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| Hiking | 3.44 Miles |
379 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.44 Miles | 1 Hour 43 Mns | | 2.06 mph |
| 379 ft AEG | 3 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This route is in the Prescott National Forest southwest of Thumb Butte. It starts at the east end of Honey Bucket Trail #333 and ends at the parking lot on Dearing Road where Williams Peak Trail #738 crosses Dearing Road. It includes all of the "official" Honey Bucket Trail as of June 1, 2025 and then turns south on Thumb Butte Bypass Trail #326. As I discovered on my way to the start of this route, Honey Bucket Trail continues west of Thumb Butte Bypass Trail to end at Thumb Butte Road near the west end of Potts Creek Trail #327 (see my May 24, 2025 triplog for Honey Bucket Trail #333). On this route, I took Thumb Butte Bypass Trail south to where it ends at Potts Creek Trail and turned west. From the west end of Potts Creek Trail, the route crosses Thumb Butte Road and follows an unmarked trail that parallels Thumb Butte Road, first north and then west, until it ends at Williams Peak Trail #738. The route then takes Williams Peak Trail north to the parking lot on Dearing Road.
I have named this the "Claret Cup Route," because I saw more claret cup cacti on this route than any other hike I have taken in the Prescott National Forest, including every trail I have found within about 20 miles of Prescott, AZ. It is not unusual to see a claret cup cactus on the trails around Thumb Butte, but I don't recall seeing more than two or maybe three on any previous ten-mile hike. The photoset for this hike has six claret cup cacti, including two in a single photo, a real rarity. In addition, there were lupines, phlox, showy goldeneye and dalmation toadflax. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
claret cup cacti, lupines, phlox, showy goldeneye and dalmation toadflax |
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