Black Canyon Trail #114 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

[ checklist ] Humphreys Peak San Francisco Mountains - Kachina Peaks Wilderness

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With snow the past 2 weekends in the mountains I figured now was the time to strike to find some runoff on my b-day. Stream gauges in the surrounding area gave me hope. Snow was all over the trail and blanketed the mountains in snow, making for a cold but pleasant start. I started to have my doubts on finding flowing water just because of how little precipitation there’s been all winter but soon gained hope as there was a trickle of water on the trail. Success! The canyon had a very pleasant flow with snow surround it, absolutely perfect. Several deep pools made swimming tempting but too cool on this trip. The big falls were flowing well and tried to climb to the top but I got greedy and didn’t succeed. Got out pretty quick to see snowDona and humphrey’s blanketed. Lunch at colt grill made for an amAZing day!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Swimming Hole

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Snow

Apr 27 2024

emilystardust

Routes 386
Photos 49
Triplogs 792

43 female

Joined Jun 23 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Apr 27 2024
		emilystardust • Triplogs 792

Hiking	8.37 Miles	1,815 AEG

Hiking	8.37 Miles	4 Hrs 57 Mns	2.04 mph
	1,815 ft AEG	51 Mns Break

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What a nice day for my first time in the area. Mostly cloudy, a few sprinkles but really just enough to keep things from being a little uncomfortably warm. We got a late start but hopefully will have a chance to go back and explore more upstream from the falls.

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Mar 31 2024

mikemcg

Guides 2
Routes 127
Photos 1,478
Triplogs 129

male

Joined May 07 2019
Tempe, AZ

Black Canyon - Cottonwood, AZ

Hiking		Mar 31 2024
		mikemcg • Triplogs 129

Hiking	9.07 Miles	1,963 AEG

Hiking	9.07 Miles	5 Hrs 39 Mns	1.92 mph
	1,963 ft AEG	55 Mns Break

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We had just been here the previous week, but Gen was sick that day and couldn't make it, so we went back a week later so she wouldn't miss out. We started around 1130, after the rain had just ended. The dirt road in was wet and slick, while the parking lot was a mud pit. The temp was 45° and overcast.

The trail was in much better condition than the parking lot, as it was mostly rocky with a few mud patches along the way. The peaks in the distance were covered in thick fog, which provided a mysterious atmosphere, which was amplified when we heard some coyotes howling off in the distance. The sun came out a few times, which was nice.

I thought that the steep trail down into the canyon would be slippery, but surprisingly it wasn't. We could hear the waterfalls shortly after getting on the side trail, and saw them soon after that. They were flowing more strongly than the prior week, and we were impressed. We stopped for a while at the 15 foot waterfall, then made our way up the canyon to the big one. The creek was 2-3 feet higher than it had been the previous week, so footing and rock hopping was a little trickier. The big waterfall at the end was beautiful and impressive. We hung out here for a while and took it all in. The return trip was fairly quick and uneventful.

Overall, a great trip. It was nice and cool, with a thick fog that added an eerie vibe. The trail was in great condition, much better than the road or parking lot. The water was flowing great. The falls were excellent. We saw no other people the entire day.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

1 archive

Mar 23 2024

mikemcg

Guides 2
Routes 127
Photos 1,478
Triplogs 129

male

Joined May 07 2019
Tempe, AZ

Black Canyon - Cottonwood, AZ

Hiking		Mar 23 2024
		mikemcg • Triplogs 129

Hiking	9.27 Miles	2,013 AEG

Hiking	9.27 Miles	5 Hrs 20 Mns	2.17 mph
	2,013 ft AEG	1 Hour 4 Mns Break

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Had a great time here 2 years ago, so we came back for more. We started around 11am. Weather was high 60s and overcast. This time we were accompanied by a shih tzu named Popcorn who had hiked 3.5 miles the day before, so she was totally ready for this.

The trail begins with a short descent, then a steady, gradual ascent of about 1200 feet AEG over 3 miles. There are nice views of the surrounding hills, as well as the red rocks of Sedona and the snow-covered San Francisco Peaks in the distance. Popcorn walked about half of it, but then enjoyed the views and scents from her carrier.

At 3.25 miles we took the unmarked side trail down into the canyon. It begins as a mild descent but soon becomes steeper, with loose rocks and thorny branches hanging over the trail. The creek at the bottom was low, but after we crossed the creek and climbed over the ridge, the water was flowing great. The trail ends at a swimming hole with a 15-foot waterfall at the end. Just downstream is a 10-foot waterfall and a deeper swimming hole, which looks deep enough for cliff jumping if the water was warmer than 40°.

