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| Hiking | 5.80 Miles |
736 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.80 Miles | 2 Hrs 30 Mns | | 2.32 mph |
| 736 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Early morning hike in Prescott. This is not necessarily a trail I wanted to do, but staying just up the road made this a convenient trail to chose. Drove the car south on 89 to Jack’s Pine Rd. Drove up this road, maybe .25 miles to where the road split. There was a nice pull off area for 5-6 cars. Got on the “trail” just before 5am.
The roads were not signed, but I chose the road on the left, since it seemed less like a road than its counterpart. The road was gated, so it was not open to vehicles but it was easy enough to walk (or bike) around. The road was rugged, wide and took the hills straight up. That being said the climbs were nicely spaced between some relatively flat sections. About .3 miles in I crossed the Wolverton trail (a nice single track that pretty much traverses the same area). Shortly thereafter I spooked about 12 deer. Not use to seeing that many at one time. A few took off, but most of them just stood and watched me (city deer). This road/trail is not really noteworthy, except for the the fact that it was being used for logging. The farther I got along the road the more I was stepping through crushed manzanita and wood kindling. At about 1.3 miles in, I reached a high point. The hill and the surrounding area had been cleared of anything over 3 feet. Provided great distant views, but was a little sad to see. I am sure this had as much to do with maximizing profits for the logging company as it did with minimizing the dangers of forest fires. However, at this point the road just seemed to disappear. I could see scarring in a hill to the west, but nothing connecting me to that track. Quartz Mountain was still west and north of where I was. Since I knew 9707 was suppose to loop Quartz Mountain, I headed off toward the scarring. Since the area had been clear cut, it wasn’t that difficult to pick my toward the other hill. It got a little bushy near the bottom, but I’ve seen worse. As I started my climb up the hill I was surprised to discover a solid single track heading up towards Quartz Mountain.
Hello! I couldn’t pass up this unnamed trail without finding out more about it. (I was pretty sure it went to Quartz Mountain, but I needed to see where it started). Following it down and away from the mountain, I headed south about .5 miles to where the trail started off of 89. Someone had spray painted a rock calling this the Quartz Mountain Trail. (Afterwards, I noticed that on MapDEX that this TH is indicated). There is roadside parking for about 4 vehicles. Turning around, I followed this trail as it climbed Quartz Mountain. Initially this trail is pretty gradual, but the last .25 miles is aggressive. It takes the slopes straightforward with almost no switchbacking. At about .8 miles the trail junctures with a road that circles just under the Quartz peak. To reach the peak you need to follow the road as it circles the mountain. On the north side there is a road that will take you almost to the top. (A single track will take you the rest of the way). While on top, I scoped out the lay of the land. I realized that the road that circles the peak and then takes off to the east was most likely White Spar Trail 9707v. So on the return trip I followed this road back toward my car. Sure enough, this turned out to be the second road that I had decided not to take. Frustratingly, nowhere along the route was there a road sign. However, this road shadows the Wolverton trail (as seen on MapDEX) and so I’m 99% certain that this road was 9707.
The overview for this trail says this is suppose to be a closed road and converted to a trail to be part of the Prescott Circle. The road is currently open for use and surprisingly car worthy for the first mile. I was surprised at how smooth the road as I was hiking back at the end. Also, I am fairly certain that the conversion mentioned in the overview took place in the form of the Wolverton trail. The road is an easy way to get close to the peak, but both Wolverton and Quartz Mountain trail offer more enjoyable hiking options. |
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