Coleman Trail #108 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Mingus Oaks and Butterfly with Gaddes, AZ

Hiking		Jun 12 2024
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	18.31 Miles	3,366 AEG

Hiking	18.31 Miles	8 Hrs 37 Mns	2.58 mph
	3,366 ft AEG	1 Hour 32 Mns Break

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The_Eagle

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

I suggested three reasonable hikes and Bruce picked the coolest/easiest option. FR104 is the turn off 89A and is now paved for a mile or two. Driving up, the camps or retreats were loaded. We parked in the big lot just before the smaller #106 lot.

North Mingus Trail #105
We hiked the road up to the hang glider launch, the south end of #105. The drop is steep with great views if you look past your feet. I much prefer to ascend but know how much Bruce hates the ascent. He ran down and played with Spotted Towhees at the junction while I inched down without dying.

Bug Hollow Trail #548
From #105 we utilize the nice shaded use-trail to Bug Hollow. It's the steepest 0.5-mile stretch of the day but almost goes unnoticed with good tread through the forest. A slight descent put us in good spirits on Bug Hollow for 0.8 miles.

Upper Mescal Trail #550
0.75 miles up to an 0.4 mile use-trail that delivers us to the Mingus Picnic/Rest Area we occasionally use as a starting point. The use-trail is notable for yellow bark locust thickets. Which is a semi-friendly stage between the nightmare bush stage and the tall 6-10 inch diameter tree version. Leveling out to the rest area we listened to a few house wrens.

Butterfly Trail #536 - Mingus
Whereas Bug Hollow is typically a cool bugless pocket, this nicer-named drainage was warmer and gnatty due to a stagnant trace of a creek after the full dam.

Middle Trail #537
Middle children are often excluded, ignored, or even outright neglected because of their birth order. That makes perfect sense if you hike this trail, but it gets the job done. Bruce once found a Fitbit along this trail. He attempted to contact the owner without success so it's one of the many stories replayed throughout the hike.

Lunch
We enjoyed lunch on a cool concrete picnic table.

Coleman Trail #108
I don't hike as much as grandpa push-ups & speedos, so this segment was cursing my world. To make matters worse, somebody moved my damn tree and killed it.

Gaddes Canyon Two Trail #9037
Despite 87° I love this trail. The new twist to us was a long stretch of poison ivy. Nearly a dozen times I heard... you brushed against it. I increasingly tried to avoid it but the concern is mute compared to avoiding the biting noseeums that deliver 10x pain.

Gaddes Canyon #110
Bruce carries postage-stamp-sized alcohol wipes so we attempted to remove the antigen oil urushiol. Either that worked or my legs were slathered in enough cryptobiotic dirt, cuz nothing has surfaced or itched a day later now.

Synopsis
Mingus is fabulous in the Autumn and a nice option otherwise. JBM,

joe

butterfly

mode, emitted a steady release of therapeutic joy throughout the hike. Zero hikers encountered. We would have passed more hikers along Inner Basin but not sure I could have dealt with BBM crying up a storm about a beautiful six-mile road walk.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] New Mexico Locust Poison Ivy

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Not much, it's almost summer.

	Butterfly Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	maybe a half quart a minute, anything more is an exaggeration.

Butterfly Tank

Dry

	Mescal Spring	Dry	Dry
	No such moisture was obsevered

	Mingus Lake	76-100% full	76-100% full
	As full as I recall and well-used, parking was full when we left.

_____________________

- joe

Jun 12 2024

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

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Mingus Oaks and Butterfly with Gaddes, AZ

Hiking		Jun 12 2024
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	18.69 Miles	3,302 AEG

Hiking	18.69 Miles	8 Hrs 37 Mns		2.61 mph
	3,302 ft AEG	1 Hour 27 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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Mingus Inner Maze Loop

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joebartels

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Joe's week to pick and with the temps soaring, the choices were getting slimmer. Wally had a last-minute charging problem and bailed. After discounting Lion Peak, we settled on this loop that we've done many variations of over the years (usually in the fall for the colors). I like this figure 8 loop because the loops are divided almost in half. Parking the vehicle at the crossover spot allows you to carry half the water, leaving the remainder as well as your lunch in a cooler, with available picnic tables, restrooms, etc.

