Little Wolf Creek to Big Bug Mesa • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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We needed a new place to escape the Phoenix heat which would likely allow social distancing, so decided to drive our Jeep up Poland Rd from Poland Junction, about 4 miles north of beautiful downtown Mayer off Hwy 69. We hadn't driven Poland Rd since before the fires of 2016 and 2017 and remember it being very rough. Surprisingly, it was smooth gravel all the way through Breezy Pines to the five corners intersection where we turned a sharp left onto 103 which climbs steeply onto Big Bug Mesa, our first exploration of this area. What a shock to find 103 also freshly graded, suitable for any passenger car or camper.

Since our goal was to find a nice place to hike in the cool morning hours, we parked at a wide intersection of a side road and hiked 103 all the way to its end at a point overlooking Little Wolf Creek and surrounding area, a dramatic view even in spite of the smokey air. About half way to the point the road became rougher with exposed boulders, so a car would have to park there and start the hike, but our Jeep could have handled it easily. During our entire 9 mile hike we did not see another person, so it has a special place on our list of beautiful, pandemic avoiding places.

The mesa top has a healthy growth of mature pines, juniper and oak spaced far enough apart to hopefully save them from another wildfire. Most of them have blackened bark and there was very little brush between them, so apparently their fire resistance saved them. Closer to the end of the road the trees were smaller and mostly dead with a heavy growth of bushes on the slopes. We saw no sign of any trail going off the end of the point as shown on trail maps for trails 9434 and 304. We did, however see a marker for 9434 along the road leading to the point and also found an unmarked trail going east from the road and across a cattle guard through a fence, and then heading south along another fence.

Prescott NF road maps for this area show dispersed camping is allowed along 103 and other roads in the area. Areas along the road have been cleared and graded for campers to drive in. The area ranges from 7000 ft when first reaching the top after driving from the bottom, to 6700 ft at the end point. I can't think of a nicer place to escape the heat for a weekend.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Camphorweed Tansyaster

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Wild Turkey

Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Broom Snakeweed
Buckwheat sp.
Common Mullein
Scarlet Bugler
Slimleaf Plainsmustard (Pink Windmills)
Wild Chrysanthemum
Large-Flower Brickellbush
Wild Geranium
Fleabane sp. - f
Goldenrod sp.
Common Sunflower
Fendler's Ceanothus
Arizona Thistle
Slender Goldenweed - f
White Heath Aster - f
Annual Goldeneye
Western Yarrow
Toadflax Penstemon
Wright's Deervetch
Thistle sp. tbd.
Mountain Parsley
Cudweed
Canadian Horseweed
Camphorweed
Fall Tansyaster
Dandelion

_____________________

Jun 22 2019

joebartels

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Little Wolf - Pine Creek - Grapevine Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 22 2019
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	16.29 Miles	3,766 AEG

Hiking	16.29 Miles	10 Hrs 23 Mns		1.89 mph
	3,766 ft AEG	1 Hour 45 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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[ checklist ] Alligator Juniper Golden-Beard Penstemon Palmer's Penstemon Parry's Agave Wild Bergamot Yellow Columbine

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BiFrost

The_Eagle

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

Moderate drive, pines, creek, relaxing pine road walk on the mesa. Those are memories from 6 years ago. An element of nature has changed it for the balance of my lifetime.

The drive in is semi gnarly. Confident 2WD probably squeaks through. It'll rattle your noggins regardless.

Luckily Karl drove. He got us 0.8 mi further then our 2013 lasso loop. Scorched pines among other mayhem greet you to the grapeless vine vicinity. We negotiated mild brush from 0.8 mi to 1.5 mi heading up towards Coyote Springs. Karl took a slightly lower route. Which I now see as a fair game trail on satellite.

This loop was possible in late June due to rare cooler than average temps. We still slow poked and enjoyed more breaks than average. Early on it was apparent it was going to be a long day.

Little Wolf Creek Trail #304
We stumbled upon a fencing crew as mentioned in this caption. No one loves this trail but I'm glad it exists and gets enough traffic to keep it relevant.