We took a long break for lunch and a polar plunge (not me), then headed upstream. There are use trails on each side of the creek, with a little scrambling required. There is another 10-foot waterfall, then a number of tiny (2-4 foot) falls and swimming holes along the way. At about 0.4 miles in, the canyon turns sharply to the right, with a nice 60-70 foot waterfall just past the turn. I was by myself at this point, so I took some pics and headed back. We climbed down to the bottom of the 10 foot waterfall and explored that area, then headed back. The return trip was pretty quick.

Overall, a great trip. The weather was perfect for hiking. The water was flowing much better than April 2022, and the falls were excellent. There were a number of people on the main trail, but we only saw one person after we took the side trail down into the canyon. Popcorn did great, and was fast asleep the entire ride home.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

4 archives

Dec 28 2023

diablo

Routes 46
Photos 253
Triplogs 47

19 male

Joined Aug 13 2023
Phoenix, AZ

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Dec 28 2023
		diablo • Triplogs 47

Hiking	7.99 Miles	1,706 AEG

Hiking	7.99 Miles	3 Hrs 21 Mns	2.55 mph
	1,706 ft AEG	13 Mns Break

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No water 12/28

Apr 17 2022

mikemcg

Guides 2
Routes 127
Photos 1,478
Triplogs 129

male

Joined May 07 2019
Tempe, AZ

Black Canyon - Cottonwood, AZ

Hiking		Apr 17 2022
		mikemcg • Triplogs 129

Hiking	8.45 Miles	1,851 AEG

Hiking	8.45 Miles	7 Hrs 2 Mns	1.87 mph
	1,851 ft AEG	2 Hrs 31 Mns Break

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Summer weather is here, so we decided to explore a new area that possibly had some swimming holes and waterfalls. Started around noon. Temp was 86°.

After about 0.25 miles, we crossed a wash and began a steady but mild ascent over the next 2.5 miles on the hills that overlook the canyon. The views of the rolling hills were pleasant. The red rock of Sedona and the San Francisco Peaks were visible to the north. There were some pretty overlooks along the way.

At 3.3 miles there was a well-defined trail to the left that we followed down into the canyon. It began as a mild descent but soon became a little rougher, with steep descents, loose rocks, and thorny plants along the side that tried to snag anyone who slipped. As we approached the bottom of the canyon, the temps cooled and the views were amazing. The creek was just a trickle at the bottom, but the trail continued south, then crossed the creek, climbed over a ridge, and descended to the good part.

We reached a small clearing alongside a swimming hole, and met a gentleman named Ted who had a campsite set up there. He has been camping there frequently since 2004, and we were the first people he has ever seen down in this canyon. We explored the area. There are multiple swimming holes, up to 6 feet deep, all very cold. There were 3 waterfalls and 1 cascade within a 150 meter span, ranging from 3 to 12 feet high. There were frogs everywhere, and their vocalizations filled the canyon. We spent a couple hours exploring, climbing, posing, relaxing, and napping. The trail continued further south through the canyon, but we had to head back home. The ascent out of the canyon was quick and easy. The sun was blazing once we were out of the canyon. We returned to the car without incident.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Indian Paintbrush

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
A few wildflowers scattered along the trail

3 archives

Aug 07 2021

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Mingus Gaddes, AZ

Run/Jog		Aug 07 2021
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Run/Jog	14.84 Miles	2,754 AEG

Run/Jog	14.84 Miles	4 Hrs 30 Mns	3.30 mph
	2,754 ft AEG

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Didn't have a lot of ideas hanging around, but wanted to get 15-20 miles, not too far away, and not too hot, so I thought of Mingus Mountain. Drew up a route starting at FR413 where they had an aid station at Man Against Horse, up the mountain, then the loop up around the north of the mountain, and down to 413 via TR 108.

Got started a little after 8, and hiked most of the first uphill mile. Was already warmer than I would've liked, but not terrible. The flat, rocky top of Mingus was a bit cooler early on. Crossed over Gaddes Canyon, then got to the forest road up to the lookout. From there it was a short jog along the road to the drop off the mountain. However, it turns out the north half of Mingus Mountain is currently closed for a logging operation, so that was a no go. I didn't want to go down the hot exposed east side of the mountain just to go back up, so I decided to add distance later on in Gaddes Canyon.

Headed down the road to TR 108. It was very rocky and hard to make good time on, but eventually I got down to FR413. Had to hunt around a bit for the trail, since my FS topo map (FS topo maps are the worst) had the trail on the north side of the creek, when it's really 100 feet or so south of it.