We opted to hit up the northern part of the loop first. Nice cool temps heading down the North Mingus Trail #105. The trail is loaded with oaks and maples which are beginning to encroach on the trail in many places. Good views to the north of Bill Williams, Sitgreaves, Kendrick, and the SF Peaks. To the west, the nearby Woodchute.

We've been using a steep 2-track, that turns into a pleasant non-official trail, short cutting to Bug Hollow #548. We wound our way over to our short road walk (now paved) to the Butterfly Trail. The water behind the dam was surprisingly full.

All this led to our vehicle, lunch, and a fluid refill.

The Trail #108 is my least favorite trail out here but necessary to complete the loop. It's rocky and hot, being exposed. It does afford some good views, but you must stop hiking to take them in. At this point, the JBM was in the yellow, fast approaching the red. I could hardly wait for the climb up Gaddes Canyon.

The Gaddes 2 and Gaddes Trails are pretty trails that climb 3.5 miles and 1300' back to our starting point. It's mostly under tree cover, helping with the heat approaching the mid-80s. The new problem this year seems to be the addition of quite a bit of PI. Not a moment too soon, we made it back to the car. Joe's meter had pegged and broken.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dam - Rock

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Butterfly Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Running and the water behind the dam was close to full

Mingus Lake

76-100% full

_____________________

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

Oct 13 2021

JuanJaimeiii

Routes 596
Photos 9,604
Triplogs 2,400

58 male

Joined Jan 30 2011
Chandler, AZ

Coleman Gaddes Loop, AZ

Hiking		Oct 13 2021
		JuanJaimeiii • Triplogs 2,400

Hiking	7.17 Miles	1,658 AEG

Hiking	7.17 Miles	2 Hrs 30 Mns	2.93 mph
	1,658 ft AEG	3 Mns Break

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joebartels

Joe and I were on our way to Marble Canyon to do a hike up there on Thursday. The plan was to stop in Flagstaff and do Mount Elden however there were reports of a light dusting of snow and very low temps in Flag. There is probably only one person who hates the cold more than me and that is Joe. He called out this alternative and it turned out to be a great choice. Temps were just right and it wasn't terribly far out of the way. Unfortunately, we were too early for the Fall color show.

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

_____________________

Oct 13 2021

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Coleman Gaddes Loop, AZ

Hiking		Oct 13 2021
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	7.17 Miles	1,658 AEG

Hiking	7.17 Miles	2 Hrs 30 Mns	2.93 mph
	1,658 ft AEG	3 Mns Break

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JuanJaimeiii

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Traces of melting snow, my favorite kind... very little! Absolute perfect weather, would have been silly to go freeze your pumpkin off at Elden.

Lower Gaddes feels about 10 days to prime. Upper Gaddes is just underway, probably peak in a week. I recorded a Steller's Jay up near Gaddes Spring.

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

_____________________

- joe

Oct 02 2021

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

Prescott, AZ

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Oct 02 2021
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	19.00 Miles	3,500 AEG

Hiking	19.00 Miles	8 Hrs	2.38 mph
	3,500 ft AEG

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Did the excellent 10/17/20 @The_Eagle and @joebartels double-looper, starting at the summit picnic area just off 89A. Went clockwise on both loops. Lots of green, happy forest after the good monsoon. Several sections of road walking required, but worth it to link multiple fine but isolated trails.

