Goat Tank - Pinaleno Mtns • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 28 2025
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	2.00 Miles	200 AEG

Hiking	2.00 Miles
	200 ft AEG

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Up the canyon to the pools.
Then a bit down to Goat Tank.

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2 archives

Aug 21 2024

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 21 2024
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	2.50 Miles	100 AEG

Hiking	2.50 Miles
	100 ft AEG

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John's Dam

Goat Tank

John's Dam

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Apr 04 2024

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 04 2024
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	2.50 Miles	150 AEG

Hiking	2.50 Miles
	150 ft AEG

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Roper Lake State Park

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AddSanz

Picked up my buddy for a couple hours of lower mountain fun.
We hiked down to Johns Dam which was flowing very good with snow melt.
Then it was out to Goat Tank for a sit.
Flowin' snow melt, flowers are coming in and green everywhere ... feels like spring.
Ended the day at Roper Lake for a birthday party and walk along the dam.

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

51-75% full

Medium flow

Roper Lake

76-100% full

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Jan 24 2024

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Round the Mountain Trail #302

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 24 2024
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	4.00 Miles	500 AEG

Hiking	4.00 Miles
	500 ft AEG

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3 days of rain, time to check waterfalls ...

Adams Flat Falls - Wet & slick trail up, the triple falls looked great!
Noon Creek from RTM CG - Up the canyon to the 20 footer, looked great!
Johns Dam - Looked great!
I continued along the ditch line down to Goat Tank, tank is still low.
Bout' 15 ducks flew off as I arrived.
Did a little more exploring in the area with a climb up to the first mesa then down to the old ranch ruins before heading back.
Lot's of cattle poop along with the poopers on the hike back out.

Had a good time checking water flow, light rain throughout.

1-25% full

Medium flow

Noon Creek

Medium flow

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Nov 22 2022

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 22 2022
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	4.50 Miles	300 AEG

Hiking	4.50 Miles
	300 ft AEG

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John's Dam to Goat Tank to Lefthand Canyon and back.
Was surprised at the water flow water going over the dam.
Was even more surprised to see Goat Tank half full.
Was not surprised at how rough & tough the terrain was getting to the entrance of Lefthand Canyon.
Short, but tiring off trail paths taken this afternoon.
Very desert beautiful out there!

51-75% full

Light flow

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Aug 08 2022

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 08 2022
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	2.00 Miles	150 AEG

Hiking	2.00 Miles
	150 ft AEG

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It's been a great week of monsoon storms!
It's been hard getting an evening hike in before they hit.
Got up Jacobson to my favorite swimming hole and took the cold plunge as the first crackles of thunder rang overhead.
I added Goat Tank to the mix as light sprinkles fell.
Never made it down to the tank, way to bushwacky now.
Back at my vehicle I just chilled for sunset and stayed put for the evening's storms.
They hit from every direction tonight and I spent 2 hours photographing and enjoying the great light show!

Light flow

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Feb 24 2022

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Ledford Tank Loop, AZ

Hiking		Feb 24 2022
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	4.00 Miles	400 AEG

Hiking	4.00 Miles
	400 ft AEG

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Little desert loop hike I came up with when I first moved back to Safford 20+ years ago.
I still hike it every winter!
First down to Johns Dam, then along the flume down to Goat Tank.
2nd part is up and across the mesa to the Metate Peak overlook, then down to Ledford Tank.
A sit & eat break at this low tank before returning back to the start via an old jeep trail.
Jacobson creek flowing a little low, that will change soon with the melting snow.
Both cattle tanks very low.
But it is the awesome desert scenery with Mt Graham as a backdrop that will have me back again next year.
Good trip ...

1-25% full

Light flow

Ledford Tank

1-25% full

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Sep 02 2018

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 02 2018
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	3.25 Miles	350 AEG

Hiking	3.25 Miles
	350 ft AEG

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Heavy storms with some of the most wicked lightning I've ever seen hit hard all night long and into sunrise. Flash flood warnings throughout ..... today's hike was gonna have to be in a canyon to see the water rush!

