username
X
password
register
for free!
 help
 Home FAQ Contribute Camp Granada Surveys Shop
 TrailDEX Filter Areas A to Z Easy Hikes in Season Dog Hikes in Season
 MapRoute Editor Route Editor Route CloudRoute Scout Route Scout Foliage DEX Wildflower DEX
Publish a Guide
Trail/Hike Guide
 GPS Route
Recorded Track of a Hike
 Triplog
Review/Journal of a Hike
 Photoset
Photos of a Hike
help
  HAZ Forum
ArticlesGuidesRoutes
 
Photosets
 Recent Photosets
Liked PixelMASTERS
Avatars Tagged Notes
 
 Comments
triplogs   photosets   labels comments more
Gila Valley South - GET #11 - 4 members in 6 triplogs have rated this an average 1.5 ( 1 to 5 best )
6 triplogs
login for filter options
Apr 16 2024
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
McInery TunnelTucson, AZ
McInery Tunnel
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Apr 16 2024
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking8.00 Miles 1,000 AEG
Hiking8.00 Miles
1,000 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Pond 3 Loop - Cluff Ranch
Cluff Ranch Wildlife Area
Gila Valley South - GET #11
Partners partners
AddSanz
Fun day of hiking with the focus being a visit to the old McInery Tunnel.
The loop went like this - Pond 3 at Cluff Ranch :next: desert off-trail over to the McInery Tunnel road :next: Up to the tunnell :next: Over to and across Ash Creek :next: GET #11 back to Cluff Ranch.

Pond 3 is still closed from the dam repair, but is now being filled back up with Ash Creek runoff and may be reopened for summer!
McInery Tunnel was very cool. We ventured in about 100 yards before kicking up sleeping bats and getting the heck out of there.
Ash Creek was flowing strong from the snow melt.
Cluff Ranch looked awesome, always one of my favorite places to visit in the Gila Valley!

Great scenic views up the mountain with Mt Graham still holding it's snow peak.
Big time snow melt flowing down Ash Creek through Cluff Ranch.
McInery Tunnel always a cool piece of Gila Valley history to visit.
Was my first day wearing shorts, what a mistake that was with all the off-trail bushwhacking we had to do ... Neosporin + lidocaine :pk:
Ended the day at Taylor Freeze with Reece's ice cream to ease the pain.
:D
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Moderate

water 1 out of 5water 2 out of 5water 3 out of 5water 4 out of 5 Ash Creek - Pinalenos Heavy flow Heavy flow
Flowing strong with snow melt.

water 1 out of 5water 2 out of 5water less than maxwater less than max Cluff Reservoir Number Three 26-50% full 26-50% full
Pond currently being refilled from the repair closure.
_____________________
https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/
 
Apr 05 2017
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
McInery TunnelTucson, AZ
McInery Tunnel
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Apr 05 2017
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking10.10 Miles 1,100 AEG
Hiking10.10 Miles
1,100 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Gila Valley South - GET #11
Cluff Ranch Wildlife Area
Pond 3 Loop - Cluff Ranch
Partners partners
AddSanz
Recruited my adventure bud Addie for this one to help scout out and complete a loop idea I've wanted to do for years with the main attraction being the McInery Tunnel. Day of the hike we had 5 early morning family/friend add-ons bringing my hiking tribe up to 7!

First some brief history - In 1900, Thomas McInery began to acquire land south of Pima to sell shares in a scheme to find both gold and enough water to irrigate all of the Gila Valley. He promoted this tunnel (also called the Mammouth Tunnel and Triumph Tunnel) in a fraudulent money-making scheme before abandoning the project and leaving town. The 250-foot start still remains, dug ten feet high and eight feet wide into solid rock and accessible to exploration.

We started from Cluff Ranch Pond #3 :next: Off-trailed across the mesa tops and down to FR 681 :next: 681 up to the McInery Tunnel :next: Found an excellent (unknown) cairned trail that led up and over to Lower Ash Creek :next: GET #11 (Lower Ash Creek Rd) back to Cluff Ranch :next: Pond #3 loop back to the start.

Cluff Ranch looks great right now. Pond #3 is full, leaves are in, wildflowers are in and the whole area is just very scenic.
McInery Tunnel - The main attraction of the hike. The rocky road across the flowering desert and up to the tunnel was fun. At the tunnel we all first explored the tunnel 250 feet in to it's end. I'm am NOT GOOD going into dark unknown holes, but having the gang with me made it ..... doable. Addie once worked at Kartchner Caverns and gave me a brief tour inside pointing out the white cave crickets and explaining to me the water formations that are starting within the tunnel. Outside the entrance was spent with photo ops and lunch before moving on.
Ash Creek - Found a good unknown trail that led us up and over a ridge and down to Ash Creek and what a beautiful & shaded section it led to!!! All but 1 managed to cross this tricky section of good flowing creek dry and up onto Lower Ash Creek Rd/GET #11 trail. Along the way back was another break by the cold flowing creek, then a little off-trail to a nice prehistoric ruin I wanted to show & then took the Pond #3 trail back around the lake to the start completing my envisioned loop.

I love it when a plan works out, everyone in the group was great, the weather was perfect, the creek was perfect, the scenery was perfect ..... just a good ole' time with friends in the Pinaleno foothills!