_____________________

Sep 25 2021

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Mingus Butterfly, AZ

Hiking		Sep 25 2021
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	12.05 Miles	3,334 AEG

Hiking	12.05 Miles	5 Hrs 42 Mns	2.27 mph
	3,334 ft AEG	24 Mns Break

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John9L

slowandsteady

All these years in AZ and never hiked on Mingus. John made the suggestion so Kathy and I joined the hike. We started from the Viewpoint trailhead on top taking the south loop first down to Gaddes Canyon. Then up Gaddes which was the nicest part of that loop. Also went by the Tower but it was closed off due to covid restrictions so we bypassed. Skies showed potential for rain but nothing developed until we reached the top again.

At the top the rain started to come down but after checking radar decided that if was probably short lived. We checked out the viewpoint and then headed down on the north loop. Great views along this section even with some on and off rain. Eventually things cleared as we finished hiking around to the uphill section back to the top. Short break where the trail hits the rim and then hiked by the hang glider launch spot on the way back to the trailhead.

_____________________

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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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Black Canyon Trail #114

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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.

_____________________

Jun 24 2021

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Verde Valley LO - Mingus LO - Hyde LO, AZ

Hiking		Jun 24 2021
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	12.50 Miles	2,992 AEG

Hiking	12.50 Miles
	2,992 ft AEG

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[ checklist ] Hyde Mountain Fire Lookout Mingus Mountain Fire Lookout

Hyde Mountain #6

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I decided to head into the Prescott NF on the last day that it is open before closing due to fire danger. I did 3 different hikes and bagged 3 fire lookouts that I had not done before: the Verde Valley Fire Lookout; the Mingus Fire Lookout; and the Hyde Mountain Fire Lookout.

Verde Valley LO
At an elevation of 3,980', this is the lowest of Arizona's 120 Fire Lookouts(past or present). Actually this lookout no longer exists and at the site you could not tell that a lookout was ever there -- the site has been graded and leveled. A road now goes just below the site of the former lookout -- the hike was 383' in length with 13 feet of elevation gain. It is obvious that they don't really want you up there, so I did not tarry -- it took me 108 seconds to do the hike, so this was my quickest hike ever.

Based on what I can gather, this lookout was in use as early as 1931, and a cabin was built in 1938 at this site between Jerome and Clarkdale. The land was donated by the Upper Verde Public Utilities Corporation.

Mingus Mountain LO
I had been by the Mingus LO several times but had never hiked up to it. It is a trivial hike to get there, but I decided to make a legitimate hike out of by doing a CW loop on the Coleman Trail, Gaddes Canyon Two Trail, and the Gaddess Canyon Trail. I started at the day use recreation area near the top of Mingus Mountain.

Mingus Mountain was first used as a daily patrol fire lookout in 1911. A tower was first built there in 1921. The current tower is still in use, although I not sure when it was constructed. The Mingus Lookout complex was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Hyde Mountain LO
The LO Cabin is at the Hyde Mountain Summit. I did an out-and-back hike on Hyde Mountain Trail #6. Not surprisingly, I did not see any other hikers. I did not see any wildlife, although there was a fair amount of bear scat in some sections of the trail. I like this area, and wouldn't mimd going back out there and do some more hiking in the area.

The windows in the cabin/house are boarded shut. I located the benchmark and both reference marks, which are on the east side of the cabin. There are great 360 degree views at the summit.

The lookout is a cabin/house instead of a tower. It was constructed in 1937 or 1938 and is no longer in use. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

I have now been to 34 fire lookouts in Arizona -- only 86 more to go. I doubt if I will get to them all, but I should be able to do 70-80 of the 120.