FR 67
Cabins in the vicinity meant the fire was tackled for a stretch. The nice forested views didn't last long. We stretched the 1.9 mi road-stroll out to 50 minutes.

Back to Business Men
After an easy 0.3 mi on a narrow path Bruce called a fire break ( not, never was, wrong! ) things got real. Roughly 10 yards of the path disappeared to dense chaparral. Karl busted through while Bruce and I suited up. We took turns slaying manzanita uphill with Karl directing overhead. Next, after 0.55 miles of easy off trail it was another chaparral war
7.27 mi - 12:02pm
7.72 mi - 12:42pm
Not terrible like the 10 yards of manzanita but listen kids, it's June...lol

We forged on another mile on a good trail to the Seaton Spring vicinity for a well deserved lunch break.

Bug Up!
Getting up Bug Mesa turned out to be another slice of adventure. I fell backwards on the slope near the top. Aside from a nasty bruise on my left thigh today it was no big deal and we continued onward.

"Top" of the mesa was supposed to be a relaxing stroll. It was far better than bushwhacking. I wouldn't advertise as enjoyable.

Bug Down
The anticipated horrible part of the day just held our attention intensely. It was over quicker than figured.

Seedless, still juicy
Grapevine was a welcomed trail. There is plenty to desire. There is plenty to dissuade it from being crowded.

Synopsis
Bruce has officially written this one off. Understood. Yesterday I thought I was in that boat. Short stretches were enjoyable. Minus a fist sized bruise on my thigh, the pain has worn off. I'll probably plow through this crap again someday.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Bluestem Prickly Poppy

_____________________

- joe

Jun 22 2019

The_Eagle

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

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Little Wolf - Pine Creek - Grapevine Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 22 2019
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	16.32 Miles	3,867 AEG

Hiking	16.32 Miles	10 Hrs 24 Mns	1.81 mph
	3,867 ft AEG	1 Hour 23 Mns Break

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[ checklist ] Antelope Horns Bluestem Prickly Poppy Wild Bergamot Yellow Columbine

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BiFrost

joebartels

Big Bug Mesa Trail 9434 seems to have taken a hit after the Big Bug Mesa fire of June 2016.
There was some trail at the beginning and some at the end towards the saddle. In between, we scrambled around the washouts. The first of many scrambles on the day.

At the saddle is where we intersected the Little Wolf Creek Trail #304. This one was in great shape because of recent fence repair and horse traffic. So recent, that we ran into the group doing repairs. We expressed our thanks and exchanged pleasantries in different languages and were on our way.

A bit of road walk over to where we went off trail last time. I remembered this section only being bad after jumping out of the wash. This is the last time for this hiker taking this "Shortcut". Manaznita push is not fun.

Great to be back on a trail again. We took the Pine Creek Trail #289, up to the dry Seaton Spring area for a well deserved lunch.

After lunch, Off Trail again, straight uphill to the NE and North through more thick stuff and rock climbing.
Joe woke up a rattler on the way up.

The walk across the mesa was a welcome one with flashbacks of flash floods, 6 years ago, hiking with Joe and Turtle.
[ photo ]

We opted to drop off the mesa to the east to get to Grapevine Springs. In hindsight, we should have continued a little further to a/the real trail.

Once on the Grapevine Springs Canyon Trail #4, It was clear sailing. Plenty of water, tons of Columbine, Ponderosa, and croaking frogs. This is the section that gets all the traffic to the area.

Thanks to Karl for driving allowing us to cut 1.6 miles off of the hike.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Light

Coyote Spring

Dry

Grapevine Springs

Gallon + per minute

Seaton Spring

Dry

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Jun 22 2019

BiFrost

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Little Wolf - Pine Creek - Grapevine Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 22 2019
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	16.32 Miles	3,867 AEG

Hiking	16.32 Miles	10 Hrs 24 Mns	1.81 mph
	3,867 ft AEG	1 Hour 23 Mns Break

no routes

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joebartels

The_Eagle

Joe and Bruce had hiked this same loop in 2013 but it's changed a lot since the fire that pretty much took out 80% of the route. We had various conditions from road hike, trail, bad trail, and no trail. The no trail was particularly rough with very thick Manzanita and scrub Oak that took us awhile to negotiate. However, to counter the tough sections we took some nice breaks in the sections that survived the burn. There are some good stands of ponderosa still left especially on Big Bug Mesa and the area around Seaton Spring where we had lunch.

