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Hiking | 15.00 Miles |
800 AEG |
| Hiking | 15.00 Miles | | | |
800 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This morning before work I hiked the Robinson Hollow Trail up and around to where it connects to the Flat Top Trail, and then back to the car. I accessed this via the non-signed trailhead off 12th St in Eagar. Take Main Street in Eagar to School Bus road--(where Main St. bends to the right it then becomes School Bus.) Immediately turn left onto Water Canyon Road. Then take the first left, onto 12th St., just past the big old saw mill bldg. Where 12th St. turns a corner and becomes Line St. you'll see a small dirt driveway off to the right. Park in the small dirt area there, surrounded by fences, in front of the self storage units. You'll see the gate with Forest Service signs and the trail. Once you go thru the gate the trails are signed. (The folks who live near the trail are used to the hikers, horse riders and mtn. bikers going by along the first few hundred feet of the Flat Top fork of the trail.)
Today, just getting over a 6-week bout of a bad cough, I opted for the Robinson Hollow Trail, looping around to catch the Flat Top trail and back down to the car. Pretty much my first real exercise in 6 weeks. I followed this trail, which I helped to build in 2000, around and up through the little canyon called Robinson Hollow to the top of a saddle. A few minutes hike past the saddle you'll come to a junction. Take a left here and go up the hill to the Flat Top Trail. (If you take a right at this first junction you'll end up down in Murray Basin.)
After climbing several switchbacks you'll reach the Flat Top Mountain Trail. Turn left to get back to your car. Or turn right to go to the top of Flat Top, about a mile, for the nice views. The loop itself is around 3 and 1/2 miles.
The surprising thing about this morning's hike was that after a bout of coughing during the first 5 minutes, I got into a rhythm and felt pretty strong. I didn't feel that I had lost a great deal of my fitness during the six weeks of illness. I kept my usual brisk pace and didn't get winded.
This area is pretty dry right now. It has always been a dry area, but right now it's really looking a bit forlorn. The main vegetation consists of junipers and pinon pines, with some ponderosa pines in Robinson Hollow. Recent extreme windy conditions (around 60 to 90 mph two days ago, according to local talk) have knocked down a few dead old trees along the trail, but nothing was blocked. I don't like hiking here in summer except in the very early morning or in the evening. It is pretty hot and dry on these slopes--none of the high alpine feel you'd get at the higher elevations above 9,000 feet.
If you just want to climb Flat Top, you can skip Robinson Hollow altogether, and just follow the signs at the trailhead to the top of the old road, which has been converted to a trail. At the top of the road to find the actual summit is a bit of a challenge, but basically you turn to the south and find the highest ground. It is pretty flat up there, and the summit is way over on a point on the south end. I usually just go to the top of the rim and sit on the rocks overlooking the towns of Eagar and Springerville. I can see the roof of my house from there. And when I get home, I look out my living room window and see Flat Top.
This is a good early morning hike for me. I do it on my mtn. bike, too, but I'm not completely well yet, am not ready to ride just yet. I can start at 6 a.m., hike for a little over an hour, and be back home to get ready for work. It was chilly and cloudy this morning, but not too cold, probably around 39 degrees. I am really glad to be hiking again after being sick for so long! I have a backpack to Havasu Falls coming up in a week, and it looks as though I can get myself ready for it! |
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There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life. |
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