Distance and elevation gain for the Mingus and Hyde hikes are below. Stats above are the sum of the two.
Mingus: 7.7 miles with 1,535 feet of elevation gain
Hyde: 4.8 miles with 1,457 feet of elevation gain

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Apache Plume Arizona Thistle Century Plant

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Fire Lookout Structures Reference Mark

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

_____________________

Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

2 archives

May 01 2021

John10s

Guides 25
Routes 376
Photos 5,897
Triplogs 346

40 male

Joined Mar 01 2018
Chandler, AZ

Mingus Butterfly Loop, AZ

Hiking		May 01 2021
		John10s • Triplogs 346

Hiking	16.23 Miles	2,810 AEG

Hiking	16.23 Miles	8 Hrs 9 Mns	2.54 mph
	2,810 ft AEG	1 Hour 46 Mns Break

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[ checklist ] Humphreys Peak Mingus Mountain Fire Lookout

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TboneKathy

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With hotter temperatures in the valley, we headed north for some cooler weather and returned to Mingus Mountain for a longer loop-version of a hike we did in Gaddes Canyon last fall. We mapped out a figure-eight loop of ~19 miles and planned to take a detour over to Geronimo Cabin, which would add ~ one more mile. We started at Mingus Rec Area in the middle of the "eight" and started clockwise down Coleman Trail to FR 413 and connected with Gaddes Canyon Trail. We had some nice views looking east over Cottonwood from the overlook near the parking lot and at various points along the trail, but it was a hazy/smoky morning, and the colors were very muted looking toward Sedona.

Partway up Gaddes, we left the trail and cut up the side of the canyon toward Geronimo Cabin. We eventually connected with a drainage and started making our way back south with a plan to move west toward the cabin once we were at the right elevation. The route may have worked, but between increasingly thick brush and lots of bouldering, it was slowing our pace enough that we decided to save the cabin for another day from a faster approach so we could keep moving and get more mileage in on the loop. It would have been interesting to see the cabin, but we headed back to Gaddes, passed the lookout tower, and completed the southern loop, which was ~8 miles total.

For the upper portion of the figure-eight, we started counterclockwise from the rec area and passed the TV/radio towers and the hang-gliding launch area. There were a few nice overlooks along that stretch, including some views of Jerome and the San Francisco peaks, but the colors were still very washed out and faded in the haze even in the afternoon sun. We could also see smoke from a wildfire burning in the distance to the northeast.

We started down the switchbacks at North Mingus and could tell that we weren't going to have time to complete the full northern loop as we'd planned, and rather than get to the bottom of the canyon just to turn around and start back up and see the same scenery, we opted to turn back early and start clockwise along the loop to see Butterfly Spring. Back on top of Mingus, it was easy hiking through the forest, and the trunks of a lot of the trees were marked with bands of orange spray paint around eye level, presumably for future thinning. We saw some deer on the way to Butterfly Tank and Spring, which were both dry. There was one tank with some water (not named on any maps that I've seen) near Butterfly Spring. We turned around at the dam near FR 104, where a single tree stump on the ground was covered in neon graffiti.

We headed back to the starting point at the Rec Area and checked out the overlook one more time. We didn't finish the full-figure eight thanks to the time spent on the detour toward Geronimo Cabin, so the hike turned into one southern loop and two shorter out-and-back routes to the north. But we still got some decent mileage, the temperature was perfect, and the views were nice.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Greater Short-Horned Lizard Mule Deer

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Graffiti

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Oct 17 2020

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Mingus Oaks and Butterfly with Gaddes, AZ

Hiking		Oct 17 2020
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	18.41 Miles	3,514 AEG

Hiking	18.41 Miles	8 Hrs 29 Mns	2.47 mph
	3,514 ft AEG	1 Hour 2 Mns Break

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The_Eagle

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I took my own advice from last year to utilize an established trail in this mini figure-eight loop. Then I gambled on switching the direction of travel. It's a rare treat going against the grain with such success. The light followed us nearly throughout the day. The foliage symphony crested on one of my favorite trails.

North Mingus Trail #105
We descended since Denny snubbed us. Two short maple pockets with fair color.

Bug Hollow Trail #548 & Upper Mescal Trail #550
Oaks were turning, but I enjoy these anytime. Horseshoe Bend hikers(cough) would call these yawners.

