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| Hiking | 16.86 Miles |
2,779 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.86 Miles | 8 Hrs 28 Mns | | 2.10 mph |
| 2,779 ft AEG | 26 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Andy, Wally and I set up a shuttle hike from Peeley TH to Barnhardt TH. The main purpose of this was to hike the hard to reach section of the AZT/MDT south of the Y-Bar junction. 14 years ago I hiked this with the intent to just get about 8 miles in or more and turn around. That was probably one of the largest HAZ groups I've hiked with. I think we had 15 people and were on the edge of being legal in a wilderness area. We did it in March and it was my first introduction to the phenomena of north facing slopes in AZ having snow all winter. For that hike, the snow was very deep and slowed us down so that we weren't able to get as much done as we wanted. This hike had echoes of that on the north facing slopes, but didn't prevent us from our goal.
After dropping off the Stillermobile at the Barnhardt Th, we arrived at Peeley and started hiking at 7:30am. A half mile from the Peeley TH another truck was coming the other way in a very narrow spot on a very steep hill. I got out to help spot Andy so we didn't roll off the cliff, and so I wouldn't be in the vehicle if that happened  . It got light on the way in and there was no direct sunlight at the TH when we started. This made it very cold. Fortunately I packed and extra layer and decided to put it on. I was thinking I would take it off after a few miles, but it stayed on the entire hike. By the time we started on the trail, all off my fingers were totally numb. After a bit, they warmed up, but two fingers still remained numb. Only after a full mile did I regain feeling in all my digits. The gloves I had still remained on. I took them off eventually later on, but periodically put them on in shaded and windy areas.
The AZT/MDT is the highlight of this hike, and in general of the Mazzies as far as my experiences go. Higher elevations give amazing views of nearly half the state of AZ (Flag to the Rim to the Supes and the Valley) and the trail has been very well maintained since it's part of the AZT and the amazing volunteers obviously put in a lot of work. Once you're not on the AZT/MDT, Tonto NF policies come into play and trail conditions vary from 1)kinda sorta there, 2)suggested routes that are kind of hikable and might have a cairn here and there to 3)one of the many fires of the last 2 decades killed this and they need to take it off the maps.
There was still snow on all the north facing slopes once we were over 6000', enough that you had to pay attention and watch your footing or else you might slip, which I did a few times. Most of it was crunchy and gave good traction. However, there was a set of footprints going the other way that for every footprint, there was a small sheet of ice. Just enough to make it annoying. This however, was several degrees better than the knee high plus snow we encountered 14 years earlier. In areas where there wasn't snow in the shade, the soil was obviously frozen, so the temperature up there was easily below freezing all day in the shade, and we could feel it. There was also a lot wind at times, which I very much appreciated even with the cold weather. It was nice to be up in the mountains with such different conditions that in the desert heat for such a hot summer.
Y-Bar Trail was as advertised in the triplogs, very rocky and slow going. It's semi overgrown in some sections, but not more than having to push through some heavy brush here and there. The first mile and half going downhill from the AZT/MDT is the best part. It's a gentle downhill grade, wide open, and easy to follow. It's also almost all rerouted from the original alignment. I only became aware of this after I downloaded my track onto my computer and compared it to the track I saved from the hike Wally and I did in 2008 of the Mazzie Peak loop. We had hiked up the Y-Bar, but I distinctly remembered an area of heavy treefall and crossing a deep canyon and having to hike up a steep and faint trail. as we descended, I recognized that canyon from above and dreaded having to go into it again. Once we stayed high, I was confused but after comparing the tracks, everything was explained.
the loose rocks on Y-Bar was the worst part of the day, but not horrible. My knee hurt on that section, but today it's fine. Once we hit the loose rocks, Andy let me pass him because he's been dealing with knee issues this year and had to be careful. I was surprised at how far he fell back once I passed. There are 2 sections where the trail does a big switchback through small canyons. As I was leaving the canyon going onto the next, Andy still hadn't entered the canyon. At one point I did wipe out. there were not injuries other than to my brand new hiking poles that I just bought to replace one that will no longer collapse. Now one of the ones will no longer collapse because it's bent.
I ended up only being about 15 minutes ahead of him, which was enough time for me to do my normal change into a clean shirt and regular shoes. I also had time to finish the rest of my lunch so I wasn't hungry for the long drive back.
We saw one group of thru hikers on the AZT/MDT a couple of miles before the Y-Bar junction and one day hiker going up the Y-Bar as we were finishing up. Wally had talked to him and he told Wally he was going up to read his Bible. In below freezing temperatures. With no headlamp an hour before the sun was going down. I don't want to know.
Got back to the Peeley TH to deliver Andy to his truck and got home by 7. Had one minor hang up on the road to Barnhardt on the way out with some ranchers who were loading a bulldozer on a flatbed right in the middle of the road with minimal room to pass. After 4 minutes the oldest guy among them gave the "one minute" sign, and continued to fasten the chains on the dozer while standing in the one area that gave us enough room to pass. After 11 minutes I decided to make my way past him regardless of his comfort level. It might be a dirt road, but I think it's still a public ROW.  |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
and spoiler alert....we failed in our attempt to avoid the precipitation 
. I continue to be entranced with the hikes in the Mazzies - the views to be had were gorgeous. I'm not sure if we'll make it back to finish the small section of the Divide Trail from our turnaround point to the junction with the Y-Bar trail any time soon...but stranger things have happened, so I won't rule it out 
Route 
Thanks S, for joining me again on another fun filled adventure. 
Mist free
