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| | | Cabin Loop - Mogollon Rim Arizona, AZ | | | |
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Cabin Loop - Mogollon Rim Arizona, AZ
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| Backpack | 29.69 Miles |
3,922 AEG |
| | Backpack | 29.69 Miles | 45 Hrs 40 Mns | | 0.80 mph |
| 3,922 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Two nights and three days on the Cabin Loop with Philip and Steven. Drove up from Tucson Friday morning and parked at General Springs Cabin. Took the AZT north to do the Loop clockwise, and I immediately felt sad.
I had originally wanted to backpack in the Chiricahuas that weekend but thunderstorms were cropping up and between lightning and flooding potential the Chiricahuas seemed a bit dicey. The Rim wasn’t forecast to be wet, so we decided to head north instead. But I’d been longing for something wild and rugged, and while the AZT segment is gorgeous I just wasn’t feeling it. No catclaw overgrowth, deadfall, steep scree slopes, or washed out burned trail to contend with, so no type 2 fun. 
Took the spur trail to Fred Haught, then continued to Pinchot. The trails are easy, well marked, and immaculate. Finally got a little drama at the old road that was washed out just before Pinchot, necessitating a steep bypass down through the drainage and back up the other side.
Stayed overnight at Pinchot Cabin. In the morning we continued on U-Bar, which is not as well signed and cross-crossed by many logging roads and is itself a logging road at times. On two or three occasions I had to check my GPS to confirm we were on the right trail.
By this time I had gotten over any feelings of disappointment and was free to just enjoy the beauty all around. U-Bar had more varied terrain that kept getting better the further along we went. Had lunch at Dane Spring, which was flowing nicely. Continued on Barbershop, which is even more beautiful. Barbershop was easy to follow, though not as well marked.
We made it to Houston Brothers and were getting tired, so we made camp on a ridge. Probably wasn’t the best spot but it worked. I was worried about noise from camping close to roads and other dispersed car campers, but I didn’t need to be concerned about people. It was the elk who were partying all night with their incessant bugling. 
Sunday morning we packed up and continued down Houston Brothers to the Rim Road, aka General Crook trail. Route Scout showed a track more or less parallel to the road and claimed that was General Crook; we just took the road to get the great views off the Rim. Once the road pulled away and was just a road, we peeled off to find the “trail” identified as General Crook.
There was no trail. We were really close to the car and I needed a solid dose of type 2 fun, so we proceeded to follow the track on Route Scout anyway. It led us down and up steep ravines, then down a drainage with lots of debris before dumping us out in the swampy field behind General Springs Cabin. Perfect!
On the way home we stopped at Pie Bar in Strawberry. We were expecting pizza and beer, or maybe strawberry pie, so we were surprised to find that they serve empenadas. Really good ones, too.
While the Cabin Loop was definitely smoother and more manicured than what I was originally hoping for, it is absolutely gorgeous and a delight to do. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
A couple of nice pools 
This was an early post to HAZ. grasshopper said congrats on almost completing the trail. Had no idea what he was talking about.