Near the end of the hike we dropped off Big Bug Mesa and did more off trail down to Grapevine Spring. It was steep down to the spring but not the thick brush we encountered earlier in the hike. Again some of the ponderosa forest survived above the spring and made for a decent hike. The spring had good water with decent pools along the creek. From here it was probably best trail of the day for the last 2 miles back to the vehicles.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Yellow Columbine

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Little Wolf Creek

Wildflowers Observation Light

_____________________

1 archive

May 06 2017

clem5123

Triplogs 40

56 male

Joined Jul 29 2016
Dewey

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		May 06 2017
		clem5123 • Triplogs 40

Hiking	3.60 Miles	1,753 AEG

Hiking	3.60 Miles
	1,753 ft AEG		40 LBS Pack

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Plan A was to take Big Bug Mesa 9434 from FR 67 south side of the Mesa up to the Mesa camp. Then take #304 down and back to the truck. At this time there are no markings on the trail head. From where we parked just across the road at some campsites there looks to be two options. To the left is a Jeep trail, straight ahead is what looks like a quad track through a creek bed. Between the two is a post with notches in it where signs used to be.Which way?
Thanks to a fellow at the campsite we took the Jeep trail putting us in the right direction. We missed where 9435 was supposed to be, so in reaching 9434 and 304 marked by a cairn I thought it was 9435 and stayed right.

Well into #304 I figured out that we are on 304 due to the terrain.

Plan B. 304 to the mesa, camp, Jeep trail 301 ( the fellow told us) connects to 9434, and back to the truck. Beautiful views, photo opportunities, and water in the creek at various places for the dog. Many great campsites on the mesa. It was just us, the way I prefer. Next morning. South on 301 jeep trail to find 9434.
After looking fairly hard, No 9434. Nothing marked. No old hidden trail that we could find. We could see it from the mesa's edge several hundred feet down. Every attempt at a "medium" bushwack ended shortly.

Plan C. Up to 304, down 304, back to the truck. Looking for 9435 on our way out, did not see it on the way out either.

The trails do not look like what PNF fseprd501333.pdf shows. The trails on this site resemble it closer, although it shows 9434 connecting with jeep 301.
After looking on google maps earth. It looks as though 9434 was at the cairn but does not connect with Jeep 301. It may have at some time ago that it did or does if you are willing to do serious bushwacking. The trail peters out near the end of jeep 301 below the mesa. I cannot tell how far down.

Coyote Spring

Dry

Pipeline Canyon

Light flow

Taft Canyon

Light flow

_____________________

Oct 03 2015

Hiking_Fool

Routes 11
Photos 260
Triplogs 423

64 male

Joined Mar 12 2011
Cave Creek, AZ

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Oct 03 2015
		Hiking_Fool • Triplogs 423

Hiking	10.00 Miles	2,000 AEG

Hiking	10.00 Miles
	2,000 ft AEG

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	Coyote Spring	Dry	Dry
	Dry

_____________________

Sep 14 2013

The_Eagle

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

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

BB Mesa-L Wolf Crk-Pine Crk-Grapevine Lp, AZ

Hiking		Sep 14 2013
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	18.65 Miles	3,795 AEG

Hiking	18.65 Miles	11 Hrs 3 Mns		2.12 mph
	3,795 ft AEG	2 Hrs 15 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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joebartels

Tortoise_Hiker

The drive in on Grapevine Road is definitely not for anything but HC Vehicles. If there is even the slightest chance for rain, park at the Gate and walk the additional .8 miles (4x4 recommended). Expect Arizona pin-stripping unless you are in a small Samari sized vehicle.

Beautiful sun filled morning and 58 degrees to start. At 11am it was in the 80's when the clouds rolled in and the temps started dropping down into the 50's. A 20% chance of rain dumped on us for the better part of the late morning until about 3:30pm. We had to hunker down for 45 minutes waiting for the Hail and Lightning to subside. This storm caused all the washes up on the Mesa to run, 3 of which we were forced to cross the freezing water.

