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| | | A Preacher A Diamond and a Dark Hole, AZ | | | |
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A Preacher A Diamond and a Dark Hole, AZ
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| Hiking | 14.63 Miles |
2,644 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.63 Miles | 6 Hrs 53 Mns | | 2.33 mph |
| 2,644 ft AEG | 37 Mns Break | 14 LBS Pack | | |
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| Partners |
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none
[ show ]
| no partners | | I'd had this one drawn up for a while, looking for the weather to cool off.
I started in a borrow pit area on FR365 just north of the 260. The initial drop into the side canyon was steep and loose. Down at the bottom the water was running just a bit, probably from the rain the night before. On the way outbound, I took the high road to the south of the creek. On the return trip I took the prefered north 2 track.
Once you hit Preacher Canyon and make the turn to the north on FR1295, begins a steep and rocky TRAL (Tonto Recreation Alliance) route. It's nothing I'd enjoy driving up or down. It crisscrosses the flowing Preacher Canyon a few times
2 miles in, the road splits and 1295 bears to the right. Here you take a left to go to Wildcat Spring. After the full spring box, the 2 track peters out to a use/game trail. It's easy enough to follow, but you have to make your way through some catclaw. After the smooth rock area out of the pines, I lost all signs of any kind of a trail. I just headed straight up to the Diamond Point lookout.
I'd never been up here before and with the clear skies, the views to the Mazzy's and north to a good portion of the rim were spectacular.
[ youtube video ]
[ youtube video ]
Heading down the lookout road I made my way over to some more 2 rack to look for a hole in the ground. The cave was found easily enough. I dropped down in it a bit, knowing that I was not going in too far,being solo. Another time
The next part of my track took me down a draw that I thought would be a bushwhack. I lucked out with old 2 track and game trails. Tall pines and a pretty canyon made the time pass quickly.
I made my turn and headed up Oak Spring Draw. This one was quite a bit slower. Lots of downfall, narrow and much steeper walls. It also had a strangely erie feel to it. As with most of the other areas I'd been in on this hike, there was plenty of bear scat and tracks. The top of this draw, dumps you out to the top of the views from Diamond Rim.
A couple notable items from the return. At the Lookout road, finding a route back into the drainage is a bit tricky. You have to do a bunch of zig zaging to find your way through the crap.
Dropping back down on the rocky 1295, I was shocked to find fresh motorcycle tracks heading down. At every turn I expected that I'd be dialing 911 soon. He made it.
In lieu of making the short, steep, loose climb to the finish, I thought I'd follow a 2 track around hoping it would link up with my parking area. It didn't, so I bailed to a steeper, looser, longer option.
Perfect temps on the day |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
some of the Ash has a hint of yellow |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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| _____________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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