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| Hiking | 6.14 Miles |
135 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.14 Miles | | | |
| 135 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Last day in Prescott, so I was able to do one more, early morning hike. Starting from the White Spar TH I got on the trail around 5:30am. Goal was to do the Banning Creek trail. I had done a portion of it, a couple of years ago, but never done the whole trail.
Went in on Goldwater (.2 miles), then Twist and Shout (.6 miles) and then Apple Blossom (.5 miles) to get to the Banning Creek juncture. While doing Apple Blossom I followed several of the user trails north. As expected, they all lead to homes that were just out of sight of the trail. The Apple Blossom trail catches Banning near to, but at not at the beginning of the trail. Technically, Banning starts about 100 yards to the north where a neighborhood road dead ends. There is a posted sign saying that parking is for residences only and that violators will be towed. At this “TH” there is also a trail connector for Hidden Valley trail(#374). Turning around, I started in on Banning and was quickly challenged( about .25 miles in) with a split in the trail. With no signage.  Both looked well used, but the western trail had a water hazard, so I opted for the eastern track. For a good portion of this segment, there was a an old metal pipeline that accompanied this trail. There were also quite a few user trails that took off from this trail. None of which were signed. At about .75 miles I came upon another split with trail numbered #396. I was now on the Goldwater trail. At this point, I SHOULD have done a 160 and followed that splinter trail back to the north. That would have got me to the official Banning Creek - Goldwater Trail juncture. Instead, I followed the Goldwater trail south and east for almost 1 mile before determining my mistake. At this point I turned around and did what I should have done, making my way to the described Banning - Goldwater juncture. (I’m fairly certain, if I had followed the western branch at the .25 mile mark (with the water hazard), I would have made it to this junction without having this detour). From this juncture I followed Banning Creek trail as it climbed a saddle. The trail was very wide, obviously a road in a previous life. Near the top of the saddle it “Y”ed into another road. No signage at this “Y”, but I assumed the trail took the southeastern segment. The trail/road descended eventually curving toward the west. It connected to School Gulch trail at the bottom of the hill, but once again with no trail signage. Not sure why Prescott doesn’t sign these intersections better. They are close enough to the TH that I’m sure they get frequent use. I then took School Gulch back to the TH. Nice hike, though not as smooth as I envisioned. Weather was great. Saw 11 deer; a grouping of 4 and then 7 more.  Would like to get back here soon and see how all these user trails work together.
Addendum:
Came back on 7/8 did trail 371 (a campsite access trail)and then explored the user trails that I identified on 6/26. (Mileage data was logged with my 7/8 posting).
Starting from the Banning Creek TH. There is roadside parking at this TH, but there is a posted sign saying that is for residence only. Not sure how they would verify and enforce but…. Hiking in from the TH there is a juncture at .07 miles. From the west, the Apple Blossom comes in and ends at this juncture. At this point, to the east, there appears to be an old road that heads up a hill. At .09 miles there is a faint, but definite tracks that heads off to the east. At .25 miles the Banning Creek trail splits. The official Banning Creek trail is to the west, though the eastern track is a more fun, shadow of the western track and my preferred choice. At .34 miles the Feldmeier trail start from the western track and crosses the “eastern shadow version”. (Note: there is signage indicating this on the western trail, but not on the eastern trail. At .75 miles there is a solid, unsigned single track that heads off to the east (from the eastern track). At .83 miles the eastern track connects to the Goldwater trail. There is no signage at this juncture. You need to make a hard right and follow the trail to the west for 100 yards to reach the western track of the Banning Creek trail and the official signed juncture between Banning Creek/Goldwater. (There were a couple of other faint trails that were explored along this route, but they faded away quickly so we’re not mentioned).
My goal was to follow all three of the above mentioned user tracks to see where they went. The first track at .07 miles starts off as a dual heading up a hill to the east. The road quickly comes to small electrical box, but the trail continues as a single track, switchbacking sharply up a hill. The trail goes on for about .5 miles, gaining about 200 feet and ending at Old Senator’s Highway. The trail goes through a nice stretch of Ponderosa pines, but as the trail climbs it leaves the trees behind and becomes populated by a sharp leaf shrub. The trail is easy to follow though shrub encroachment becomes a challenge as it nears the road.
The second track was at .09 miles. It starts off as only a hint of a trail (I really wasn’t expecting it to be much), but once it got past the first grouping of trees, the trail became very solid. This trail was annoyingly steep and slanted at times as it worked its way up to another section of Old Senator’s Highway. The trail seemed to be longer than the other trail, but also came in at just over .5 miles long. The trail is easy to follow, but attacks elevation change very aggressively. Ponderosa pines dominate initially, but once you reach the higher elevation, it becomes very exposed. This allows for some nice views to the north and west. I imagine that many people who do these trails, hike them as loop. If doing this loop, I would suggest doing it clockwise. Due to shrub growth, the .09 track is much easier to identify on Old Senator’s Highway than the .07 track. Not sure how long either of these trails will exist. The shrub growth at the top means regular maintained will need to be performed to keep these as viable trails. Be interested to come back to see if these still exist.
When I discovered that the .34 mile track was actually an official trail (Feldmeier), I decided to forgo that for a later date.
The single track that takes off at the .75 miles mark turned out to be a treat. It was a solid single track that went on for 1.05 miles before ending at what I think was the Feldmeier trail. The trail was easy to follow for its entire length, staying within the Ponderosa Pines for the duration. The trail does a nice job of playing with the landscape, going into washes and along the side of hills. The trail did take a couple of hills straight up, but these were for short distances. The trail showed both hiker and biker use. (There were a couple of downed trees that bikers may have to get off for). Near the Feldmeier end of the trail, someone had built a viewing platform up in the trees. The platform itself didn’t look all that stable, but the rings leading up were solid. I need to confirm what trail this intersects with, but this would be an ideal loop option. I was surprised that none of the three user trails that I followed “spider-webbed”.
Not mentioned above, but if you continue on Banning Creek after the official Banning Creek/Goldwater juncture the trail trail/road climbs a hill where it will “y” into another road. The Banning Creek trail continues on to the south and east. But if you make a hard right and head northwest the road will quickly take you back to the Goldwater trail.
For most readers and trail users this addendum won’t mean much. But for me, it scratches an itch and helps bring the area into better focus. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
the beginner trails Green Bean, Mr. Bean, Rice and Beans, and Beany Baby, at Bean Peaks Gravity Flow Trails -- a new system at White Spar, just south of Prescott. 
Route 
](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
I will have to download this route, since Prescott doesn't seem to feel it is necessary to sign this particular trail. This trail shoild have been easy to follow, if you can figure out which road to follow. 