McInery Tunnel
Good read for the history buffs -
arizonascenicroads. ... html
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Moderate

water 1 out of 5water 2 out of 5water 3 out of 5water less than max Ash Creek - Pinalenos Medium flow Medium flow
Lower Ash Creek flowing well through the Cluff Ranch area.

dry Cluff Reservoir Number One Dry Dry
Dry and has been for years.

water 1 out of 5water 2 out of 5water 3 out of 5water 4 out of 5 Cluff Reservoir Number Three 76-100% full 76-100% full
_____________________
https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/
 
Nov 03 2013
avatar

 Routes 596
 Photos 9,604
 Triplogs 2,400

58 male
 Joined Jan 30 2011
 Chandler, AZ
Gila Valley South - GET #11Tucson, AZ
Gila Valley South - GET #11
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Nov 03 2013
JuanJaimeiii • Triplogs 2,400
Hiking31.22 Miles 2,085 AEG
Hiking31.22 Miles   8 Hrs   29 Mns   3.69 mph
2,085 ft AEG      2 Mns Break
 
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
I have been wanting to get this one out of the way. Decided since I was down in the area to just do an out and back. The GPS route is for East to West since that is the way I am traveling the Grand Enchantment Trail as a whole.

Dave and Nick were right, this section is nothing special but I had perfect weather and a killer sunrise. All in all I really enjoyed the hike. Along the way I saw lots of cotton, some goats, the rail road line, and some great views.

4:23 East to West

4:06 West to East
 Fauna
 Fauna [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Domestic Goat
 Culture
 Culture [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Railroad Right-of-Way
 Meteorology
 Meteorology [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Sunrise
foliage observationfoliage observationfoliage observationfoliage observationfoliage observation
Autumn Foliage Observation Light
_____________________
 
Jun 15 2013
avatar

 Guides 16
 Routes 81
 Photos 1,269
 Triplogs 1,144

51 male
 Joined Apr 30 2008
 Tucson, AZ
Gila Valley South - GET #11Tucson, AZ
Gila Valley South - GET #11
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Jun 15 2013
azdesertfather • Triplogs 1,144
Hiking15.71 Miles 173 AEG
Hiking15.71 Miles   4 Hrs   16 Mns   3.85 mph
173 ft AEG      11 Mns Break
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
fricknaley
OK, so this isn't a destination hike. Not one you put on your wish list to do. But if you are doing the GET, it's a means to an end! Nick and I didn't have a full day, so we decided to knock this shorter segment off today even though he hasn't done segments 5-10 and I'm still missing 8-10.

Very glad to see the road was in much better shape that has been reported in years past. Need high clearance to make it to Ash Creek TH, but I never had to put in in 4WD.

The whole segment was road. It starts out from the west at the base of the Pinalenos and is a little wooded, but you quickly drop and it's just a big, wide, dusty dirt road with trucks zooming up and down it. You then make it to railroad track, and follow next to it into to town, with the tracks on one side and paved road on the other. By the way, if you are through-hiking this one, it's nice in that you hike right past Wal-Mart. ;)

Today was hot. By the time we were done just after 1pm, it was already 103 degrees. Nick and I kept it in 4th gear the whole time, to try to bust this one out as quick as possible. As we drove back up to pick up the vehicle at Ash Creek TH, we could see the dark clouds building over the mountain, and by the time we were on 191 heading out of town the rains had started!

Definitely looking forward to getting segment 10 done, over the Pinalenos!

Thanks Nick, one more done! Good times :D
_____________________
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." — Henry David Thoreau
 
Jun 15 2013
avatar

 Guides 93
 Routes 397
 Photos 4,984
 Triplogs 4,124

49 male
 Joined Jun 20 2003
 Tucson, AZ
Gila Valley South - GET #11Tucson, AZ
Gila Valley South - GET #11
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Jun 15 2013
fricknaley • Triplogs 4,124
Hiking15.71 Miles 173 AEG
Hiking15.71 Miles   4 Hrs   16 Mns   3.85 mph
173 ft AEG      11 Mns Break15 LBS Pack
 
no photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
azdesertfather
worked all night and barely slept, so thankfully this hike was a breeze. a super hot roasting breeze :lol:

this segment gets the through hiker to safford so it's not the most elegant one around, but hey, i was thrilled to be back out working on the GET.
_____________________
hi
 
Mar 09 2012
avatar

 Guides 4
 Photos 4,732
 Triplogs 2,607

55 male
 Joined Sep 29 2004
 Small Town USA
Gila Valley South - GET #11Tucson, AZ
Gila Valley South - GET #11
Tucson, AZ
Hiking avatar Mar 09 2012
SkyIslander18 • Triplogs 2,607
Hiking7.63 Miles 665 AEG
Hiking7.63 Miles   4 Hrs   5 Mns   2.83 mph
665 ft AEG   1 Hour   23 Mns Break
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   linked  
Bat Barn Loop - Cluff Ranch
Pond 3 Loop - Cluff Ranch
Cluff Ranch Wildlife Area
Partners none no partners
Only got a couple miles of this GET section completed before the pumpkin wind (terrible gusts) forced me back down Berry Patch/#307 Rd. Off-trailed down to Pond 3 at Cluff Ranch and completed the loop then hiked down to the ranch entrance and completed the Bat Barn loop. Saw a few poppies along the way and had a cool encounter with a sounder of javelina (6) by the bat barn. A quick hike up the very short scenic overlook trail ended the trip. Cluff Ranch is always a good time, but the wind really sucked a lot of the fun out of it today!
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Light

dry Ash Creek Dry Dry
Lower Ash Creek through Cluff Ranch is bone dry.
_____________________
https://www.instagram.com/skyislander22/
 
average hiking speed 2.83 mph

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

FAQ
helpcommentissue

end of page marker