Bronco Butte - Carefree • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Cottonwood Trail #247

Cottonwood Basin Trail

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Needed something closer to town due to an evening commitment, so I found a couple friends brave enough to check out some abandoned routes. It also provided a reason to finally check off Bronco Trail. Got to the TH amid heavy gunfire, and when we got past the head of Seven Springs Wash, we were finally clear of the bullets flying around.

Bronco trail was prettier than I expected, views aren't bad. The turn onto the old Bronco Creek trail wasn't hard to find, and the trail wasn't terribly hard to follow to the corral. There were even fresh footprints, even beyond the corral.

After we passed the fence, there was no obvious route, and staying in the wash was the easiest path. Used the line on my topo to determine where to exit, and once up to the first saddle, the trail reappeared. There were stretches where we lost the trail, but overall, getting up to the Bronco Butte ridge was a lot more straightforward than expected. The China Wall structure was pretty cool.

Decided to do a short side trip up to Bronco Butte, since it didn't seem likely we'd have another chance any time soon. The west side had no trail we could find, but going parallel to the wall was easy enough, and dropped us right onto the Desert Mountain trail system, which provided a half mile or so reprieve from bushwacking.

Cottonwood Basin trail is basically nonexistent, but there was flagging from the FS boundary most of the way down to Cottonwood Creek. The brush wasn't terrible.

Once we got to the Cottonwood Creek trail, it got easier, and on this stretch I think we saw a majority of the runners attempting the 50 mile run. Even recognized a few faces.

Fun day, although those trails might be one and done for me.

Cottonwood Spring

Quart per minute

	Cottonwood Spring	Dry	Dry
	Dry where the trail drops in, better flow a few minutes walk downstream.

	Jack Springs	Dry	Dry
	Didn't see anything, think it's being pumped out.

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Dec 24 2022

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 24 2022
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	15.50 Miles	3,550 AEG

Hiking	15.50 Miles
	3,550 ft AEG

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It has been a while since I hiked up to Bronco Butte, so I decided to do this one again.

I started and ended at the Bronco TH. The Bronco Trail is in good shape for the 3.25 miles from the TH that I was on it. I left the Bronco Trail and took the China Wall Trail most of the rest of the way to Bronco Butte. The China Wall Trail is not an official trail, but it was fairly easy to follow to a corral about one mile from the Bronco Trail. Past the corral it was more difficult to follow, and was akin to some of the trails in the Supes, minus the catclaw and scratchy vegetation that is often encountered on Supes Trails. I would say that I was hiking in open country more than bushwhacking.

I ascended Bronco Butte from the west, which was fairly gentle slope to the top. There are great 360 degree views at the summit, so I enjoyed being up there. On the way back down, I took a left where I should have taken a right, and took a bit of a detour. This added some miles and elevation gain to the hike.

The high temperature was in the low 60's, which was a bit warm in the full sun.

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Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

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Dec 17 2018

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

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Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 17 2018
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	12.90 Miles	2,625 AEG

Hiking	12.90 Miles	7 Hrs 18 Mns	2.52 mph
	2,625 ft AEG	2 Hrs 11 Mns Break

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Tracie and I were looking for a hike that we haven't done and for a peak to bag, and Bronco Butte fit the bill on both counts, so off we went.

It was a crisp 40 degrees at the TH when we started the hike. The TH was huge -- I can't imagine that there would ever be a shortage of places to park.

Bronco Butte Trail #245 was in good shape and was easy to follow. After a little over 3 miles, we went on the China Wall/Bronco Creek Trail the rest of the way to Bronco Butte. This trail was pretty easy to follow until we got to a barb wire corral. Thereafter, the trail was faint in some places, and I had to use a GPS some on the way to Bronco Butte. On the way back I had an easier time following the trail.

The hike to Bronco Butte was nice. We stopped and looked at a water trough that had a pipe dripping water in it, presumably running from a spring. A drip of water came out about every 2-3 seconds.

The views on top of Bronco Butte were much nicer than I would have thought. We had good views of Quien Sabe Peak, Skull Mesa, New River Mesa, and Elephant Mountain. To the SE, you could see Butte Peak(the City of Scottsdale High Point) and Gold Hill not far away. It looked like the private trails going up to Butte Peak were well constructed and maintained.