I decided I'd go down Gaddes Canyon (below the road it runs into Black Canyon trail) until the trail leaves the creek. I think that was about 2 miles. This turned out to be the most enjoyable part of the route; there was water flowing out of the ground about a quarter mile down from the road, and the creek had decent flow the rest of the way. This helped ease my mind about whether I'd run out of water before I got back to the Jeep...

Below the spring the canyon was nice and lush. I even stopped at a few places to try and see if I could find any berries. Eventually got to the part where the trail exits into manzanita and other scrub, and decided I didn't want that. Started going down the actual creek for a bit, but it was slow going and, as much as I wanted to see where it starts a precipitous drop, I didn't feel like rock hopping.

Filled up at the spring on the way back (probably didn't even need to filter). Knew I was close to the road when I heard a really loud gunshot. Welcome to AZ. The upper part of Gaddes Canyon was not as interesting, but it wasn't bad, and the flow resumed (though much lighter) where the canyon turned north.

	Gaddes Canyon	Light flow	Light flow
	Dry at FR413. Consistent flow starting about a quarter mile downstream from the road. Also a trickle in the upper part of the canyon between Gaddes Canyon trail and where the canyon bends east.

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Apr 18 2021

LJW

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Kendall Peak Loop, AZ

Hiking		Apr 18 2021
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	19.25 Miles	3,671 AEG

Hiking	19.25 Miles	6 Hrs 33 Mns	3.18 mph
	3,671 ft AEG	30 Mns Break

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10 linked trail guides

Little Yaeger Trail #533

Butterfly Trail #536 - Mingus

Middle Trail #537

West Rim Trail #538

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One of my favorite hikes of last year, went round again this time without the lake, lookout, or cabin. Started near the upper Little Yeager TH and went clockwise around 7am. Road to Mingus Lake gate is now paved.

Wanted to get my least favorite sections out of the way first. Little Yeager is a smooth mountain biking trail. Have never passed any bikers on the trail, but I'd be curious to see some of the jumps in action. Took that to Yeager Canyon near 89a and headed back up Mingus.

Road walk past a thousand campers to Butterfly. Highlight stretch begins and goes on for miles. Next up was Middle Trail before turning onto West Rim. Took the first spur to the double track that leads out toward the hang gliding pad. At some point cut through the woods over to that area. Forest thinning hasn't started yet around there.

Roads to Gaddes and then Gaddes 2. Favorite trail of the hike, makes for a nice descent. Black Canyon trail then off trail to Ash Canyon. Was hoping for run off and found a trickle.

Up Kendall and then down and around the ridge back to the car. Only saw one hiker on Little Yeager and a group of mountain bikers on Gaddes. Absolutely beautiful weather. Gate to the lake isn't open yet.

7 archives

Sep 11 2020

LJW

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Geronimo Cabin - Kendall Peak, AZ

Hiking		Sep 11 2020
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	21.49 Miles	4,242 AEG

Hiking	21.49 Miles	7 Hrs 51 Mns	3.03 mph
	4,242 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

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Butterfly Trail #536 - Mingus

Middle Trail #537

Little Yaeger Trail #533

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Back to Mingus for what ended up being one of my favorite hikes of the year. Re-trod some of my favorite old ground on the north side of the loop and borrowed the southern half from HAZ. Originally drew up and hiked a similar loop a month ago, but if I'm remembering right I have @joebartels @The_Eagle and @chumley to thank for the route from Black Canyon to Kendall Peak.

Started at the #533 trailhead (pulloff) off 89a around 6am and went clockwise. Shady until onto Mingus proper on Yaeger Canyon. Alien sunrise through the atmospheric smoke. Orange to rose gold to plain white. Beat back the strength of the sun, and it was cool all day, although it made for weird lighting for snapping pictures.

Road walk to Butterfly. Cut up from the road and walked the stretch of Butterfly that runs adjacent to it. Took that to Middle trail. Two of my favorites on Mingus, but the dense pine forest is marked for clearing. Probably for the best. Walked the woods to the hangliding pad and had a look out through the haze.

More roads to Mingus Lake. Quick break, then through the woods up to the lookout. There was a ranger there walking toward the gate. Said good morning from behind, and he seemed quite unhappy to see me. Turns out the LO area is closed off for the duration of the pandemic. Ended up a real cordial conversation and a nice on-the-feet-break. John and I talked Mingus and firefighting and agreed not to forget what day it was and then went our separate ways.

Gaddes Canyon, up and over the ridge into the Geronimo drainage. Lots of trails to work with getting down. Trail from the drainage all the way to the cabin, and judging by the stonework, spring box, and metal trash, it might be one of Pena's himself. Good amount of catclaw. Cabin is really neat. There's some boots in the cabin that, whether or not they're legit, are in about two dozen shredded pieces.