I choose lower Jacobson for the morning. Arrived down at John's Dam in the sprinkles to see a good flow of chocolate water flowing over. Took the canyon up just past the swimming hole where I found a great spot along side many little waterfalls for an hour of coffee & nature. Just beautiful all through the canyon - waterfalls, flowers, butterflies with a hint of autumn here and there.

On the return trip back down I encountered another hiker whom I had met on a previous trip and together we returned back down to John's Dam. My new friend wanted to see some more, so I guided him down for a look at Goat Tank. We then returned back up to the parking area now under hot clear sunburn skies to end.
Very scenic morning, beautiful throughout, I believe I made a new hiking partner & HAZ may have a new member (commission shirt ..... right)?

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

Wildflowers Observation Light

1-25% full

Medium flow

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Jun 16 2018

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Ledford Tank Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 16 2018
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	4.00 Miles	250 AEG

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	250 ft AEG

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Sunrise start.
John's Dam

Jacobson Canyon

Goat Tank

Ledford Tank
Overcast entire hike, poured rain on me last .5 mile back.
Overcast, wet & very green throughout.
Fun trip

1-25% full

Dry

Dry

1-25% full

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Feb 11 2018

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Lefthand Canyon, AZ

Hiking		Feb 11 2018
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	4.45 Miles	350 AEG

Hiking	4.45 Miles
	350 ft AEG

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After being on the to-see list forever, I finally hiked in to the entrance of Lefthand Canyon just pass Goat Tank. I took the jeep trail down to John's Dam

then along the flume over to Goat Tank

then a short mile along cattle trails over to the mouth of Lefthand. Wow, it was very cool and a much wider area than expected! There are no roads or trails leading up, but from what i could see up in there I'll be back for an overnight.
Along the Goat Tank ditch I ran into several peccary,
Found a couple pieces of pottery at Lefthand (that alone will have me back to look for ruins),
Then ran into many fricknaley scardys for a stampede by the old ranch ruin I hiked over to for lunch.
Lunch at the ruins turned into an amazing birding session which will have me pulling out my bird guide for ID's!
I always love a good open desert hike and seeing something new ..... stay away summer!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Javelina

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Graffiti Ladder Stile

	Goat Tank	1-25% full	1-25% full
	Very low, water no longer being diverted into tank.

Light flow

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Aug 05 2017

PrestonSands

Guides 170
Routes 148
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Triplogs 2,097

48 male

Joined Apr 12 2004
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 05 2017
		PrestonSands • Triplogs 2,097

Hiking	1.00 Miles	160 AEG

Hiking	1.00 Miles
	160 ft AEG

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SkyIslander18

With no definite destination in mind, I picked up a cheap rental car in Tucson and sped east on I-10. Chad was free and had a hike in mind, so I headed to the Pinalenos for a day of adventuring. We met up at the trailhead for John's Dam, and made our way into the humid desert, lush from ample summer rain. Arriving at John's Dam, we examined the post fire flood damage, which actually was not too destructive. The creek had been cleaned out of overgrowth and debris.

Leaving John's Dam, Chad led the way along the Goat Tank ditch, which had filled in with silt recently from the flooding, and we soon arrived at Goat Tank itself. Goat Tank was an interesting little hidden lake, tucked away in a mesquite thicket. After checking out the lake we made our way back to our vehicles. Chad had plans at Roper Lake, and I decided to do some exploring on the lower portion of Jacobson Canyon, which is about the only part of the Pinalenos that are not closed to public use right now. Always great to hike with a friend, even if only briefly.

