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| | | Arrastra-Pine-Yankee Doodle Loop, AZ | | | |
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Arrastra-Pine-Yankee Doodle Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 25.44 Miles |
5,494 AEG |
| | Hiking | 25.44 Miles | 12 Hrs 3 Mns | | 2.41 mph |
| 5,494 ft AEG | 1 Hour 30 Mns Break | 17 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | I just got back in town Wednesday night and didn't have time to plan a hike, so I asked Joe if he wouldn't mind throwing something together. Most of the scars from the last hike he put together had just cleared up, so I had a bit of concern.
On the plus side, he put something together in a seldom documented area in the Bradshaw's. I love seeing new areas, especially in the Bradshaw’s and this qualified. Also, we got to access them in a new way, via FR67 (Pine Flats Rd) out of Mayer. This road is a great alternative to the Crown King or Prescott entry points. In the morning going in it was relatively smooth and accessible by just about any vehicle. Going out, well that was a slightly different story.
After the 1.5 hour drive from the Happy Valley Park and Ride, we were hiking at 7am. A comfortable 66 degrees and the smell of pine trees filled the air. We didn’t get more that .25 miles when we stumbled on an old cabin. Even though we had more tan 24 miles planned, we had to investigate. The building on the property that was in the best of shape was the outhouse. This property had a basement and a well. It did not look like it had been lived in since the 50’s or 60’s.
Going counterclockwise we started on Arrastra Creek Trail #275. I was surprised to find the trail to be in good shape and easily follow able. A real enjoyable trail following the now dry creek.
Next, at the Corral, we turned on Pine Flat Connector Trail #9275. Another nice trail that follows Pine Creek, complete some water and assorted greenery. Be careful approaching the Pine Flats area with the homes / Cottages. Heading northerly we did not see any signs, but if you turned around in sections there were No Trespassing signs. The area could have been just ambitiously signed.
After a short road walk on FR67, we turned on Pine Creek Trail #289. Temps were warmish on this trail reaching the low 90’s. This is a well-worn track that appears to get some Motorcycle traffic to keep it cleared. It starts in Manzanita and ends in tall pines on top of a mesa. From here we did some easy bushwhacking down to FR9404V until we got to the old Dandrea Ranch site. Now it’s up a deceptively steep unmarked trail, until we got to FR261. Prior to reaching the area around Mt. Union, we had heard thunder for the previous 2 hours. But by the time we’d gotten there it had moved off to the east.
After a short walk we were on the Yankee Doodle Trail #284. The portion of the trail that we needed to do to get back to the Arrastra Trail, was 8 miles long. This trail follows a ridge line all the way and actually goes over the top of Pine Mountain. No more than a half mile into the Yankee Doodle Trail, the skies opened up with the thunder storms reforming. We had torrential rains, pea sized hail, and lightning that was uncomfortably striking within .25 miles of us. Short of one 15 minute break in the rain, close to Pine Mountain, we were rained on for 5 hours and teased with lightning crackling around us. along the entire ridgeline route.
We made the turn back on Arrastra Creek Trail #275 to get back to the warmth and dryness of the truck. The high temp of 114 in the Valley sounded inviting, seeing we’d spent the last 5 hours soaked, temps in the 50’s and low 60’s, and 50+ mph winds in spots.
The drive out on FR52 (Senator Hwy) and FR67 (Pine Flats Rd) to Mayer was a bit more exciting than on the way in. With what I’m guessing to be 2+ inches of rain, the roads were washed out a bit in spots and deep puddles would have made passenger car travel close to impossible.
Say hello to my little friend  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k74dfa7Ak5I |
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Hawkey Well |
76-100% full |
76-100% full |
| | | Enclosed and on private property | | _____________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
so when two HAZers reminded me about the area we decided to go and check out how it was recovering from a fire about 25 years ago. Arrastra trail up to ridge has a few steep loose sections and we were surprised when we met 5 dirt bikes coming down the trail.