Back up then down Gaddes Two. Another Mingus favorite. Rest of the loop is pretty much through open ponderosa pine forest that is almost impossible not to love. Black Canyon and Burnt Canyon route goes off trail. Open canyon floor and decent game/use trails make for really easy going travel. Feels far away, apart from the planes and sounds of distant motors. Lots of bear scat and some water in Burnt Canyon. Nice time of year for it with the canyon so lush and green.

Ash Canyon more delightful forest. Up to Kendall Peak which is more of the same only you're going up. To whomever lost their green HikeArizona hat on Kendall Peak's eastern ridge, I found it if you want it back. Views from the top not bad. Prescott ranges. Disturbed a couple hunters who were hanging around near the summit. Whoops. Down the ridge to the road and over another ridge to cut corners and get in on even more pine forest. From there, uneventful but beautiful road walk to Little Yaeger, which is probably best on a mountain bike.

Only saw the three people on the day. Similar trail use on a weekend, but the road traffic goes up. Temperatures never hit 80. Nice way to hold over until fall.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

Dry

Pools to trickle

51-75% full

Dry

Dry

51-75% full

1 archive

Feb 08 2020

mt98dew

Guides 69
Routes 37
Photos 3,010
Triplogs 2,387

55 male

Joined Oct 24 2010
Phoenix,Az

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Feb 08 2020
		mt98dew • Triplogs 2,387

Hiking	16.15 Miles	2,600 AEG

Hiking	16.15 Miles	4 Hrs 45 Mns	3.40 mph
	2,600 ft AEG

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This is actually my third go for this trail. It is not so much that this is a rough hike, but it is a hike that demands a commitment without time restrictions. Didn't get to the TH until 11:30. The TH is just on the outskirts of Cottonwood. It is a 3 mile drive down Ogden Ranch Rd. to get to the TH. It is a dirt road but very drivable. Skies were clear and the temps were great. On my first two attempts the furthest I got on the Black Canyon was about 2.5 miles. This time I was determined to go all the way.

In my mind the trail can be broken down into 4 sections. After going through a gate and transversing a major wash it is steady climb for the first 2.25 miles, with no more than a 30% grade. The second section, about 2.5 miles long, is relatively flat. There is some elevation gain but it is very gradual. The third section which is about 4.75 miles in and is about 1.25 long has a couple of steep climbs interspersed with some gradual climbing. A little over 6 miles in I hit the ridgeline, which is the high point of the trail. The views weren't as panoramic as I expected since I was surrounded by higher elevation. After the ridgeline I hit the fourth section which is a descent into a pine filled valley with a steady flowing stream. This was the highlight of trail. It is a steep descent into this valley and the trail continues for about 2 miles before terminating at FS 413(?). This last section is well shaded (unlike the first 6 miles) and is accompanied by an active stream for a nice portion of it. There were still patches of snow and ice which I'm sure helped strengthened the flow of the stream. Not sure if this would be an active stream year round. You know you are near the end of the trail when you start seeing fire pits. I don't think these are officially designated campsites, but they are well used. Returned via the same trail.

Couple of observations. I passed through two gates. One right after leaving the TH, the other about 1.9 miles in. There is a user trail about 3 miles in that splits off from the Black Canyon Trail and seems to head down toward the canyon. I did not explore, but the trail looks like it gets a decent amount of use. There were two stream crossings about 4.5 miles in. I am sure these were snow fed streams and are probably dry most of the year. They were within a .25 miles of each other. I got lucky with the fact that this trail was in great shape! Actually passed a biker, who at the time, was off his bike and raking the trail! But it was obvious that a lot of other work had been done on the trail as well. There were areas were growth (grass) had been trampled down and all encroaching plants had been cut back so there was a clear path all the way to the top. I did note the orange dots that someone had spray painted on numerous rocks to help guide one along the trail. Totally unnecessary with the trail in its current condition.

Kind of thrown by my mileage. Feel pretty comfortable about my garmin numbers...16.15 miles. But the trail description says the trail is about 6 miles long one way (and that is with the TH being set back further from the trail. Sounds like, back in the day, people had to hike the road before actually getting to the trail). Not sure why my mileage is so much more, but I feel good about the number and about being on the trail the entire time. Encountered 4 people on the hike; which is 4 more than I saw on my previous 2 visits. The biker, doing trail maintenance, and 3 hikers. Trail was nice for jogging with the exception of section 3 and the descent into the valley. Jogged what I could. Took a minor spill at the end, but suffered only a couple of scrapes.