51-75% full

Medium flow

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"…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan

Aug 05 2017

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Aug 05 2017
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	7.50 Miles	580 AEG

Hiking	7.50 Miles
	580 ft AEG

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PrestonSands

Angle Orchard :next:

Adams Flat :next:

Jacobson Creek up to Wet Canyon Y :next:

Back down to Lower Jacobson Creek :next:

Angle Orchard.
Ditch trail up to Adams not flowing, very flora thick going up.
Adams Falls was flowing above average.
Had lunch in the flat with 3 deer.
Hike up to Wet Canyon Y was spectacular! (more later)
Lower Jacobson also spectacular! (more later)
Then a hike around and through Angle Orchard, purchased apples & peaches upon leaving.

Extra Credit/Bonus Hike - Preston informed me that he was in a rental and heading East. We met up at the end of the Swift Trail straight-away where we together hiked down to John's Dam and out along the flume to Goat Tank and back. I then gave him a peach and we parted ways with him going up the mountain for some hikes and myself driving down to Roper Lake to distribute apples & peaches to friends.

The more later - I finally found some good in the Frye Fire of 2017! Major flooding (as predicted) has occurred from the monsoon rains down many of the mountain canyons with Wet Canyon being hit the worst. 366 at Wet Canyon has been closed until the passing of the summer rains because of the destruction it keeps bringing. I did not think the "bad" flooding made it down lower to the canyons I hiked today, but it did and has been just as destructive. Although it has forever changed the look of these canyons/creek beds with massive bolder and silt deposits, it has also cleaned up in a violent way most of the debris that made hiking up the creek bed/canyon possible. I had no problem (and a lot of fun) getting up the creek beds for the first time ever ..... and I found this new rebirth good!

Was a very enlightening day, the power of flooding has my respect and awe. Good new things to come on future trips and I now believe I am finally coming to terms with and moving on from the effects of what the Frye Fire did to our Sky Island (the eastern side up) ..... there may still be major rants when I (we) can see the top and beyond next Arpil 15th ..... 8-[

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

Medium flow

Twilight Creek

Light flow

Wet Canyon

Medium flow

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Apr 15 2017

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Ledford Tank Loop, AZ

Hiking		Apr 15 2017
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	5.25 Miles	450 AEG

Hiking	5.25 Miles
	450 ft AEG

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Very rare early morning hike for me, like ... I beat the sun up!
This is a nice little lasso loop I came up with a few years ago and wanted to revisit before the heat comes in.
The loop - John's Dam :next:

Goat Tank

off-trail mesa tops down to Ledford Tank :next:

Cattle & jeep road back to John's Dam and out.
Both tanks were full and flowing good over their spillways. Ledford Tank was real nice, lots of birds including ducks, herons & coots. Spent about an hour there as it was more like being at a small lake rather than a cattle tank.
The desert sections were nice, lots of good color everywhere and on the brink of a cactus flowering explosion.

Good fun in the foothills, it's almost time to head up high.
The top section of the Pinaleno's Swift Trail was reopened today!
:y:

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

76-100% full

Medium flow

Ledford Tank

76-100% full

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Jan 07 2017

Guides 4
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 2,607

55 male

Joined Sep 29 2004
Small Town USA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 07 2017
		SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607

Hiking	4.75 Miles	480 AEG

Hiking	4.75 Miles
	480 ft AEG

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Swift Trail (State Hwy 366)

Cyclone Hill

Dankworth Pond State Park

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Started at Dankworth where I changed into my hiking clothes and hiked the inner Dos Arroyos loop.
Then drove up the Swift Trail straightaway parking at the Jacobson pull-off.
Hiked down to John's Dam, good creek flow over the dam.
I then followed the ditch "trail" down to Goat Tank, good flow into the full tank and out the other end.
Backtracked across the Swift Trail and along the old FS road and hit up Cyclone Hill, signed the register (7th trip), took in the mountain/Gila valley views then climbed down and took the Swift Trail back to the start.

After this wet rocky one, my beloved Keens will be retired

On to the next pair!

76-100% full

Medium flow

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