Middle Trail #537
We adjusted the planned route to include the half we never previously hiked. It's an old road in a forest of dense slender pines. Most of which appear to be tagged for thinning. I appreciate dominant pine stretches more in the summer but liked the change of scenery today.

Gaddes Canyon Two Trail #9037
I'm a huge fan of oaks and this trail. After years of dreaming about Gaddes' prime foliage potential, it was incredible. Probably as good as I'll ever experience.

Coleman Trail #108
We usually descend this to get it over with, with less effort. Rocky up top and blazing sun exposure on the slope are the gripes. Even ascending, this was more enjoyable than usual. Time to let go of the old grudge when the slope was a brushy nuisance.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Walnut Gambel Oak

Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
Extreme oaks in areas if instamaple opioids haven't hazed your perception of Autumn.

_____________________

- joe

Oct 17 2020

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

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Mingus Oaks and Butterfly with Gaddes, AZ

Hiking		Oct 17 2020
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	19.03 Miles	3,592 AEG

Hiking	19.03 Miles	8 Hrs 31 Mns		2.50 mph
	3,592 ft AEG	55 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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joebartels

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Out to Mingus for cooler temps and searching for color. The dusty dirt road leading to the top of Mingus is all packed down with fresh aggregate and staked. We find out later from some passing strange-r, that paving will start this week.

We made the obligatory stop at the hang glider spot for the views. The Horse Fire smoke was evident from here. In all my trips to Mingus, I still have yet to see any hang gliders.

Popping down from the top from Mingus on the 105 trail, we got to see some pockets of red maples. Not rim worthy, but very nice nonetheless. On the 2 track portion of the 105, we ran into Curly and Moe (aka @chumley and @John9l). After a short catch up, we continued on our merry way. We passed one of Curly's dirt cairns, shortly thereafter, pointing the way.

We started getting into more Oaks on the 548 and 550 trails, which are Joe's Fav.

After an .8 mile road walk, we were happy to be on the Butterfly Trail (No butterflies were harmed during this portion of the hike, or even seen). We hit the Middle trail I believe for the first time. This will be in future rotations.

After some lunch, we moved on to the southern portion of our figure eight. Gaddes #110 and especially Gaddes Two #9307 have been a favorite of ours for years. We are usually heading steeply up on these. For a change of pace, we headed down and hit the light pretty good on the oaks. Joe went all @Tibber on me taking more than 3 zillion photos of the oaks and walnut trees.

I was not looking forward to the climb up Colman towards the end of an 18+ mile hike, but with a few stops to get my HR down, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

One of the most memorable loops up on Mingus.

After delays because of accidents on 69 in front of Lucky's and then believe it or not, a 15 mile backup on I-17 from an accident somewhere around exit 242, I made it home dirty, tired and hungry and thirsty.

_____________________

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

2 archives

May 02 2020

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

Mingus Meander, AZ

Hiking		May 02 2020
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	17.34 Miles	3,905 AEG

Hiking	17.34 Miles	8 Hrs 31 Mns	2.20 mph
	3,905 ft AEG	38 Mns Break

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danielac

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Made some variations to a Mingus loop I had done a few years ago to include more trail portions and less road walk.

Drive: From 89A a few miles south of Jerome, we headed east on FR-338. It's easy to spot the road, as it's directly across the highway from the big Prescott National Forest sign. We drove a little over half a mile on 338 and parked just east of Mescal Spring. The road is definitely medium clearance required, and 2wd is okay when dry, but is rocky in a few places.

Hike: We started the hike from Mescal Spring, and continued walking up FR-338. It starts gaining elevation right off the bat, but is a pleasant, shaded road walk. Passed a few old mines.

North Mingus 105. This one might be my favorite trail of the day. We wound our way uphill through ponderosa, juniper, oak, and maple. The trail is well defined, although brush encroaches in a few places. The only drawback was lots of gnats. It's a steady uphill climb, getting a little steeper as it approaches the top.