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Jun 09 2018

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Yeager - Gaddes - Burnt Canyon - Ash Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 09 2018
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	15.74 Miles	4,046 AEG

Hiking	15.74 Miles	9 Hrs 9 Mns		2.06 mph
	4,046 ft AEG	1 Hour 30 Mns Break	16 LBS Pack

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Little Yaeger Trail #533

Yaeger Cabin Trail #111

Little Yaeger Canyon

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chumley

joebartels

Joe had us up in the Mingus area again to hit some old favorites, look for some stuff and hit some new areas.

We started on the well groomed 1500' climb up Yeager Canyon Trail. Once up top, on FR9003P we stumbled onto the remains of an old cabin structure. Pipe in the structure, suggested there might be a spring in the area. After a bit of a search, we have a new named spring.

Next, the adventure of finding a way off the rim. Chums found us a break in wall to get down to our next search. Geronimo's cabin had been on my list since @PrestonSands was there years ago. This is a place that you could walk right past, if you were not within 50' of it. Gernomio's Cabin was built by Geronimo Pena. He worked as a woodcutter for 37 years, supplying the community of Jerome with firewood. Born in 1877, he passed away in the cabin in 1957 of heart disease. His boots are still supposed to be there, but I did not notice them.

Leaving the cabin we found an old use trail. We lost it and found again, along with the remnants of another unmarked near dry spring.

Back on the familiar Gaddes Canyon #110, Gaddes #9037 and Black Canyon #110, we turned into Black Canyon/Burnt Canyon. Bovine traffic made our travel much easier.

Next up was Ash Canyon #539. We found a shady spot for lunch, before heading up to Kendall Peak.
It was a bit of a huffer for me on that climb in the heat. The views are totally worth it.

We finished off the hike exploring the off trail Little Yaeger Canyon. Slow and brushy in spots, with a few down climbs that we practiced Safety First.

Good times, Thanks for driving Chums, great hiking with you again.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Miscellaneous Survey Marker

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Chums Spring

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Ash Canyon Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Pooling in the area of the spring

	Burnt Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Bovine in the area make the numerous pools a must filter

	Chums Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Filterable water to be had

	Hog Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Water below the spring in Ash Canyon tells me it's flowing.

	Little Yaeger Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Pools to be found off and on.

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Jun 09 2018

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Yeager - Gaddes - Burnt Canyon - Ash Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 09 2018
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	17.19 Miles	4,375 AEG

Hiking	17.19 Miles	9 Hrs 7 Mns	2.18 mph
	4,375 ft AEG	1 Hour 14 Mns Break

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8 linked trail guides

Yaeger Cabin Trail #111

Little Yaeger Canyon

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joebartels

The_Eagle

For some reason, I had never once dipped my hiking wick into any of the trails on Mingus Mountain, so this looked like a good introduction and an excuse to get to cooler elevations without driving too far.

The sun made it a bit warm toward the end, but the trails were great, and the off-trail sections were mostly manageable too! A patch of poison ivy made me do a few ballerina steps of avoidance.

Deliverance Cabin was one of the most rugged I've seen, and in an odd location. Whoever built it was apparently not a fan of being found. The way down was an improvisational mess. We enjoyed finding the old trail tread on the way back up.

The high point on the day was Kendall Peak, which somebody promised me was a unique and a peak. It's a good thing somebody added it about 6 minutes ago as a cya.

Little Yeager turned into a bit of an adventure in the heat of the afternoon sun, but despite slow travel, it was actually a nice change of pace to add to the mix for the day.

I'll have to explore some more of this little mountain sometime!

I ran circles around the other two, racking up a few extra miles and elevation too.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Ladder Stile Summit Register Log

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Kendall Peak

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

1 archive

Jun 09 2018

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Yeager - Gaddes - Burnt Canyon - Ash Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jun 09 2018
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	15.76 Miles	3,944 AEG

Hiking	15.76 Miles	9 Hrs 8 Mns		2.10 mph
	3,944 ft AEG	1 Hour 38 Mns Break	12 LBS Pack

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8 linked trail guides

Gaddes Canyon Trail Two (Old)

Yaeger Cabin Trail #111

Little Yaeger Canyon

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chumley

The_Eagle

Yeager Canyon Trail #28
6 years since Bruce and I hiked this one. The trail is very well maintained.

Gaddes Canyon Trail Two (Old) (added 2020-02-11)
Based on comments in nonot's [ triplog ] we hiked or paralleled this mythical 2 mile out-n-back. For sleuths' sake of ever figuring it out I moved the trailhead from FR501A to trail 502 which hikebot does have a track posted based on gov gis data.

Gaddes Canyon #110
Short leg to make the loop work. Never tire of this one.

Gaddes Canyon Two Trail #9037
Long standing fav, prefer up. Dry, no wildflowers.

