mica Mountain. Trails are superb and cushioned in pine straw. Took Bonita past Mica Meadow to the AZT, which runs right over the top of Mica Mountain. There were three hikers on the summit, so I kept going to Spud Rock and was on top in about 15 minutes.

Down at first toward Helens Dome, but I quickly talked myself out of it and backtracked to Spud Rock Trail and took that to Mica Mtn Trail. Manning camp in no time. Can't say enough about the forest around there and on top of Mica generally. Worth every step.

Manning Camp Trail to Devil's Bathtub. Worst fire damage to be found on the west side of DB. Heartbreak Ridge big views and intermittent pines. Suffered for the fire. Happy Valley LO to soak in the last views of the Northern Rincons and then down to Miller.

Miller is bouldery and drops off the mountain fast. Clear and well cairned. Got down in the shadow of the mountains with two hours of sunlight left having only seen the half dozen or so people.

2 archives

Nov 14 2020

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 14 2020
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	17.00 Miles	4,599 AEG

Hiking	17.00 Miles	7 Hrs 55 Mns	2.46 mph
	4,599 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

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Mica Mountain had been on my radar screen for awhile, and the stars aligned just right so I decided to put the pedal to the metal.

I started and ended the hike at the Turkey Creek TH. You'll need a high clearance 4WD vehicle to travel the last couple of miles to the TH. As best as I can tell, this is the shortest way to hike up to Mica Mountain.

I hit the trail at 8:20, which was later than I intended. That kept me from going to Spud Rock because I did not want to chance driving back in the dark on the 4WD portion of the road. The road wasn't too bad, but there were a couple of iffy places.

This was a nice hike and I really enjoyed it. The first couple of miles were through a grassland and did not have much elevation gain, although there was a bit of up-and-down. After the first two miles or so, the going got a bit tougher, gaining 2,000 feet or so in elevation over not much more than 2 miles. The tread was a bit rocky, and for me this was the least enjoyable part of the hike. From there, once I got to about 7,000 feet of elevation, the grade diminished and I gained about 1,600 feet of elevation over a bit more than 4 miles. This portion of the hike was well shaded by ponderosa pines, and there were some rock outcroppings with nice views along the way. There were lots of switchbacks, which made for an enjoyable hike.

It took me about 4 hours and 20 minutes to hit the summit, so I decided that it would be best to pass on going to Spud Rock and I started making my way back to the TH. It took me a little over 3.5 hours to get back to the TH.

I saw a couple of deer near the summit. On the way back, about 1.5 miles from the TH I saw a buck, and shortly after that I saw 3 does.

It is hunting season out there, so I imagine that the hunters had the deer a bit spooked. I talked to a couple of hunters and they told me that it was a muzzleloader hunt -- I doubt if there were many deer killed out there with a muzzleloader. I never heard a shot fired all day.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mica Meadow Mica Mountain Rincon Peak

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Snow

_____________________

Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

1 archive

Nov 01 2020

Mountain_Rat

Guides 11
Routes 123
Photos 818
Triplogs 257

62 male

Joined Jul 14 2011
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 01 2020
		Mountain_Rat • Triplogs 257

Hiking	21.92 Miles	5,456 AEG

Hiking	21.92 Miles	11 Hrs 10 Mns		2.16 mph
	5,456 ft AEG	1 Hour Break	13 LBS Pack

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Redington Pass - AZT #10

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LindaAnn

I’m not sure how, but Linda roped me into this one a while back

Despite all the preparation I made for it, this hike really beat me down. In fact, I’m pretty sure that somehow I did the final few miles “out of body”, and that Linda must have dragged my lifeless shell back to the truck. I will say that the weather was very accommodating; neither too hot nor too cold, neither too cloudy nor sunny, a comfortable breeze most of the trip. It was really the right day for a long hike like this.

The difficulty aside, it was really great to get into the Rincons again. I love this range, as I’m sure many do, but any adventure into these mountains requires a full day commitment at a minimum. As brutal as it is/was/will be, this is one for your list over which you’ll have no (long term) regrets.

It was great hiking and chatting with Linda again. I don’t know how she does it - leaving home at 03:00, hiking pre-dawn to sunset, all the while putting up with my complaining, then traveling another 3 hours to finish the day – but I’m glad she did, it was wonderful day and certainly one to remember.

	Park Tank	26-50% full	26-50% full
	Could see water from the trail a few miles above. Looked clean from my view.

	White Tank	26-50% full	26-50% full
	From a distance, I could see it had a good amount of water.

_____________________

1 archive

Nov 01 2020

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 01 2020
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	21.34 Miles	5,354 AEG

Hiking	21.34 Miles	11 Hrs 12 Mns	2.10 mph
	5,354 ft AEG	1 Hour 2 Mns Break

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Mountain_Rat

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

Got started about 0550 this morning to surprisingly warm temps. Headed south from the AZT parking area and dropped about 350’ to the start of Italian Spring trail a couple of miles away. Once on Italian Spring Trail, it was a steady uphill for the next 7-8 miles. Nice breeze most of the way. Had lunch at the summit of Mica Mtn, then headed over to Spud Rock. Great views from atop the rocks, although there was some haze from the wind.

Generally easy hike back down, although a mostly rocky trail slowed us down at times. Took the dirt road the last two miles instead of the trail. That 350’ climb back to the finish was a little painful after hiking 20 miles.

Only saw 4 backpackers while we were geaded back downhill. No wildlife. Good to hike with Matt again.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Miscellaneous Survey Marker

	Italian Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Spring was full of clear water.

_____________________

Stop crying and just go do the hike.

1 archive

Apr 24 2020

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 24 2020
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	24.00 Miles	5,000 AEG

Hiking	24.00 Miles	11 Hrs 30 Mns	2.09 mph
	5,000 ft AEG

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Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

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5-star CCW loop from Miller Creek trailhead. Road walked to the TC trailhead and on up, then north on FLT, back down thru Manning Camp on the AZT, over on DB, down HR and MC. Definitely warmer and drier than 2 weeks ago but still very pleasant. Lovin' the east-side Rincons!

	Deer Head Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	tiny trickle

	Devils Bathtub	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	light flow, big pool at the bottom of the falls

	Manning Camp Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	full pond and clean outflow

	Mud Hole Spring - Mica	Dripping	Dripping
	tiny trickle

	Spud Rock Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	full but murky, a few other trickles in the area

_____________________

1 archive

Sep 15 2018

RedwallNHops

Guides 1
Routes 269
Photos 613
Triplogs 1,360

50 male

Joined Dec 22 2003
Tucson, AZ

Manning Camp and Helen's dome, AZ

Backpack		Sep 15 2018
		RedwallNHops • Triplogs 1,360

Backpack	30.30 Miles	6,844 AEG

Backpack	30.30 Miles
	6,844 ft AEG

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