At the top, we walked across some forest roads and made our way over to the top of Gaddes Canyon 110 trail. The road walk is easy, views to the east are great. Saw a few cars parked up there, but not many.

Gaddes Canyon 110. Headed south down Gaddes, seeing three hikers--the only other hikers we saw all day. The trail gets steeper as it heads down into Gaddes Canyon.

Gaddes Canyon Two 9037. This one might be my second favorite trail of the day. It's a nice hike down the canyon. Lots of water and trees, but was warm. We saw one deer while taking a break for lunch. It watched us the entire time, but seemed to not mind our presence.

FR-213. At the bottom terminus of Gaddes Two, we took FR-213 east for half a mile to the start of Coleman. The road immediately starts regaining the elevation we lost in Gaddes Canyon.

Coleman 108. This was a new one to me so I wasn't sure what to expect. We headed north from the road, climbing back up to the top of the mountain. The southern end of the trail was steep, but in good condition. I stepped over one bull snake that refused to yield the trail. Once up top, the incline became more gradual, eventually flattening out, but the trail became a lot rockier. I preferred the steeper sections. Hot. Saw one bear print. After Coleman, some more road walk over to the start of View Point 106.

View Point 106. Headed east from the parking area. Very steep downhill. Very steep. Lots of loose rock and dirt. I was happy to be carrying poles. The less steep sections were quite nice. Excellent views, as the name suggests. Saw some horned lizards.

Mingus 105A. Took that west from View Point to reconnect to North Mingus at the saddle. Short trail, but I like it. Shade and trees. The uphill going this direction is reasonably gradual.

From the saddle, we took North Mingus and FR-338 back down to where we had parked. Going downhill seemed a little rockier than going uphill in the morning. Nice to get some stretches of shade.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gopher Snake

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

_____________________

Stop crying and just go do the hike.

1 archive

Apr 26 2020

LJW

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Mingus Mountain Figure 8, AZ

Hiking		Apr 26 2020
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	21.07 Miles	3,800 AEG

Hiking	21.07 Miles	6 Hrs 50 Mns	3.33 mph
	3,800 ft AEG	30 Mns Break

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Mingus Mountain Campground

Old Dump Trail #530

Mingus Inner Maze Loop

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Trying to find nice mountains for the summer that aren't too far from Phoenix. I'd heard of Mingus before, but not in reference to its hiking trails. Was curious to see what it was all about. I borrowed a figure 8 route a few people have uploaded to this website that seemed to hit just about every trail. What better way to get acquainted with a mountain? I added the highpoint LO and Mingus Lake to sweeten the deal. Parked at the Butterfly trailhead a little before 6am and headed up.

Started on Butterfly and by the time I was at the Middle Trail jct, I realized I had missed the turn north/West Rim. Decided to continue on Middle Trail since it heads more or less the same way. First stop was the hang gliding pad. Took a short break before I had even done any work.

Roadwalk down to Coleman. Wanted to get Coleman/Gaddes done early in the day before it got warm. Coleman was mostly shady and it goes down pretty quick. Another road over to Gaddes2. Shady and cool on the biggest ascent of the day, and water was flowing about half way up. Gaddes reminded me a little of some of the Rim canyons around Payson.

Took the road to the summit/lookout and skipped past it and down the other side through the forest to the lake. Took my only real break of the day. Had the lake to myself. I tried to focus on how nice the bottom half of the 8 was because I had a feeling that descending onto the east side and starting the upper half would be warm and generally not as good as walking through Mingus' crown of pines.

