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| Hiking | 10.27 Miles |
2,670 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.27 Miles | 6 Hrs 4 Mns | | 1.94 mph |
| 2,670 ft AEG | 47 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I attempted to hike Peter's Canyon on Sunday; however, the tropical storm-force winds convinced me otherwise. Monday's winds, although still breezy, weren't forecasted to be as bad and were expected to decrease as the morning progressed, so, of course, I picked out something on a ridge  . Started from the Cross F TH with no other vehicles in the lot, which was probably due to the 37-degree temperature and the arctic wind. I decided to do the loop CCW, getting the easy portion out of the way, and as expected, the AZT portion of the hike was in great shape. When I got to the turnoff, I briefly contemplated finishing out the section of 22 to the Saddle Mountain Trail, but the artic winds once again convinced me not to. Once off the AZT, the trail was initially easy to follow; however, it was a bit hit and miss near Marion Spring as the scratchy stuff was being super fed. Once I got past the spring, near the old corral and fenceline that was in severe disrepair, the grass took over, and the trail disappeared. As long as you know the general direction and stay close to the track, you will be fine. Took a break near the Upper Sheek Creek Spring area and started the biggest climb of the day. The trail here is easy to follow, although a bit muddy, rocky, and torn up in some places due to the cattle; the climb is steep but fairly short. The trail vanishes again at the top of the ridge, all the way to Brunson Tank, which is like a small lake; it's massive, and even with cattle in the area, the water did not look that bad at all. Past the tank, the trail is easy to follow again, although slippery in some areas due to the rocks. Came across my horse friends near the power lines and followed 393 down a bit before jumping off on a game trail back to the TH.
A good amount of scratchy stuff once off the AZT, which my legs took the brunt of, and with all of the steep, slippery sections, which I got through no problem, I fell on my pumpkin 20 yards from the TH . Came across a couple of deer and zero people all day, not surprisingly. Great hike through an absolutely beautiful section of the Mazzies, it was long sleeves all day with the ridiculous wind, which for me rarely happens.
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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Brunson Tank |
76-100% full |
76-100% full |
| | | Tons of water, it's like a small lake. |
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Marion Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Did not look for the spring, but some nice pools with light flow below the area. | | _____________________
Hiking is just walking where it’s okay to pee.  |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
. Stopped for a few to talk with a father and son in Barks Canyon who were on their yearly backpacking trip. The father was 83, carrying a thousand-pound pack, but was still out there doing it. S helped him make a couple of adjustments to his pack, and off they went. I absolutely despise Cardiac Hill, as my knees were screaming at me the whole climb down. The lower we got, the more mall traffic we came across, with a ton of cars and people at the mall TH. 
. Other than that, just a nice, quiet hike with beautiful scenery. Tons of deer tracks, but no wildlife sightings, just some birds and a nice looking Cardinal with no human sightings except for a guy parked at the TH who asked if we were hiking. Not sure what gave it away 
. Uneventful hike back as my knees were not happy with me descending the steep sections. Temps were good all day, with a little bit of refreshing wind higher up; however, down lower, the brush and grasses were wet, which cranked up the humidity. Overall, the trail is easy to follow as there are tons of carins to assist. There is a little brush here and there, and up by the ridge, the grass is thick in spots, but nothing horrible. Tons of signs of wildlife, but none seen, including the two-legged kind. There were no fresh prints along the trail, or along the very small section of AZT we walked. 
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. With this being an 'easier' hike, I decided not to wear my ankle brace (which turned out to be a stupid decision). Nice easy hike moving past the GR and SF junctions before turning into Deer Creek, where I lost focus for just a split second, rolling my left ankle, the same recovering ankle I should have had a brace on 
Water was plentiful, flowing nearly the entire way except for the bottom section. I would love to come back to hike this trail in the fall when the colors are plentiful.
