Manning Camp via Douglas Spring • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Apr 18 2025

Semiferalhiker

Routes 16
Photos 84
Triplogs 9

50 female

Joined Dec 11 2019
Tucson, Az

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Tucson, AZ

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 18 2025
		Semiferalhiker • Triplogs 9

Hiking	26.00 Miles	5,700 AEG

Hiking	26.00 Miles	14 Hrs 50 Mns		1.90 mph
	5,700 ft AEG	1 Hour 8 Mns Break	17 LBS Pack

Linked

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no linked trail guides

Partners

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no partners

This hike began a couple minutes after 5am at the Douglas Springs trailhead. Typically I’m alone on the trail until well after sunrise. But that day a trail runner passed me in the first mile. I set a pace and tried not to stop too often to take photos. I got a late start and knew the gains above Cowhead Saddle would really slow me down. There were some secluded pools below Bridal Wreath Falls but the pools right next to Douglas Springs Campground were all but dry.

As I reached Canyon del piño I saw two deep pools but otherwise the trip to Manning Camp was dry. I ran into a wonderful NPS worker pick-axing catclaw bushes out by the roots to help keep the trail clear. Blessings to her because my legs are permanently scarred from those pricks!

Continuing up to Manning Camp after mile 11 is always a magical experience. The Turkey Tom’s were strutting and gobbling and the deer were active and visible. Once I got to the campground I filtered a liter of water and turned back with a heavy heart… it’s always so hard to leave paradise.

The decent down was windy and chilly but was absolutely perfect for a massive day hike. I stopped again to chat with the NPS worker and accidentally ended up with an hour of stopped time but it was well worth it.

I made it back to the trailhead at 8pm with some amazing pictures of the sunset. I saw deer, rabbits, a snake, a gecko, a millipede, and tons of really cool spiders on this trip.

Mar 23 2025

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,124

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Mica Mountain, AZ

Run/Jog		Mar 23 2025
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,124

Run/Jog	27.40 Miles	6,982 AEG

Run/Jog	27.40 Miles	8 Hrs 28 Mns		3.54 mph
	6,982 ft AEG	43 Mns Break	12 LBS Pack

no routes

Linked

linked

Douglas Spring Trail to Douglas Spring CG

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Cow Head Saddle Trail

Fire Loop Trail - Mica

Partners

none

no partners

Finally got up the nerve for Mica Mountain since I am going for all the trails in Saguaro this year. Took the long way because, why not? The upper stretches of this hike are delightful. There was some good snow left up in the pines and I was able to find some water to filter on the way down.

Felt decent for the most part, though the last couple miles up and down were a bit of a vision quest lol. The steps on the way down were also painful. Whatever...Fantastic Hike

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hi

Dec 11 2021

Jackluminous

Guides 1
Routes 262
Photos 864
Triplogs 266

51 male

Joined Mar 24 2021
Tucson, AZ

Manning Camp Rincon Peak and Spud Rock via D, AZ

Hiking		Dec 11 2021
		Jackluminous • Triplogs 266

Hiking	30.31 Miles	7,190 AEG

Hiking	30.31 Miles	36 Hrs 32 Mns	2.41 mph
	7,190 ft AEG	23 Hrs 58 Mns Break

no photosets

Linked

linked

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Douglas Spring Trail

Cow Head Saddle Trail

Spud Rock Trail

Manning Camp Trail

Partners

none

no partners

Did a backpacking trip into the Rincons. Stayed at Douglas Spring overnight; took the side trip to Ernie’s Falls on the way. Douglas Spring was chilly overnight and we had frost on our tents in the morning. We did a day hike to Cowhead Saddle then up to Manning Camp, Rincon Peak, and Spud Rock. It had snowed plenty the night before our trip so everything above Manning was covered in fresh powder. It was amazingly peaceful and breathtakingly beautiful.

The scramble up Spud Rock was icy but doable. The views up there are priceless.

We were joined by a friend at camp that evening. I had to be back in Tucson Sunday by noon and decided it best to hike back Saturday night rather than pack up a wet tent to dash back in the morning. It made for a lot of miles in one day but I was well fortified with Chana Masala. There was good moonlight so I had my headlamp on low. Made it back home late and crashed hard.

	Manning Camp Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Full reservoir running down the creek. Snowed yesterday.

Sep 15 2018

RedwallNHops

Guides 1
Routes 269
Photos 613
Triplogs 1,360

50 male

Joined Dec 22 2003
Tucson, AZ

Manning Camp and Helen's dome, AZ

Backpack		Sep 15 2018
		RedwallNHops • Triplogs 1,360

Backpack	30.30 Miles	6,844 AEG

Backpack	30.30 Miles
	6,844 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

linked

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Fire Loop Trail - Mica

Partners

none

no partners

I wanted to backback up to Manning camp from Douglas spring over a weekend for training purposes. While I was up there I wanted to climb Helen's dome, which has been on my list forever, ever since my first time up to Manning camp.