It was warmer, but there were nice views toward Secret Mountain and Humphrey's, and it was a lot clearer than the morning. It was also shadier than expected, and I don't think it was ever above low 80s. Passed one group of hikers all day with 2 miles left, but I lost count of the cars going up and down 104. All the trails were in great shape. Ended up sold on Mingus and with a dozen trails in my back pocket for the future.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Very isolated, lower elevations, a handful on Bug Hollow and Mescal

Quart per minute

76-100% full

76-100% full

Dry

	Mescal Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Pretty much dry

Mingus Lake

76-100% full

3 archives

Nov 09 2019

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

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Mingus - Clipped Butterfly Loop, AZ

Hiking		Nov 09 2019
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	19.34 Miles	3,603 AEG

Hiking	19.34 Miles	9 Hrs 37 Mns		2.27 mph
	3,603 ft AEG	1 Hour 6 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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joebartels

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

We started at the Potato Patch Parking lot off 89a on a new Trail, #530. This trail does not seem to be named yet.
It's actually a nice connector that gets you over to the Upper Mescal #550.

I had 3 goals on this hike.

First, find a route down from the Bug Hollow Trail #548, to an old FR connecting to the North Mingus #105 Trail. Success, there was actually a great use trail all the way. This route will be added to the rotation.

Second, find a route up to the rim using an old undocumented trail we'd found the last time up in the area. This is a well defined trail, up to to about the spot we we stumbled upon last time. We lost the trail and just decided to scramble to the top. It took some time and blood, but we made it to some great views.

[ youtube video ]

Third, we'd held out hope that we'd find the tail end of some color. We've historically had a tough time hit the color on the correct week. No real color to be had again.

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

_____________________

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

Nov 09 2019

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Mingus - Clipped Butterfly Loop, AZ

Hiking		Nov 09 2019
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	18.76 Miles	3,645 AEG

Hiking	18.76 Miles	9 Hrs 37 Mns		2.27 mph
	3,645 ft AEG	1 Hour 22 Mns Break	18 LBS Pack

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The_Eagle

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Twist on a great figure eight loop. We navigated shrub and game trails looking for a route to open the door to new looping opportunities. Brute force bridged the mythical puzzle. Minor ego/blood loss. Worthy adventure to curb curiosity. Discovered a couple unknown-old or new trails in the works.

Perfect weather with nice stretches of crunchy oak leaves. Energy dragged on flats and eased descents. Gaddes and Butterfly turned that frown upside down. Ended on a smile.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Western Yarrow Wood's Rose

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
8.4 days past prime

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
a few isolated specimens

	Butterfly Spring	Dry	Dry
	no butter, no fly, no water

	Haywood Spring	Dry	Dry
	Creek looked dry from a hundred feet above

_____________________

- joe

Oct 12 2019

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Upper Mingus Figure-8 Loop, AZ

Hiking		Oct 12 2019
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	11.90 Miles	2,695 AEG

Hiking	11.90 Miles	5 Hrs 2 Mns	2.78 mph
	2,695 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

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7 linked trail guides

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I went up to Mingus Mountain today to see if there was any fall foliage -- unfortunately there was essentially none. There might have been a bit more color on the north slopes of Mingus as compared to the south slopes, but if you go up there looking for some fall color right now you'll be disappointed.

We did see a couple of deer just as we started down the Coleman Trail -- a doe and a fawn.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] White Tailed Deer

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
There was essentially no fall foliage to be seen. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a couple of weeks before you see very much. There were hardly any leaves that had changed color, but there were a few; that is I why I described the foliage as "isolated" instead of "none".

_____________________

Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

May 30 2019

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Upper Mingus Figure-8 Loop, AZ

Hiking		May 30 2019
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	12.00 Miles	2,638 AEG

Hiking	12.00 Miles	5 Hrs 55 Mns	2.62 mph
	2,638 ft AEG	1 Hour 20 Mns Break

Linked

7 linked trail guides

[ checklist ] Cliff Fendlerbush Indian Paintbrush Lupine Phlox Woolly Indian Paintbrush

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It is starting to warm-up in the Valley, so I decided to find a cooler place to hike, and Mingus Mountain was my choice on this day. I had been wanting to do this figure-8 loop hike for a while, so today was the day.

I started and ended the hike near the top of Mingus Mountain. I parked at the Mingus Picnic Area, at the intersection of FR 104 and the road up to the Hang Glider Launch Pad.

