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| | | U Bar Dane Canyon Loop, AZ | | | |
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U Bar Dane Canyon Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 13.30 Miles |
1,473 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.30 Miles | 6 Hrs 19 Mns | | 2.39 mph |
| 1,473 ft AEG | 45 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | The Monsoons were taking a break so I thought I would spend a couple of days up on the rim again. Last weeks rain didn't allow me to finish the trails I wanted to so this time I will try again. The first one was finishing up the southern part of the U Bar Trail from Barbershop to Dane Canyon then up Dane canyon back to the Barbershop. From the Barbershop I would head east to Buck Springs. The weather was perfect on this hike, clear skies and in the 70's in the afternoon. It appears there was a very large storm up here probably on the 26th because the creeks had been really running high but were down to a manageable level by the 28th. The tree that blocked access to these trails on the rim road last week was dragged off to the side and there were no other road issues this trip, except the rim road was a bit rough from the summer rains. Empty your bladder before heading out on this road. Lots of elk and a few deer on the drive in, always enjoy the early morning drive so I can see the herds.
Took FSR 321 to the Barbershop Trail crossing and headed west .3 miles to the U Bar Trail. The U Bar heading north is a very gradual and scenic walk to Dane Canyon. Only real down hill is just before entering Dane Canyon. Along the U Bar Trail you pass by Dane Spring and Dane Cabin, one of the 6 cabins on the Cabin Loop Trails. Hiking the U Bar in early morning is beautiful, the sun just coming over the east ridge with rays of the sun light slicing through the trees at a low angle lighting up the forest. Since the stroll is easy you have nothing to do but enjoy it. Dane spring had a good flow from the pipe.
Dane Creek was running pretty good but not too much that it would create a problem navigating upstream. When I came to this point last July the creek was dry. Meet the only person and that was at Dane Creek. He was with his dog on a multi day hike of the Cabin Loop trails. I would meet him again on the Barbershop Trail later in the day. So does that count as one person meet or two. Dane creek was easy to navigate, there were no real choke areas and the water was down quite a bit from the prior day. May of been a little more difficult if the water was a foot or two higher. The 5.25 miles of Dane Creek went pretty fast, not sure if it was the easier than I thought it would be walking or that I was constantly kept occupied by the scenery.
Back on the Barbershop Trail I headed east to Buck Spring. Even though I had hiked this portion of the Barbershop Trail last week it was like doing it for the first time, this time the sun was out and instead of shades of darkness there was an abundance of color. While hiking along the trail I saw in the brush something that looked like a tail of an animal, thought it might be that guys dog I saw earlier. I kept walking closer until I was about 20 feet away and saw that it was an elk. At that time it suspected something and moved into clear view and stared right at me. I was standing perfectly still and it continued to stare in my direction, what seemed like a long time but didn't seem to see me. I tried to slowly move my camera up from around my neck but eventually it noticed the movement and took off. I did get a rear end view of it though. That is the closest I have ever been to an elk, not counting the ones at Grand Canyon that you can practically pet. Those are park pets that have been sentenced there to amuse the tourist. Wonder what they did to get that sentence.
Any way, back on the Barbershop Trail I headed back to FSR321 and about 3/4 mile later after crossing over Yeager Canyon arrived at Buck Spring. There are two cabins there that are in good condition and count as one of the 6 cabins on the Cabin Loop Trail. Buck spring pond was full.
Will have too come back another time to maybe finish up the lower Dane Canyon to where it meets Barbershop Canyon. So many hikes so little time.
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