Judging from the entries in the log book at the summit, not many people bag this peak. There was only one entry before ours in 2018 -- back on St. Patricks Day.

On the way back we went by some of the China Wall. We didn't spend as much time looking around as I would have liked, but we did see a couple of mining sites where there were holes in the ground where rock had been blasted -- the holes were maybe 4 feet deep.

This was not the greatest hike that I have ever done, but it certainly isn't the worst...and I imagine that I will do the hike again sometime, and will spend a bit more time poking around the China Wall.

EDIT: I came out here again and found the airplane wreckage just west of the northern part of the China Wall. Here are some details on the plane crash, which occured on Feb. 25, 2011: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=94036

Wildflowers Observation Light
I noticed quite a few poppies and globemallow in bloom.

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Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

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Jan 28 2017

rayhuston

Guides 1
Routes 447
Photos 4,407
Triplogs 938

68 male

Joined Mar 09 2012
Gilbert, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 28 2017
		rayhuston • Triplogs 938

Hiking	13.04 Miles	2,702 AEG

Hiking	13.04 Miles	6 Hrs 48 Mns	2.02 mph
	2,702 ft AEG	20 Mns Break

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The_Eagle

Bruce wanted to bag another Bronco Butte and invited me to join him. We started the hike a few minutes before 7am with only a hint of the sunrise to come and the hope that moving fast might warm our shivering bodies. It was cold!

The hike in was was wonderful. We walked the China Wall for a ways, checking out the prospects and the remnants of the plane crash mentioned in previous posts. After gaining the saddle west of Bronco Butte, Bruce wanted to go up to the top of the hill to our right to check out the views. We found another old prospect while we were up there.

We did not follow the China Wall trail to its end. We were on a schedule so we headed up to the Butte. Bruce signed the summit register for us. We took in some wonderful views under sunny skies before starting the really fun part of the hike, some creek hiking that Bruce drew up as an alternate return.

From the summit, we headed down the mountain in a NE direction rather than returning the way we came. This would get us to the creek much faster. It was steep, but we found some nice game/cattle trails that took us to the creek without any blood letting. With the recent rain, the creeks were flowing nicely. The creek portion was fun; easy hiking and the sound of running water made it all the more enjoyable.

Half way down the creek, an old, crumbling, grown over road that crisscrossed the creek became part of the hike. We used the road when the creek wasn't passable. The creek and the road ended on private property. We took a left (west) and looked for a route out of the canyon. The best option looked to be up and over a steep hill. That started a Six Flags roller coaster ride of steep up then down then up again. Soon enough we were back on the Bronco Trail and a return to easy hiking.

This was a very enjoyable hike. I liked the alternate route back along the creek in the Rackensack Gulch area. It wouldn't have been as fun without the water, but Bruce picked the perfect day to do it. Thanks again for the hike, Bruce, and for driving us out there. I had a great time!

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Jan 28 2017

The_Eagle

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

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Bronco Butte-China Wall-Rackensack, AZ

Hiking		Jan 28 2017
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	13.40 Miles	2,711 AEG

Hiking	13.40 Miles	6 Hrs 52 Mns		2.05 mph
	2,711 ft AEG	20 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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rayhuston

I needed this one to complete all the Seven Springs / Spur Cross Trails. I'd driven by the Bronco Trailhead dozens of times without stopping.

On the agenda the 2nd Bronco Butte of the month, China Wall and some 'splorin'. Since I prefer Loops to OaB's, toss in Rackensack Canyon, which looked interesting.

Ray and I started just before first light on a chilly, breezy, crisp, clear morning. We were on Bronco #245 for a bit over 3 miles before turning off on an old unsigned, cairned route to China Wall then Bronco Butte.

China Wall is an interesting geologic feature. We followed along the top of the wall until we got to the area of the plane wreckage. Most of the 2011 wreckage has been removed. We made our way to Peak 4600 to check out the views to the west. This is a good vantage point to take in the overview of the Seven Springs, Spur Cross areas.

From here, Bronco Butte was just a short climb. Here you have 360 views of the area. Snow Covered Mazzy's to the East, Supes to the SE, McDowells, Camelback, Squaw to the Southish, Snow covered Bradshaws to the WNW.

We opted for the shorter route off Bronco Butte to Rackensack. Ray led us down, following some game trails into the canyon. It worked out well.