I began by doing the south loop first in a CW direction. This loop utilized the Coleman Trail #108, Gaddes 2 Trail #9037, and Gaddes Trail #110. The sequence was: TH>FR 104A>FR501A>Coleman Trail>FR 413> Gaddes Canyon 2 Trail>Gaddes Canyon Trail>FR 104B>FR 104>TH

I really enjoyed hiking on the Gaddes 2 Trail and the Gaddes Trail. The Coleman Trail had some nice views, but there was quite a bit of lava rock on several sections of the trail which slowed me down a bit.

When I finished the south loop, I did the north loop CCW by taking the View Point Trail to Mingus Trail 105A to North Mingus Trail 105. When I got up to the hang glider launch pad I followed the forest road back to the TH. I always enjoy Trail 105, and all 3 of these trails have some nice views. It is amazing how green this area is, especially compared to last year.

If I was doing this hike in hot weather, I think that I would do the north loop first, since it has more sun exposure. There is lots of shade on both the Gaddes Canyon Two Trail and the Gaddes Canyon Trail, so on a hot day saving those trails to finish a hike would likely be a wise choice.

If you timed it right, this would be a really nice hike in the fall if the leaves were turning color.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Moderate
There were more wildflowers than I would have guessed for the next-to-last day of May

_____________________

Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

Oct 21 2017

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

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Upper Mingus Butterfly & Woodchute Martin Loop, AZ

Hiking		Oct 21 2017
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	19.36 Miles	4,795 AEG

Hiking	19.36 Miles	9 Hrs 11 Mns		2.23 mph
	4,795 ft AEG	31 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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11 linked trail guides

Woodchute - Martin Canyon Loop

Martin Canyon Trail #103

Rick Tank Cutoff Trail #104

Woodchute Trail #102

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joebartels

Tortoise_Hiker

The Upper Mingus loop portion of this hike consisted of a CCW track along
View Point Trail #106 North Mingus Trail #105 Mingus Trail #105A FR 104 Coleman Trail #108 FR413 Gaddes Canyon Two Trail #9037 Gaddes Canyon #110 Back to the Truck.

Gaddes 9037, 106, 105A, 105 are my favorites.
Coleman 108 needs some love.

Missed prime color by at least a week.

Ate lunch on the way over to Martin Canyon/Woodchute.

We did this one CW. FR106D Martin Canyon Trail #103 Rick Tank Cutoff Trail #104 Woodchute Trail #102.

Martin Canyon's oak tunnel is the highlight as well as the area around Woodchute Tank.
Rick Tank Cutoff is a steep 1000' climb.

40's to start, 70's to finish.... Perfect

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Turkey Tank Woodchute Tank Upper

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

Dry Lake Tank

51-75% full

Turkey Tank

51-75% full

Woodchute Tank Upper

51-75% full

_____________________

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

1 archive

Oct 21 2017

Tortoise_Hiker

Guides 1
Routes 148
Photos 9,924
Triplogs 3,652

63 male

Joined Apr 02 2005
Mesa, AZ

Prescott, AZ

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Oct 21 2017
		Tortoise_Hiker • Triplogs 3,652

Hiking	11.54 Miles	2,919 AEG

Hiking	11.54 Miles	5 Hrs 29 Mns	2.10 mph
	2,919 ft AEG

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joebartels

The_Eagle

Did this figure 8 with Joe and Bruce. Half of it was new to me and pretty rocky. It's hard not to have a good time with these guys.

_____________________

Tortoise Hiking. Stop and smell the Petrichor.

1 archive

Oct 21 2017

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

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Upper Mingus Butterfly & Martin Woodchute Loop, AZ

Hiking		Oct 21 2017
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	18.95 Miles	4,237 AEG

Hiking	18.95 Miles	9 Hrs 11 Mns		2.19 mph
	4,237 ft AEG	31 Mns Break	5 LBS Pack

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