13 second Sampler :next:

http://youtu.be/pnEHvD7_ZOg

A second wave came through for the last 1-1/2 hours of the hike, but luckily was not as strong as the first.

This ended up being a plan "B" hike, we ended up just doing a loop when the bushwhacking in spots slowed us to a crawl and the strong storm forced us to seek shelter. The original plan would have forced us to cross more of the newly formed rivers.

We saw 3 large racked Mule deer, one Denny and I considered trophy sized.

Big Bug Mesa Trail #9434 - Real pretty trail that gets little use.
Little Wolf Creek Trail #304 - Continuation of the above, becomes two track close to the south end.
Pine Flat 67 Road walk - It's a road.
Bushwhack - This was probably a fire break at one point. Took it to a drainage to try and find the 9439 trail indicated on Topo. "Thick" in many spots and hard to follow.
Pine Creek Trail #289 - Back to a real trail! Pleasant with nice views
Big Bug Mesa walk - Pretty easy walk with a GPS to guide you. Deer Country, lots of old tree stands observed.
Grapevine Canyon - not a bad bushwhack if you stay close to the drainage. When bypassing the 30' to 40' waterfall, go to the NW side
Grapevine Springs Canyon Trail #4 - Pretty area, lush, green, lots of water.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Shrub live oak Unidentified Flora

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Pamina Bulls Eye Moth

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Informational/Interpretive Sign

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Coyote Spring

	Coyote Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Wet area with filterable water

	Grapevine Springs	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Numerous areas with running and/or pooled water

	Grapevine Waterfall	Light flow	Light flow
	Light flow over the waterfall

	Little Wolf Creek	Light flow	Light flow
	Running in spots probably due to recent rains

	Seaton Spring	Dry	Dry
	No water observed in the area of the spring

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Sep 14 2013

joebartels

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Little Wolf - Pine Creek - Grapevine Loop, AZ

Hiking		Sep 14 2013
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	18.70 Miles	3,630 AEG

Hiking	18.70 Miles	11 Hrs 3 Mns		2.01 mph
	3,630 ft AEG	1 Hour 45 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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The_Eagle

Tortoise_Hiker

We parked in the spot before the green gate 0.8mi before the official trailhead for Grapevine #4. Followed #4 0.2mi from the TH to #9434 turnoff. Followed #9434 for a mere tenth of a mile.

Next we followed Coyote Springs Canyon aprox 1.4mi up to Little Mesa Saddle. No clue where Bruce got the track but there was an actual trail in fair shape. Route finding was questionable near the bottom and top otherwise a fantastic quaint canyon.

There was a minor blip trying to locate the trail down LWC which Bruce fought a rusty barbed wire fence. We took a break for him to tape up his leg. Then found the trail down that jj and I ascended in late August. This doesn't really agree with topo as #304... we did go to the spot as depicted on topo for the top (turn) of #304 and did not find any sign or trail heading SSW.

Upper LWC is not shaded yet I continue to enjoy the views all around. Met up with FS67 and followed it 1.9mi to another mysterious track Bruce acquired.

From 10:35am to noon we traveled 1.4mi through uncertain "which way do we go" terrain to Pine Creek Trail #289. The last ten minutes got interesting as a storm started to unleash splat sized raindrops.

We boogied up to the Seaton Spring Overlook for lunch in the same spot jj and I took a break. Things weren't looking so great. We tried to stick to our planned loop however it just wasn't happening. The next few hours involved a lot of swearing, arguing, gang signs and whatnot before we found a way to survive unexpected tortures. I'm just glad no one got hurt. Especially Bruce as at one point I nearly took my 1.5-inch jj knife and killed him if he said "turn right" one more time.

