I was doing an exercise hike in the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve from their 10th Street Access to the high point on the Sidewinder Trail when I noticed a new trail sign and trail called the Javelina Pass Trail. It was not there the last time I hiked in this part of the Sonoran Preserve. I decided to explore it a couple of days later by doing a loop hike from the Apache Wash Trailhead. It would give me the opportunity to gather the information needed to create this guide. The loop began at Apache Wash TH following the Sidewinder Trail to the new Javelina Pass Trail and returning on the Ocotillo Trail. It was a pleasant hike of a little over 5 miles. There was lots of activity on the trails though now as much this far into the preserve that I saw. This short connector trail opens up new possibilities for hikes in this area from both trailheads and other access points. A good day.
Tom and I began the day planning to hike the Moscow Peak Loop, but couldn't reach the trailhead due to deep snow on E Poland Rd. We got stuck about 1/2 mile from the trailhead and decided not to to on. Grapevine Springs was the nearest backup which neither of us had done so we did it. We parked at a pullout before the end of the road, hence the longer mileage. It was a pleasant hike along the creek. The trail veered off to the north and uphill away from the creek toward the end. We followed it to about the end of the All Trails track and retraced our steps back to the car.
Tom & I continued exploring peaks and trails in the Tonto NE of Cave Creek. Armed with FLYING_FLIVER's track we set out for a short out and back. We started at a point higher in elevation than the track on FR41 (N34 005.4 W111 53.749). There was parking and a forest road sign (I think is said 3193 but don't quote me on that). We hiked up the ridge and joined the track at the first "bump". We turned around at the COOK Triangulation Benchmark. There was not as much catclaw or cactus as on Rover or West Cedar, and there was not as much tall grass so we could see where we were putting our feet, but it was steeper which made for slow going for old me.
Since we were out this far and had time, Tom wanted to find another way to Professor Creek other than the Lime Creek Cabin Trail or Lime Creek from Horseshoe Lake. We explored using FR1059 from two different access points on FR24 in order to reach the vicinity of Grapevine Tank where we could hike down the valley. However that road was very rough so it would be faster hiking and it was unclear if it would shorten the distance compared to the other two choices. Also we didn't know what hiking down the valleys would be like. I guess we'll keep looking.
Tom and I hiked this loop clockwise from FR 24b. It was overcast and was lightly snowing on the Skunk Tank half of the hike. This my first time for this one and I enjoyed it especially the single track on the Skunk Tank descending to Cave Creek. Good hike.
This is the first time I've done this hike since I originally wrote the guide. This is one of my favorite sections of the BCT. Except for the area around the south end at Little Pan Loop, it is a great desert hike. On this day the river was high so I waded across barefoot at the first crossing. The water came up to my knees. For the second crossing near the end of the hike I walked across in my hiking boots. The cold water felt good on my tired feet. The AEG is higher than in my original guide because I parked at the top of the last hill down to the Little Pan TH. My SUV doesn't have the clearance for that part of the road. A late lunch at Rock Springs Cafe rounded out the day.
Tom and I planned on hiking two trail less peaks today. Rover was the first. FR1095 to the trailhead was wet and muddy. There were large rocks which had fallen from the banks due to recent rains which we moved to get by. There was room for one car before the gate which we utilized. The hike started on what appeared to be an old two track. That soon ran out and it was on to serious bushwhacking. That was tough; 3 hours for 2.4 miles. We stayed on the shoulder we started on and came out two peaks north of Rover but it was an easier bushwhack along the ridge to our objective. Fantastic views from the ridge making the effort worth it. We followed FLYING_FLIVER’s gps track, more or less, back to the car. I found the markers for the summit and Rover azimuth. On to Blackjack Point.
After hiking Rover Peak Tom and I hiked to Blackjack Point, almost. I was really tired after River but decided to give this one a shot. The first problem was finding the trailhead. With no cell service I couldn’t pull up directions on my cell phone even though I had done it at home before the trip. When we finally knew where to go, it took much longer than we thought to get there. I suppose this was a good thing as it gave me more time to recover from the first hike. The road walk part of the hike was uneventful, just a little muddy in places. The bushwhack part was tough. There was a lot of holly to go through. I gave up after what I thought was the last climb and found more climbing and holly ahead. Tom got farther but didn’t get to the end either.
Finally finished this section of the Maricopa Trail. I did it in three hikes, 2 last spring and the last today. This last was from Blue Wash to the ranger station on Bartlett Dam Rd. It was a great day for the hike. This segment was not as nice as the other two but was needed to complete this section of the Maricopa Trail. It was a good workout.
