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| Hiking | 9.20 Miles |
2,200 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.20 Miles | 4 Hrs 50 Mns | | 1.90 mph |
| 2,200 ft AEG | | 12 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Looked for a lesser used trail and a bit of a workout, this one still delivers. Three other vehicles parked when I arrived with no one at the trailhead. Took the right side of the Pine Creek Loop and met 4 young hikers coming down the steep portion, used my hiking pole to keep distance, saw no one else until on the way back. Day started off sunny and warm , clouds and breeze moved in after a couple of hours that kept the temps down always seems to me the temps are cooler after crossing the fence line anyway. Shortly before reaching the end of the Pine Creek Loop was hearing the sound of falling water in stereo from both Camp Creek and Pine Creek. Enjoyed the sound of running water on much of the route. Trails are good but be prepared for mud and running water on portions of the route. Most all the varieties of wildflowers were represented but not abundant, some decent patches of lupine. No problem rock hopping over the creek and after enjoying the scenery that would make the Flintstones feel at home reached boulder flat. Decided to take the steep rutted route over to the cabin , slid down into the little valley and across the stream . I can report after a thorough inspection of its grocery store like interior ,that there is no toilet paper at the cabin not now anyway  ,no canned goods, actually it hardly has a roof still, the breeze today didn’t inspire confidence on standing inside. Sadly I didn’t find the bed frame outside suitable for napping and having been to the corral decided to trudge back with my now slightly heavier pack. After crossing back over the creek I ran into a couple of fellow high risk hikers one had a USS Forrestal hat on, we reminisced ,code for embellish, about our old Navy days, had to remind him divers located more pilots than the reverse. While we were occupied in conversation two lady hikers passed by, was told there was a group of 13 hikers who were marching around the Pine Creek Loop , glad I missed that ! Took a snack break by Camp Creek to enjoy the running water. Traveled the other side of the Pine Creek Loop and used a cow path to explore down to the aptly named Pine Creek, clever how the pine forest has now disguised themselves as Saguaros. After enjoying the water flowing by the empty beach headed back to the parking lot ,still with only 3 but not the same vehicles. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Lupine was moderate, poppies, hedgehog, thistle, hyacinth, daisies |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
The Pine Creek Loop and lower Ballantine Trails are 90% burnt. It'll be decades before this area returns to what it once was. The Pipeline Trail is becoming more obscure but still there's evidence of some badass fat tire motorcyclist utilizing it. No water anywhere, but that was expected this time of year. Just right of A-Frame (east of the southern prow) of Whorled Wall is the most direct route to the summit. It's loose in the first third but surprisingly solid through the upper two thirds. There's a huge dead Agave stalk marking the top out. Yeah, it'll eventually fall over but there are several more Agaves growing in the same place that may continue to mark the route.
Since exploring down the canyon was off the table we decided to continue on the trail and possibly {hopefully} make it all the way to the cabin. On my previous trip, I was solo and a group of older hikers informed me that there was a rattlesnake in the cabin. That was a no go for me that day and the other time I was here I got caught in a snowstorm and had to abort ASAP! So we are hiking along and I think I forgot how much uphill this trail had! Up, up, up or up, down, up is kinda how it goes. The fire damage was sporadic and not awful, but not great either. The trail’s condition has changed and it’s definitely a place where you need to watch your feet a lot. Slippery terrain or rocky terrain with hits of bushwhacking at least every 1/4 mile. We only saw one other couple out there, and we asked if they’d made it to the cabin but they said no. They actually said they weren’t even sure if it made it through the fire, so naturally I was a bit curious. You’ll go left at the split to head over to the cabin. The trail to get there has tons of loose rock, slippery sections and catclaw everywhere. When we were approaching, we were excited to see the cabin was unharmed and still standing! It was full of random items (I.e. spam - most likely very expired, lol). I had a tad of a creepy vibe in there so we didn’t stay too long. Heading back up was much easier than the way down and we started making pretty decent time. When we arrived back at the junction, we opted to loop the other section of the beginning of the trail, since that was going to be more prime viewing for sunset. It heads up the Ridgeline and I enjoyed those views! The sunset was a stunner and we even finished before it was totally dark. Note that although the temps were in mid 70’s it actually felt quite hot on the trail several times; it’s very exposed and hard to find shade.
The back part that loops behind the cabin is a little bushwhack-y, I guess maybe slightly more than I was expecting so my exposed ankles got a bit cut up. Weather was great and lots of water flowing after the previous week's rains.
