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| Hiking | 9.60 Miles |
412 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.60 Miles | 2 Hrs 15 Mns | | 4.27 mph |
| 412 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Early morning hike in Prescott. Continued to work the trails in the White Spar area. Today I wanted to get a hike involving the Feldmeier trail. Got on the trail around 5:30am. A little darker than I anticipated and also a little wetter, (it had actually rained that night  ). The trail conditions were pretty good with only a few puddles that needed to be avoided, but the brush and grass that bordered the trail was heavy with water and the slightest brush got my feet, socks and shins wet.
Went in on the Goldwater and then took the Twist and Shout and then the Apple Blossom to the Banning Creek trail. Finding the Feldmeier trail can be a little tricky. Unlike the other trails in the area, it doesn’t get a wooden sign with its name and distance. All it gets is a plastic marker with its trail trail number (330). And to make it even more challenging, you have to be on the official Banning Creek trail to see this plastic trail sign and the start of the Feldmeier trail. (The Feldmeier trail is easier to identify from its eastern end, where it junctures with the Goldwater trail. It still only gets a lousy, plastic marker with 330 on it (where’s the love), but the Goldwater trail is well established and there are no user trails that can complicate their interaction). The connection on the west side isn’t quite so clear. The Banning Creek trail starts from a dead end road and goes in .25 miles when in splits. The right (western) split is the Banning Creek trail, the left (eastern) split is basically a shadow of the official Banning Creek trail. You need to be on the western split for about .1 miles to come to the Feldmeier juncture. Here, you will see the plastic 330 trail marker and the trail taking off in an eastward direction.
There are actually two trails that take off from this marker, you’ll want to take the one that heads to the east, (the other is just a short use trail). The Feldmeier will quickly cross the Banning Creek “shadow trail” and continue in an eastward direction. Initially, it plays with a dry creek bed with hills rising up on either side of the trail. The trail constantly gains elevation as it makes its way east, sometimes in decent chunks as it tackles slopes in a straightforward manner. The trail is a solid single track and easy to follow. You’ll have to keep your eyes on the trail because it is fairly rocky and there are quite a few roots crisscrossing the trail. I followed several use trails that headed off to the north. Two were very short and connected to a dirt road just out of site (I think it is part of the Old Senators Highway that I came upon on my last visit. I may want to come back and do a loop with this road and some use trails that connect to it, to confirm). The last use trail actually lead to Senators Highway. It was at this point that the Feldmeier trail started to turn to the south. The trail leveled out and became much smoother from this point on. It did a lot of ins and outs as dealt with the contours of the land. Very pleasant, though I did have the constant companionship (noise) of Senator’s Highway just to the east. (There is a solid, single track, use trail that connects to the Feldmeier about .5 miles from where it turns south which I discovered on my last visit. I will have to make a return visit to find the exact coordinates. It would make for a nice loop with Old Senators Highway). The Feldmeier ends when it connects to the Goldwater.
From here I took the Goldwater west back to the White Spar TH. The Goldwater is a fantastic trail. Well signed and fairly easy to follow. There are quite a few use trails around the lake, but the route is evident. Having done portions of this trail multiple times makes it nice, because I have “destinations” in mind as I go along the track which seemed to make the journey back feel shorter. Plus, I was prepared for the elevation changes that came with this trail. Wildlife was nice! Saw a scattering of 10 deer along the route, along with 3 squirrels. Only encountered 3 people…one trail runner (twice) and two ladies near Goldwater Lake. Otherwise had the first to myself  |
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