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| Hiking | 14.11 Miles |
835 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.11 Miles | 5 Hrs 23 Mns | | 3.76 mph |
| 835 ft AEG | 1 Hour 38 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I've been hitting the Mogollon Rim pretty hard this year, but I need to up my game if I will ever reach my goal of hiking all the its named canyons. This week's objective was Gentry Canyon. I hiked options 3 and 4. If you are wondering why my mileage and AEG are greater, it is because of all the wandering back & forth I do, checking routes, looking for the best photo ops, etc. 
I started hiking from the same trailhead as my Open Draw and Turkey Creek hikes. I could have headed straight across FR 91, towards the low ground, but instead headed north along FR 91 to the first unnamed tank, where I turned left down an unnumbered jeep trail. Gentry Spring, at the north end of the prairie, had a small pool of muddy water; no flow. A tree was fenced off for a reason I could not determine; it was kinda scraggly. There were vehicle tracks across the prairie. 
Travelling along Gentry Canyon, a small black bear ran across the grassy shelf 150 yds. ahead of me. It was my first bear sighting since Moscow Peak in 2015 ( [ photo ] ). I didn't see mama, but I had my head on a swivel for the next ten minutes! 
After 3.8 miles of hiking, I reached Bessemer Crossing. I turned left (west) up FR 40. Double Cabin -- which I assume is two cabins -- is not where the single topo stone building symbol ■ says it is. All I found there was an old fence post, with some scraggly barbwire. The remains of the large log cabin are, in fact, quite obvious and directly across from Double Cabin Spring. I assume what remains of the "other" cabin is a nearby broken cement foundation. The spring is fenced off with relatively fresh barbwire, so I don't know if it is flowing. The spring box was dry & dusty.
A ½ mile north of Bessemer Crossing, Gentry Canyon tightens up for the final mile to Open Draw. There are shallow, clear, pools with barely perceptible flow, but travel is still not bad.
I ate lunch just short of Open Draw, then headed 150 ft. up the elk trail to FR 40G, which follows the contour line for 1¼ miles southwest to FR 40, just above Bessemer Crossing.
Check out the Guide I just added. 
¾ of a mile south of Bessemer Crossing on FR 40A, the jeep trail splits: The obvious trail is left, but that is FR 40A1. Note the "1": It matters. I was a ½ mile up FR 40A1, before I realized my mistake. I could have continued up to FR 91, then back to the trailhead, but that was not my plan, so I doubled back. Instead, split right. 
The 4¼ miles of FR 40G, FR 40A and FR 91M were shady, smooth, almost flat, and showed no signs of recent vehicle traffic. Anyone could walk it. 
But my favorite part of hiking at the east end of the Mogollon Rim is making a post-hike stop at the Woods Canyon Lake bait shop for ice cream (strawberry shortcake) and ice cold hiking beer (Sam Adam's Octoberfest Märzen).   
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/465866171 |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Orange agoseris, hills lupine, yellow salsify, western dayflower, Wheeler's thistle, Hooker's Evening Primrose, mullein, western wallflower, linearleaf four-o'clock, Richardson's geranium, dandelion, coneflower and fleabane. |
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Double Cabin Spring |
Dry |
Dry |
| | | The spring box was bone dry, but there was more evidence of puddling below the spring in Gentry Canyon, than above Bessemer Crossing. |
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Gentry Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| | | I did not see any flow, but there was a small, muddy, puddle at the source. (Presumably, the outlet was underwater ...) | | _____________________
| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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