Rackensack was an easy follow for the most part. Water was running for the majority of the length of it, with even some interesting cascades. Towards the end, we skirted some Private property. There were indications of recent, but not current activity.

We improvised our route up and out of the canyon back to the Bronco Trail.

We only saw 2 hikers all day, one with a golf club :doh:

	Head of Rackensack Springs	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Hard to tell where the source was with all the recent rains

	Jack Springs	Dripping	Dripping
	Mainly muddy in overgrown bushy area

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Dec 22 2014

Oregon_Hiker

Guides 9
Routes 473
Photos 8,433
Triplogs 626

79 male

Joined Dec 07 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 22 2014
		Oregon_Hiker • Triplogs 626

Hiking	12.60 Miles	2,514 AEG

Hiking	12.60 Miles	8 Hrs 58 Mns		1.49 mph
	2,514 ft AEG	30 Mns Break	15 LBS Pack

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mazatzal

Hiked up to Bronco Butte starting on Bronco Trail #245 off of the Seven Springs RD. I've had this one on my to-do list for a while and Mazatzal who's been several times volunteered to make the trek with me. It was a pleasant day for hiking but way too hazy for good long distant views and photos. We made good time (for me) getting to the peak but were slowed down by side trips to check out a couple of prospects and an airplane crash site which Mazatzal had discovered on a previous hike. The prospects were in the rock spine that forms what's called "China Wall". We found a number of discarded mining drill rods near the second prospect. These were hammered by hand with a sledge hammer to drill holes for blasting. The ones I've seen in old mining photos were much longer than these which were only about 18" to 24" long. Maybe they were discarded because they were getting too short - or maybe the prospector got tired of blasting dry holes and threw them away in disgust. There was a new register on top of Bronco Butte started about 2 years ago. Quite a few entries but all by the same guy, John Settles. He finally stopped signing it every time and just signed once in 2014 with the number (13) indicating he had been there 13 times in that year. He frequently brought other people with him. We added our signatures so he would know he's not the only one climbing that hill.

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Dec 22 2014

mazatzal

Routes 36
Photos 2,658
Triplogs 1,347

67 male

Joined Jul 28 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 22 2014
		mazatzal • Triplogs 1,347

Hiking	12.60 Miles	2,514 AEG

Hiking	12.60 Miles	8 Hrs 58 Mns	1.49 mph
	2,514 ft AEG	30 Mns Break

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Oregon_Hiker

Headed up Bronco Butte with Oregon Hiker. It was a tad chilly when we started in the shade but soon warmed up. We took Bronco trail over to Bronco Creek and headed south on the decommissioned Bronco Creek Trail #287. After passing Jack Springs we headed up to the north part of China Wall where Oregon Hiker found a shallow mine / prospect and we found some mining drill rods. We continued to the crash site and summit for lunch. We checked out the southern part of China Wall and then headed back. Fun trip to Bronco with OH and thank you for driving.

	Jack Springs	Dripping	Dripping
	Not much water, dripping slowly.

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Nov 02 2013

mazatzal

Routes 36
Photos 2,658
Triplogs 1,347

67 male

Joined Jul 28 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 02 2013
		mazatzal • Triplogs 1,347

Hiking	12.00 Miles	2,850 AEG

Hiking	12.00 Miles	7 Hrs	1.97 mph
	2,850 ft AEG	55 Mns Break

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Took Bronco trail to Bronco Creek trail to Jack Springs and then followed the cairned route to Bronco Butte passing by 2 springs along the way each was dripping very slowly. This is a great hike although it was better before the CC Complex fire but now getting more enjoyable. At the end of the cairns (unless Bob has been here) you just go off trail to the summit which is very cool. Great 360 views of the Mazzies, all the valley ranges, New River Mtns and ranges to the north as well.

I spotted some metal on the descent and went to investigate - I believe this was plane wreckage from a fairly recent airplane crash site, 2-3 years ago, very sad.

Despite the burn from the CC complex fire this peak is a nice trip.

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Feb 16 2008

mazatzal

Routes 36
Photos 2,658
Triplogs 1,347

67 male

Joined Jul 28 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 16 2008
		mazatzal • Triplogs 1,347

Hiking	13.00 Miles	2,210 AEG

Hiking	13.00 Miles	6 Hrs 25 Mns	2.03 mph
	2,210 ft AEG

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