After turmoil we found FS 103 and headed off-trail down to Grapevine Waterfall. Along the way I got an unexpected stinging pain moving an oak branch. It felt like I grabbed a filament haired cactus such as prickly pair. Thought it might be Mala mujer. Turns out I grabbed an automeris caterpillar. Having recently read phrases containing "poison" and "toxin" I was concerned. Everything turned out fine. Later read "deadly in severe cases". Imagine that would be dozens with an allergic reaction or such.

Unsure about my hand we didn't spend much time checking out the waterfall. A third storm sprinkled on us back to the end. Perhaps some time needs to pass to heal the wounds... I'd still like to check out these trails more in the future. The Bradshaws continue to intrigue...

	Coyote Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	just enough filter, several tiny and shallow pools dot the canyon below

	Grapevine Springs	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Typical flow, perhaps a tad more.

	Grapevine Waterfall	Light flow	Light flow
	More than a trickle. Slightly disappointing considering all the rain. Either the immediate catch area did not receive what we experienced or it really soaks in fast.

	Little Wolf Creek	Light flow	Light flow
	very light flow in some areas One riparian area was about the same as late August, the rest was recent runoff.

	Pipeline Canyon	Dry	Dry
	bottom of Pipeline was dry

Seaton Spring

Dry

	Taft Canyon	Dry	Dry
	bottom of Taft was dry

_____________________

- joe

Sep 14 2013

Tortoise_Hiker

Guides 1
Routes 148
Photos 9,924
Triplogs 3,652

63 male

Joined Apr 02 2005
Mesa, AZ

BB Mesa-L Wolf Crk-Pine Crk-Grapevine Lp, AZ

Hiking		Sep 14 2013
		Tortoise_Hiker • Triplogs 3,652

Hiking	18.65 Miles	3,795 AEG

Hiking	18.65 Miles	11 Hrs 3 Mns	1.69 mph
	3,795 ft AEG

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joebartels

The_Eagle

Another adventure hiking with Joe and Bruce.There were Springs,Pioneer Ruins,Mining stuff and Mine,4 or 5 old Deer stands,Flowers,Mushrooms,Huge Juniper,a Healthy Forest,3 big Bucks,a Little Waterfall,and some Nice Views.There was also the gash in Bruce's Leg.(great stitchwork hom-ec came in handy for Bruce)Then the Rain and Hailstorm.Then the Flash Flooding.Then Joe's encounter with the Toxic Catepillar

.A couple of tough Hombres!A pleasure to hike with them and I hope they are both OK!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Fly Agaric Mushroom

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] HAZ Gear Hunting Blind

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Flash Flood Hail

_____________________

Tortoise Hiking. Stop and smell the Petrichor.

Aug 28 2013

joebartels

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Grape Taft Bush Push, AZ

Hiking		Aug 28 2013
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	17.48 Miles	4,501 AEG

Hiking	17.48 Miles	10 Hrs 29 Mns		1.75 mph
	4,501 ft AEG	30 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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Crystal Springs Trail #9435

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JuanJaimeiii

We came in peace, got razzled and left satisfied.

The interesting road to the trailhead and remote location keeps this gem in check. Humidity tipped the scales. I explained to jj to enjoy our first leg through Grapevine Canyon as the rest of the hike would pale in comparison.

Heading off-trail up Big Bug Mesa we stumbled upon a dripping waterfall. It has a rock lined trail ending at the falls. We likely missed the continuation and it may indeed be the Grapevine Trail #4?

Moving on the terrain is beautifully shaded by dense oaks or pines. Topping out on the mesa we picked up a cow patty mud mixed road. This is part of #9434 according to NF GIS dataset. It starts back down near the Grapevine Trailhead and is only marked by a carsonite post. I'm calling it Big Bug Mesa Trail, it deserves a name. Our game plan was to take it down the southern edge of the mesa to a trail that heads west to Taft Spring.

It petered out in bushes at the edge. Ten minutes later heading down we came across a great trail. I'm guessing we didn't find where it drops off Big Bug Mesa.

The trail heading over to Taft Spring is an old road bed. Really old as in probably hasn't seen much traffic since the Model T. jj did a good job of keep us on the grade until it tucked back into the lush Taft Spring oasis.