Black Canyon Trail #114
Almost felt like cheating since we just hiked the nicest upper end. Columbine patch. Box Elders stood out with their bright translucent green leaves.

Offtrail Black & Burnt Canyons
1.5 mi portion we did on a 17 mi loop Aug `14. The most notable pools of water all day. Bring your own, this canyon travels easy from all the cow trails-of-use.

Ash Canyon Trail #539
Only 1.5 mi, perhaps the best part of it too.

Yeager Cabin Trail #111
Whopping 0.5mi of this gem. 9Lee linking at it's best!

Little Yaeger Canyon
Looked forward to this the most as somehow it never made the mix. Heading in I couldn't figure why Preston mentioned...

Reversing your route back down Little Yaeger Canyon is the most difficult option.

Crystal clear now. I barely made it down with lots of help. The sword was double edged as the guys spent the previous hour suggesting changing this final leg to a nearby trail... lol
I'd still go up this canyon since I forgot to keep an eye out for the Aspens. Forget descending until memory fades!

Synopsis
Enjoyed the loop once. Not itchin to do it again. Mingus is my fav so neva say never but I'd reverse it. Good to see Chums jump in on this one. 18% of the hike was breaks =)

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
One Columbine patch and a fair amount of raspberry in two canyons.

_____________________

- joe

Feb 19 2017

MountainMatt

Guides 3
Routes 202
Photos 3,513
Triplogs 530

male

Joined Jan 24 2016
Arizona

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Feb 19 2017
		MountainMatt • Triplogs 530

Hiking	10.61 Miles	2,331 AEG

Hiking	10.61 Miles	5 Hrs 36 Mns		2.23 mph
	2,331 ft AEG	50 Mns Break	25 LBS Pack

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After a longtime interest in the "wondrous place" that lies just off to the side of this trail I decided that today would be a good day to give it a go...
Cottonwood and the surrounding are received an inch of rain the night before and upon my arrival at the lower TH the ground was saturated and the skies were still producing a steady sprinkle.

This is my first time hiking on an actual trail in such a long time and I felt like I was on a super highway :y:

Is this how normal people travel?
Anyway it felt good to stretch the legs and gain modest elevation without bushwhacking but the only downside to this beautiful trail was the moron who proceeded to spray paint pointless orange arrows on more boulders than I could count! ](*,)

A quick reminder why my hikes are usually off trail treks far far away from those type of bozos.
Maybe why not far from there I broke off #114 to one of the faint very steep canyoneering trails that lead down to the entrance of the Lower Ward Pocket.

My head was spinning with scenery overload, not only was there the gushing amount of water inside Black Canyon but there were numerous massive ephemeral waterfalls just pouring from every side canyon and drainage, truly a remarkable sight.
I carefully made my way down to the edge to what I believe is part of the lower narrows and peered down into a intimidating deep dark hole just rumbling and roaring with water.
As a matter of fact the Ward Pocket has a quite a fierce and formidable look to it, perhaps the falling sleet and background of clouds and fog just added to the mystique but I can imagine in any light it is certainly quite the sight.

Instead of busting out my camera and working that scene like I should have I for some reason I had the hearty but foolish ambition to hump it up to my goal destination which was near the top of BC #114 and it was already nearly 4pm.

A few miles later I realized as I was not going to make it so instead of going home emptyhanded I decided to descend down for some tripod time into the prominent drainage just before the trail climbs into the manzanita forest.
The remainder of the hike back down was under the guidance of a headlamp and sometime around 7:30pm the skies finally broke and hours of gentle rainfall finally came to a halt which made the rest of the walk down peaceful and pleasant.

My original mission was not accomplished so I'll be back tomorrow better to fix my cravings.
It would be an understatement to say I've been day dreaming about this place all week long, once I get my eyes on a place of this magnitude I become rather infatuated to say the least!

_____________________

Nov 05 2016

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Black Canyon - Coleman - Gaddes Loop, AZ

Hiking		Nov 05 2016
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	24.12 Miles	5,036 AEG

Hiking	24.12 Miles	10 Hrs 53 Mns		2.44 mph
	5,036 ft AEG	1 Hour Break	15 LBS Pack

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joebartels

It'd been 5 years since I'd hiked from this TH, except as we started hiking, I realized the TH was all new, which should add 1.5 miles RT to the hike. I say should, because as we'd find later the start of this hike has been completely changed, with no indication what-so-ever at the TH.

We followed the road until, things just didn't seem right. I think the old trail took a left at the "ground under repair" signage that we'd passed. To get back on track, after a brief discussion concerning the flora, we opted to go cross country. It was slow going, but we made our way back on trail.

*** Note *** to start on the new trail, either download the new official Black Canyon Trail #114, or walk through the Road Closed sign, and take a 90 degree turn to the left.

