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| Hiking | 10.54 Miles |
865 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.54 Miles | 3 Hrs 50 Mns | | 2.75 mph |
| 865 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Assuming the highway is not blocked due to a wildfire — more on that later — it is a 3½ hour drive from Phoenix to Pinetop-Lakeside. To maximize my drive time ROI, I tend to avoid drives longer than three hours, so I usually only hike the White Mountains once per year. In 2020, I hiked Buena Vista Trail #637 [ photoset ] ; this year, Blue Ridge Trail #107.
There were only two other vehicles at Blue Ridge Trailhead #2 when I started hiking at 9:40 a.m. It was breezy, but not too windy, and partly cloudy. Despite the 86,000+ acre Telegraph Fire blowing smoke from the Pinal Mountains northeast towards Pinetop-Lakeside, I saw no haze. The sky was beautiful blue. 
Other than a few scattered fleabane, all the flowers I spotted were in the three miles between Blue Ridge Trailhead #2 and the Billy Creek Connector. (Or in the final half mile of the loop, from FR 9274J back to the trailhead.) The only significant flowers I remember on the other two-thirds of Blue Ridge Trail #107 were the ceanothus near Blue Ridge Trailhead #1 and the twistspine pricklypear a ¼ mile further northeast. Apparently, I am the first Hazard to photograph a pygmy bluet?
While hiking Blue Ridge Trail #107, I saw only two mountain bikers (both polite): no horse riders, dog walkers, trail runners or other hikers. Springs Trail #633 was busier.
Pines predominate on the eastern half of Blue Ridge Trail #107, with scrub oak being more common in the western half. There is enough shade to take a relaxing break, but never enough for more than a second of relief if you are moving. 
From Traihead #1, other than a few photos, I motored up Blue Ridge Mountain's 550 ft. in two miles climb. (I don’t recall using my hiking poles all day.) The summit of Blue Ridge Mountain is 50 yds to the north of blaze B8. I could not find a geocache. Supposedly, the summit has views, but all I saw were trees. Maybe that is why the local fire lookout is on 450 ft. lower Springer Mountain?
For once, I finished a hike quicker than expected, returning to Blue Ridge Trailhead #2 at 2:15 p.m.
Just like last week on East Clear Creek, I carried both my Garmin 62s and my new Garmin 64sx. They both seem to be fairly accurate regarding time, distance and AEG on short hikes, where I do not stop. On an “away” hike, where I am constantly stopping to take photos, things get crazy. The Garmin 64sx keeps a more accurate track — and thus more accurate (but not exact) mileage — but it keeps clocking moving time for 10+ seconds after stopping, whereas the Garmin 62s stops within a second or two. The Garmin 64sx altitude is also consistently out of whack by ~50% extra AEG. And I don’t want to keep carrying them both!
On the drive home, we ran into a traffic jam in Heber-Overgaard. Turns out there was a brush fire blocking east bound AZ-260 at MP 302, just past the last Circle K in town. We crept along for 10 minutes. Then, over the course of a few more minutes, four firetrucks and a deputy sheriff headed past us, away from the fire. After that, we did not move at all for 10 minutes. Niiiiiice. I decided to cut my losses, turn around, and take the long route back to Phoenix via Holbrook and Flagstaff, adding over two hours to our trip. We did not get home until 8:30 p.m. 
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/562783398 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Fleabane were by far the most common, followed by alpine false springparsley and showy phlox |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
Staying in Pinetop for the week. Hoping to get some good hikes in along with some quality family time. Started off by jogging the Blue Ridge Trail. Preface: I hate driving. I am not very good and I can get lost easy. I am soooooo looking forward to self driving cars. That being said I will drive just about anywhere for hiking. 
. Lost about 20 minutes of my morning trying to find the Blue Ridge TH. My biggest stumbling block was that FS Rd 182 is now better known as Sky Hi Rd. This will be your first left turn once you get on Buckspring Rd. Once you get on FS Rd 182 (Sky Hi Rd), you'll literally come across 3 TH within a mile of each other, one of them being Blue Ridge TH. Once I found the TH the rest was a piece of cake. 