From Taft Spring we bombed out finding the trail as depicted on topo. Hints of trail were routinely swallowed by thickets. In hindsight, looking at satellite imagery, the creek was the ticket. Since we didn't know that we studied a tiny map I printed and opted to jump the ridge over to Crystal Springs.

Chaparral was thick and the steep terrain added to the difficulty. It took us 1.5 hours to move 0.4 miles. The sun broiled our backs and dwindled our water supplies. Luckily no catclaw.

Despite the mini tragedy the balance of the hike was a winner. We arrived at upper Pipeline Canyon and found our trail. We looked over the map and changed the hike to meet our time and water supply. Crystal Springs down to Wolf Creek might be one of the nicest creeks near Phoenix.

Little Wolf Creek Trail #304 is a nice trail with wide distant views. Returning on #9434 (that is according to NF GIS dataset, #9432 on topo ) was pleasantly brush free. It is steep.

Crossed paths with an Arizona Mountain Kingsnake and the skin of a rattler along the way. Big Bug Mesa might be named after the monster sized beetles scurrying around in the waning hours.

The Bradshaws continue to intrigue...

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Grape

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Grapevine Waterfall

Wildflowers Observation Light

Crystal Spring

Gallon per minute

Grapevine Springs

Gallon per minute

Taft Spring

Gallon per minute

_____________________

- joe

Oct 06 2012

Hiking_Fool

Routes 11
Photos 260
Triplogs 423

64 male

Joined Mar 12 2011
Cave Creek, AZ

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Oct 06 2012
		Hiking_Fool • Triplogs 423

Hiking	5.60 Miles	1,200 AEG

Hiking	5.60 Miles
	1,200 ft AEG

no routes

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_____________________

1 archive

May 06 2009

MEWhiteman

Guides 47
Routes 96
Photos 850
Triplogs 385

81 male

Joined Dec 24 2005
Phoenix, AZ

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		May 06 2009
		MEWhiteman • Triplogs 385

Hiking	8.00 Miles	1,850 AEG

Hiking	8.00 Miles	3 Hrs 50 Mns	2.09 mph
	1,850 ft AEG

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This was an enjoyable hike except for the overgrown scrub. I'd recommend a long sleeved shirt and bug spray. The drive in to the trail from Mayer is 6.4 miles from where Jefferson becomes unpaved. The sign where the trail begins as noted in the directions says "9434". It was interesting to note that there was a trail sign on top of the mesa where this trail meets a jeep trail at a cairn. It says this is trail "304". The official Prescott Nat'l Forest map showed both but didn't have enough detail to be helpful in terms of which trail is which. I hope to find more trails in this area.

_____________________

Oct 18 2008

Mike K

Routes 1
Photos 7
Triplogs 1

56 male

Joined Jul 04 2008
New River, AZ

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Oct 18 2008
		Mike K • Triplogs 1

Hiking	8.10 Miles	1,800 AEG

Hiking	8.10 Miles	5 Hrs	1.62 mph
	1,800 ft AEG

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This wasn't a bad hike. I went in mid October and the temperature was about 80 degrees F. A hotter day would have made the hike much harder.

Along the creek you'll come across the remains of an old stone cabin. Only the base of the walls and fireplace remain. It's interesting to think that someone had probably lived there once. Shortly after the cabin you could see two piles of dirt like you might see at the top of an old mine. The trail didn't go by them though and I didn't investigate, but I suspect that the cabin's occupant was trying his hand at mining.

The trial up to Big Bug Mesa gets pretty steep. Nothing that's particularly treacherous, but I'll admit that I had to stop and rest quite a few times before getting to the top.

When you come up the edge of the mesa (where the large cairn is), there's actually a bit more climbing to do, though it's not nearly as steep. The trail continues to the top of the mesa (which isn't quite flat on top) and seems to end at a dirt road. The road was on my top maps, but remains unnamed. I continued along this road for a bit, had lunch, and turned around.

_____________________

I think God must be a cowboy at heart,
He made wide open spaces from the start.

Jun 29 2008

JoelHazelton

Guides 16
Routes 11
Photos 1,006
Triplogs 410

39 male

Joined Mar 22 2006
Phoenix, AZ