The Black Canyon Trail #114 is not a drop dead gorgeous trail, but it's a steady climb, with some big views of the Cottonwood and Sedona areas on a nice trail. Other than a 1/2 mile section, just east of the ridge that drops into the pine valley (my favorite section), this is a superhighway. It puts a smile on your face, when there's an 8' wide swath taken out of a manzanita grove.

The Coleman Trail #108 gets you to the top quickly and is in great shape. We ate an abbreviated lunch up top, because (finally) it was cold!

After a stop at the closed Mingus Lookout, it was the Gaddes Canyon #110 to the Gaddes #9037. We were hoping for a bit of color, brown is a color and it carpeted the forest floor. Not the color we were hoping for.

Continuing our way down, back on the Black Canyon Trail, Route Scout yelled at us for being off trail (Pinned To function can be a life saver!). We were on a perfectly good trail, so we were a bit confused. We back tracked 100' to where the track said we went wrong. Ahh Ha, the old trail was cleverly blocked off and we'd not even noticed.

We followed the new reroute directly to the truck.
Enjoyable hike with peerrfect weather...

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

	Dry Lake Tank	26-50% full	26-50% full
	Muddy Tank water

	Gaddes Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Plenty of filterable water from previous rains

	Gaddes Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Fenced in and sealed

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Nov 05 2016

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Black Canyon - Coleman - Gaddes Loop, AZ

Hiking		Nov 05 2016
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	24.04 Miles	5,080 AEG

Hiking	24.04 Miles	10 Hrs 53 Mns	2.49 mph
	5,080 ft AEG	1 Hour 14 Mns Break

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The_Eagle

Black Canyon Trail #114
Still mystified why we never see hikers on Mingus, I absolutely love it. It was great to experience it in near chilly weather for a change. Shockingly it'd been 5 years since we hiked up #114 from the lower trailhead. I was a little confused in the beginning as I didn't have topos on Route Scout for the beginning of the hike. Bruce quickly figured out the trailhead had been moved 0.75 mi below the old trailhead. Our 21-ish mile hike was to be a bit longer.

1.5 miles in on the easy to follow road Bruce noticed we were no where near our hike. 400 feet up, not wanting to backtrack down, I made the poor decision to work over. The roller coaster ravines added exactly 400 more feet of gain so we just gave up nice trail in exchange for more sweat than anticipated on the entire hike. Wah wah, are we hikers or what?

Finally on trail in cool weather things were looking great heading up. We looked forward to the short lived tall pine area near the top of #114.

Coleman Trail #108
When it's hot this is a descend-only preference. Today I opted to ascend for a change and enjoy Gaddes a touch more on the downswing. #108 is still in great shape and the Cottonwood overlook is a hit every time. We lunched near the upper end. Shorter than usual as we got cold in the Antarctica mid to upper fifties!

Gaddes Canyon Two Trail #9037
The rare descent was nice for a change. Although winter is months away it looks mid winter as all the leaves have fallen. This is a great summer canyon that offers some of the nearest relief from the boiling temps in the summer. It was so peaceful and quite I enjoyed this version too.

Black Canyon Trail #114
Back down Black Canyon we found out the old trail we missed at the bottom has been realigned. Paying attention would have probably left us confused, whouda thunk! The new alignment follows a ridge just south. It offers better options for shade under junipers. Interestingly some of the stumps look pretty old so it may have been used long ago or for cattle. Two gates have the new high quality latches we saw surrounding Granite Mountain this summer. There is zero signage at the trailhead to indicate this new trail as of yet.

Autumn Foliage Observation None
Autumn is done, stick a fork in it already. Still nice to crunch through the crisp carpet of leaves. Okay there was a hint here and there but the show is typically Oct 10th ish.

_____________________

- joe

Oct 31 2015

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Oct 31 2015
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	19.00 Miles	4,000 AEG

Hiking	19.00 Miles	11 Hrs	1.73 mph
	4,000 ft AEG

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Nice long climb up to Mingus Mtn. The top and bottom thirds of BCT #114 are in good condition, but the middle third is getting heavily overgrown. Its not hard to follow, but long pants will be appreciated. Some maintenance would make it a 4-star trail.

NOTE: The lower end of the trail was re-routed sometime in the past couple years and the parking area has been moved. Formerly you parked and continued up the road a ways to the trail start. Now, directly from the parking area head SW towards the mountains - the trailhead isn't signed but soon you will reach a gate in a fence and the trail will be obvious.

