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| Hiking | 8.56 Miles |
1,565 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.56 Miles | 3 Hrs 3 Mns | | 2.81 mph |
| 1,565 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Early morning hike in Prescott. With the sterling description for this trail, I felt compelled to do this trail…..actually, there are about 6 trails in the area that I haven’t done and this was the most accessible, (even hiking in from another TH). Because of the warning about using the White Horse Tank TH, I decided to hike in from the Salida Gulch Connector 9263. Got to the TH just before 7am. The road to the TH is all dirt. It is in good shape with a few minor dips. The parking area is large with enough room for 20+ vehicles. On the drive down I noticed what I think was an outhouse about .2 miles from the TH. There is also a trail map at the TH which gives a decent picture of the trails in the area. (It does not provide mileage, just an approximation on how the trails interact).
Salida 9263 is a multi-use trail, open to hikers as well as quads. This means that its idea of a trail is to take the most direct route possible when climbing hills. There are multiple climbs for this trail. Most of them aren’t that bad, but there are a couple (at 1.7 and 2.25) that got my heart racing. Best just to keep your eyes to the ground for those stretches. Not only because it can be demoralizing to see the trail stretching before you, but also because the trail is covered with ankle busting rocks. At 1.7 there is also a side trail that heads off to the right. It is signed for hikers only, so it is legit. Joe refers to it as “an old stub of trail 93”, which is what it connects into. At about 2.7 I hit Prospector Trail and then a short time later (2.9 miles), I connected to the White Horse Tank Trail.
The trail was pretty much as expected…..more of the same. It was nice for the first .15 miles and then about .5 miles of ankle-busting, rock infested trail that was for the most a gradual decline. At around 3.5 the trail flattens out for about .3 miles before doing another descent, this time without the rocks. Very quickly after this descent you arrive at the “private parking lot for residence only.” As mentioned in the trail description the veracity of this sign is unknown. However, in my opinion, they are welcome to their parking lot and the “their” trail. The White Horse doesn’t offer anything that you can’t get with 9263. You do get some decent views to the north, but you get (very close) to the same views from 9263. That being said, it is always nice to see how trails interact with each other and the terrain. Plus, it’s another trail off the list. Returned the way I came. Saw 1 jackrabbit. No other hikers. Trails were in good condition. There was still traces of snow on the ground. The trail was still frozen while I was hiking, but as the day heats up evidence (footprints) showed that portions of the trail could become muddy. |
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