We followed Oregon_Hiker's track up to the dam and back. What a nice area. When we "eyeballed" the creek from the Lime Creek Cabin trail, Tom said it would be a flat walk along the creek from Horseshoe Lake. So we thought we'd give it a try. It was pretty flat along the creek, but more than half the distance was on the road which was impassable for anything other than a serious off-road vehicle. The road walk part accounted for most of the AEG.
I hadn't hiked the long version of this loop in over 10 years. It is still a great hike. I skipped the up and down at the end making it somewhat shorted with less aeg than described in the guide. I kept to FR51 for the trail 327 portion of the hike to match the guide and track. There were several new single tracks on and off the road marked 327 which are worth exploring. I also noted that the handy trail guide is no longer available at the trailhead but can be downloaded from the forest service website.
Did the loop in a counter clockwise direction. The section north of FR249E and the western side of the trail were fairly shady but the middle part was through a burn area with no shade. The tread was great for hiking at a steady pace and there were no steep sections. The latter third of the hike was through an aspen nursery (my words), where the young trees grew very close together. The last mile got shady again. Saw only one other hiker on the trail on a Saturday.
We combined the Thompson Trail #629 and the West Fork Trail #628 - Black River for a one way shuttle hike starting at the Thompson Trail TH. The Thompson Trail lived up to its reputation as a beautiful hike. As a result it was fairly busy with other hikers. We had originally planned to include the 628-630 loop to make the hike longer but it was getting warm and the loop did not look very shady from where we were at the junction of 628 and 629 so we skipped it. We climbed out on 628 just before the rain started. On the way back to Greer for lunch it poured. There was even sleet on AZ273 near the West Baldy trailhead.
This was a nice warmup hike for the day after breakfast in the town of Greer, AZ. It was an easy, shaded, hike with a scenic rock visible in the center of the hike.
Did this as a shuttle hike starting at the Sheep Crossing Point parking area on AZ273 and heading to Greer. I didn't know the name of the trail when I started so had no description or track to follow, however, the trail was well used and there were only a few sections where I had to really pay attention to stay on the trail especially in the middle part of the hike. It was a nice hike along the river usually but not always in the shade. Evidence of the Wallow Fire was on the east side of the river sometimes crossing to the trail side. There were quite a few other hikers especially at the northern end of the hike.
Did this as a shuttle hike starting in Greer. The beginning was a shady forest hike with most of the elevation gain over the first mile and a half or so. The altitude and my lack of hiking for three weeks slowed me down. I was dragging. There wasn't a lot of shade for the last half of the hike, but thankfully there wasn't much climbing either. It wasn't a stream side hike, but there was a pond early on. I didn't see any other hikers on this hike. Overall the hike was pleasant.
Did the loop around Woods Canyon Lake Saturday morning before heading home after 4 days of car camping on the rim. It is a pretty lake and a nice hike. However, it is quite popular so solitude was not possible. We started about 8:15 and were lucky to find any parking near the lake. The boaters and fishermen were out in force. The place was really jumping. What can you expect on a Saturday on the rim! We didn't stay on the official trail the whole time due to all the fisherman trails. But as I said it was a nice hike and was on the way home.
Hiked Gentry Canyon as far as Bessemer Crossing which made a nice loop. The canyon walk was pleasant. The canyon crawl part was short and after it opened up we didn't have to criss-cross too many times. Saw some elk crossing the canyon before Bessemer Crossing. The hike back on FR40/40A was quite nice. The road was more like a two track trail than a jeep trail. I missed a turn just south of Bessemer Crossing but realized my mistake in about .2 miles, backtracked, and was good to go.
This was a easy hike compared to Bear Canyon to Mule Crossing the day before. I had done this hike a couple of times before several years ago. The "option 1 trailhead" was easy to find but locating the trail beyond all the blowdowns would have been tough without a GPS track. Once on it we just followed the depression in the ground to the canyon where the forest opened up. From this point on it was a pleasant walk through a meadow. Things were pretty much as I remembered them. Good enjoyable hike.
This was a tough one. We had to criss-cross the canyon multiple times to avoid the blow-downs and rockiest places. There were some game trails but not always. 5 miles of canyon crawling was more than enough. The walk back on the road was a welcome change. There was a lot of forest clearing work that had been done along the road. As with the day before we had a lot of solitude.
Did a late afternoon hike around the lake. We came in via FR208 at the south end and hiked CCW. The trail was there on the east side but was up and down the bank. We saw a couple of fishermen but otherwise had the place to ourselves.
WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.
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