Sat: 4 am start at Douglas Springs. Got to Manning around noonish with a well deserved nap. around 3:30 we did a 3.5 mile loop hike to check out man head and reef rock.

Sunday: started down till we reached Helen's dome. Luckily there was a bit of beta on climbaz - we were to look for a ledge 100 feet below the saddle between the central Helen's dome rock and the East Summit. Becuase of brush, we ended up at the saddle then worked our way down till we found the ledge. I checked it out and sure enough there was a tunnel all the way thru to the other side. It was a bit tricky to get up to the tunnel, but not too bad. After the tunnel, there was a fin reaching up to the summit block with a nice window. You had to do a couple slab moves to get up the fin - this is where I left my partners and continued on solo. Where the fin meets the summit block there were rocks piled up to help make the move onto the summit block. It was a committing 5th class move....I thought about it for several minutes, becuase I didn't have spotters...mostly thinking about the way down. It's a long way down to the piled rocks...and a gap between the fin and the summit block. Finally I made the step - not too bad. I then scrambled my way to the summit...what a view. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a summit register. I was really curious to see when the last party to summit was. I made my way back to the crux. I got to the step and felt around for one of the footholds out of sight. I couldn't find it - and my friend was just below the fin watching. I yelled down that I could definitely use a spot and could help her down the fin if she came up(my two friends stopped at the fin because they were worried about getting down). She came up and helped me find the foothold. Definitely a sporty climb. I see why SAHC stopped doing it years ago.

After the summit we made our way back to the Douglas spring TH. It was pretty darn hot.

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Apr 16 2018

MSimmons

Photos 4
Triplogs 62

37 male

Joined Jan 30 2016
Tucson, AZ

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Tucson, AZ

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Apr 16 2018
		MSimmons • Triplogs 62

Backpack	26.00 Miles	6,300 AEG

Backpack	26.00 Miles	1 Day 5 Hrs
	6,300 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

partners

jrousoshammond

Went up to Manning Camp from Douglas Spring trailhead on Monday, spent the night, then retraced our steps down on Tuesday. Getting up there with packs was a lot of work, but I'm happy to suffer a bit for that beautiful, one of a kind, Mica Mountain forest.

The first leg, to Douglas Spring Campground, is really nice right now. Lots of flowers in bloom. There was a trickle at Douglas Spring. The next leg, to Cowhead Saddle, is my least favorite part - fine at first, with open views of Reddington Pass and Helen's Dome, but soon things get brushy and constricted. Trail's still easy to follow though. From the saddle the views open up again, but the going gets tougher and steeper. After about two miles you start getting into the forest, and it's a dream from there on.

Plenty of water at Manning Camp. Didn't meet anyone else up there (though we did see one other tent). It was chilly and windy overnight, but tolerable. We had planned on spending Tuesday hitting the Mica Mountain attractions, then coming down Wednesday, but I realized I'd forgotten to leave my house key under the mat for a friend to come by and feed the cat

. Wasn't about let my baby go three days without food, so we cut it short. No big deal really - still got a great dose of the Rincons.

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Apr 16 2018

jrousoshammond

Routes 30
Triplogs 186

37 male

Joined May 15 2015
Tucson

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Tucson, AZ

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Apr 16 2018
		jrousoshammond • Triplogs 186

Backpack	26.00 Miles	6,300 AEG

Backpack	26.00 Miles
	6,300 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

partners

MSimmons

The original plan was to have 2 nights at Manning, with a full day to run amok on the mountain. The partner had to call it after one day, I decided I should probably go back down as well (fortunately the permit for that night is transferrable...

)

The way up was (not unexpectedly) brutal. Long breaks for water/food/rest at Douglas Spring, Cowhead Saddle, and the top of the steep section after Cowhead were needed. That being said, things went about as well as they could've - weather was perfect both days.

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Mar 27 2013

Mountain_Rat

Guides 11
Routes 123
Photos 818
Triplogs 257

62 male

Joined Jul 14 2011
Tucson, AZ

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Tucson, AZ

Manning Camp via Douglas Spring

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 27 2013
		Mountain_Rat • Triplogs 257

Hiking	26.00 Miles	6,300 AEG

Hiking	26.00 Miles	12 Hrs 55 Mns		2.29 mph
	6,300 ft AEG	1 Hour 35 Mns Break	20 LBS Pack

Linked

linked

Douglas Spring Trail to Douglas Spring CG

Douglas Spring Trail

Cow Head Saddle Trail

Partners

none

no partners

This was a long trail. Not too rough, just lllonnng. The grade averages only 10%, but it's really long. The weather was quit nice, 60 deg while I was at Manning resting. The air was pretty dusty, making for few decent pics. Coming down was not much easier than going up. Either way it was Really Long !!! :stretch:

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Sunset

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1 archive

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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