_____________________

Oct 11 2015

mt98dew

Guides 69
Routes 37
Photos 3,010
Triplogs 2,387

55 male

Joined Oct 24 2010
Phoenix,Az

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Oct 11 2015
		mt98dew • Triplogs 2,387

Hiking	5.62 Miles	900 AEG

Hiking	5.62 Miles
	900 ft AEG

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Looking to get some quick miles in before we headed back to Phoenix. Kind of stumbled on this trail without doing any research. I had seen the hiking icon on the side of the road several times on trips to Cottonwood. Today, I actually followed the signs to the TH and got in as much hiking as time would allow. I think the trail has changed slightly since GPS Joe wrote about the trail. The TH is basically a cul De sac boarded by large boulders. At the northwestern edge there is a metal gate and an unused road that heads in that direction. From the metal gate, look to your left, and you will actually see a single track head off to the west. In about 300 yards you'll pass through a gate and then down into the wash as described GPS Joe's description. I imagine that this newer route cuts down on some mileage. From that point on I believe that the trail is the same, though I only went in about 2.75 miles before turning around. It was a nice single track trail that kept a steady climb for the duration. Trail is fairly exposed, though there is an occasional juniper that will offer some shade. I turned around at the 4900 elevation point and I was starting to get some nice views of the canyon. Will definitely want to come back and do the whole trail.

_____________________

Aug 09 2014

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

South of Mingus Mtn Loop - from Fr132, AZ

Hiking		Aug 09 2014
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	18.02 Miles	4,080 AEG

Hiking	18.02 Miles	10 Hrs 32 Mns		1.89 mph
	4,080 ft AEG	1 Hour Break	16 LBS Pack

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Ash Creek Trail #9705

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joebartels

It was Joe's week and he came up with a beauty.

After he proposed it to me, he quickly recanted, saying he thought FR 132 was 4x4. I looked at the Sat. view and it looked fine, then checked the interweb and found a Youtube video, taken that day, which filmed the road almost completely from where we'd be driving. (What are the chances)... All looked good.

We started our off trail with an easy climb up what appeared to be an old fire break. The only thing you needed to watch out for was the small easy to miss Agave, which got me. I stepped on one, it broke off from the bottom of my shoe while embedded in my foot. I couldn't get my shoe off with the agave through both, so Joe used some pliers to extract it.

The 360 views from atop of 6959 were incredible.. After checking out the planned exit, we opted for for a less brushy route down to the west. We followed numerous game routes down the sweet forested area, until it opened up to a used two track. A few minutes later we were informed by the owner of the property that we were trespassing (no signs were seen). We explained our situation to the land owner and he let us pass through to our destination. He has a sweet little area back there.

Up the Black Canyon Trail #114 to the Gaddes Canyon Two #9307. I been on these before and have enjoyed them every time. The other times we've done these trails the sign of Bears were everywhere. This time....no sign what-so-ever.

Next we make the turn on to a section of the Gaddes Canyon Trail #110 that I had not been on before. It hops off the ridge with sweet views of Burnt Canyon. Once again, like many times before, I was used as a Teva Shield. There was hundreds of rounds of automatic rifle fire echoing in the canyon below.

West On FR413, to FR132, to the turnoff for Kendall Peak. We signed in and took lunch there.

The Ash Canyon Trail #539 was a pleasant stroll and cairned well.

The Ash Creek Trail #9705 was less of a trail, but you are following Ash Creek, so no Route finding issues. It wouldn't be a Summer hike with Joe if Thunder, Lightning, Rain and Hail weren't involved. So we had about 45 minutes of that. The temps at this time dropped to a nice 63 degrees....

Now the fun... Joe had it drawn up to follow a drainage back up to FR132. It went pretty easy for a quarter mile, then the canyon started getting real thick, with no indication of letting up. Joe suggested, and luckily I agreed to jump out and climb up high on the ridge. We found paths through the scrub, until we lucked out and found an area where they were re-stringing a fence and had cut out all the brush around it! This probably saved us at least an hour of hell.

:next:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO9us7WItlA

Pleasant hiking with mostly cloudy sky's all day with temps were in the 80's most of the day, but dropped into the low 60's during and after the rain. That's some good weather for August!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Wood's Rose

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Tree Tags

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Ash Canyon Spring Burnt Tank

Wildflowers Observation Light

	Ash Canyon Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Plenty of pooling in the area. Flow not noticed.

	Burnt Tank	1-25% full	1-25% full
	Yuck

	Gaddes Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Very isolated pools from recent rains

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Aug 09 2014

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Gaddes Canyon - Ash Creek Loop, AZ

Hiking		Aug 09 2014
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	17.20 Miles	3,940 AEG

Hiking	17.20 Miles	10 Hrs 30 Mns		1.86 mph
	3,940 ft AEG	1 Hour 15 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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