NoPal's Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Sep 15 2016

NoPal

Routes 2
Photos 31
Triplogs 4

38 male

Joined Jun 04 2016
Sedona, AZ

Jack's Canyon Trail #55

Sedona, AZ

Jack's Canyon Trail #55

Sedona, AZ

Hiking		Sep 15 2016
		NoPal • Triplogs 4

Hiking	6.80 Miles	2,143 AEG

Hiking	6.80 Miles	20 Hrs		0.76 mph
	2,143 ft AEG	11 Hrs Break	22 LBS Pack

no routes

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Munds Mountain Trail #77

Schnebly Hill Trail #158

Munds Wagon Trail #78

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This is a little overnight backpacking trip I did. As far as Sedona backpacking, I really enjoyed this series of trail for a few reasons: 1) water! Several cattle tanks along the route meant I didn't have large carries OR go thirsty 2) solitude! Jack's Canyon, Munds Mtn, and Schnebly Hill trail are reliably quiet, the popular Munds Wagon Trail is quite tolerable after a night of backpacking in the Munds Mtn Wilderness. 3) the VIEWS! As a Sedona resident I can be a little "vista'ed out" sometimes but the views from Munds Mountain are truly something else.

I started my trek at the Jack's Canyon/ Hot Loop trailhead near Village of Oak Creek. The walk to Jack's Canyon Tank is fairly boring to me personally as it is mostly flat, exposed, and freckled with expensive homes nearby. The tall grasses here landed my dog 3 ticks the first time we came out. I fill up a little extra water at Jack's Canyon tank to get me up to Munds Mountain as I've found the drainages/ pools further up to be unreliable. I should stress that this water is HEAVILY FILTERED as I am currently using an MSR Guardian that pump clear water from very bad sources. Some people might not be comfortable with water sourced from livestock tanks.

After the tank, the trail hits the wilderness boundary and follows a pretty drainage through Jack's Canyon all the way to the saddle at Munds Mountain. This part of the trail is reliably shaded and cool though the trail itself can be faint and easy to lose in parts. Keep an eye out for cairns and footprints. The climbing picks up a bit and really amplifies in the stretch up to the saddle at Munds where you will be rewarded with some good views back towards the interstate and Horse Mesa. Atop the saddle is a junction for Schnebly Hill Trail, Hot Loop, and Munds Mtn.

The trail up Munds is very faint, steep, and rocky for the first few hundred yards. Once back in the pines there is a small clearing looking out towards the San Francisco Peaks, Oak Creek Canyon, and the closer red rocks around Mitten Ridge/ Cowpies/ Merry Go Round that would make a good place to camp or snack. I pushed on towards Munds Tank and bushwhacked from there to my own campsite overlooking Sedona/ Airport Mesa/ the Black Hills.

Walking back down to the junction for Schnebly Hill trail/ Hot Loop/ Jack's Canyon and taking the route for Schnebly Hill trail will take one past the Schnebly tank to fill up on water for the downhill trek back to Sedona. I ended my hike at the Munds Wagon Trail trailhead where I had a ride pick me up but there is no reason you can't walk into Sedona. A nice alternate might be to hike up to the Schnebly Hill vista and take Huckaby down to the 89a and catch a ride into town from there.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Indian Paintbrush

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] HAZ - Selfie

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AZT sobo 2016'

1 archive

Jul 22 2016

NoPal

Routes 2
Photos 31
Triplogs 4

38 male

Joined Jun 04 2016
Sedona, AZ

Packard Trail #66

Prescott, AZ

Packard Trail #66

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Jul 22 2016
		NoPal • Triplogs 4

Hiking	5.80 Miles	1,526 AEG

Hiking	5.80 Miles	7 Hrs 23 Mns		0.99 mph
	1,526 ft AEG	1 Hour 32 Mns Break	16 LBS Pack

no routes

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Parsons Trail #144

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"Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen" inspired me to make this trek. Feeling perhaps a bit cocky after dayhiking the Grand Canyon last week I neglected to hit the trail until 10 AM. Unfortunately, after crossing Sycamore Creek and making the turn onto Packard trail, the route goes UP,up,up for just under two miles before mellowing out on Packard Mesa. The sun and heat made this feel much more arduous than it needed to be. Fortunately, the views of Sycamore Creeks brilliant erosion from Black mountain and the layers of red stained rocks foreshadowing the monuments in Sycamore Canyon make even a tough time feel good. I enjoyed glimpsing the San Francisco Peaks as the trail topped out on Packard Mesa. Here the cairns begin in earnest and the trail seems to break into three unwound braids that all follow the same course but in parallel lines. The walk across the mesa is wide and open with just a few junipers and some dwarf mesquite here and there. As you approach Sycamore Tank a red mountain appears up trail that marks the approximate location of the gated boundary for Sycamore Canyon wilderness. After some confusing signage, Packard trail heads through the corral style opening at Sycamore tank, hugs left, and exits through a similar corral style opening though the barbed wire enclosing Sycamore tank. From here, the trail is again somewhat faint but keeping an eye out for cairns or generally walking towards the red rock mountains will lead one to Sycamore Canyon. Since I was here for the ruins, I turned at the wilderness gate and headed right for that rise. The ruins in this area are extremely impressive in terms of how they're built into the cliff and how intact they are. Should you happen to visit this area be sure to limit your impact as much as possible for future visitors.

I retraced my path back to the parking area under the welcomed shade of monsoon thunderstorms. Although I could see the rain falling in several places distant on the horizon, I remained (luckily) dry. Coming back around Sycamore Creek I had the fortune of finding a big patch of wild brook mint which I happen to collect and dry for tea though on this occasion I left it for a future visit.

Sycamore Tank

26-50% full

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AZT sobo 2016'

Jul 08 2016

NoPal

Routes 2
Photos 31
Triplogs 4

38 male

Joined Jun 04 2016
Sedona, AZ

Loy Canyon Trail #5

Sedona, AZ

Loy Canyon Trail #5

Sedona, AZ

Hiking		Jul 08 2016
		NoPal • Triplogs 4

Hiking	14.50 Miles	1,930 AEG

Hiking	14.50 Miles	8 Hrs 28 Mns		2.40 mph
	1,930 ft AEG	2 Hrs 25 Mns Break	19 LBS Pack

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Secret Mountain Trail #109

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I arrived at the Loy Canyon trailhead at 6:30 AM after a short drive from one of my favorite "week night" camping spots near Cockscomb/ Aerie. A sign at the trailhead warned "Bee Activity" fairly recently though I wouldn't experience any all day (the fly population, however, seems quite robust). The sun stayed fairly hidden behind Bear mountain for the entirety of the first flat stretch of (sandy!) trail trekking through Hancock Ranch and the (dry) creek bed of Loy Canyon. The cover in this canyon was surprisingly abundant (reminded me of nearby Fay Canyon and Boynton Canyon) with many alligator junipers joining the usual manzanita, gambel oak, and mesquite. The red rock scenery was a bit tough to appreciate behind the moderate cover of foliage but there were definitely some poignant and interesting formations before the trail completely gave up the canyon for the mountains. The climb up to the Secret Mountain trailhead was pretty exposed and for me felt narrow. Short but sweet. Peeking into Secret Canyon from the ridge at the junction for Secret Mountain trail was a fun experience having just hiked that canyon a few weeks ago. From here I took the trail right to Secret Cabin. Having hiked to Taylor Cabin in Sycamore Canyon last week, Secret Cabin was devastatingly unimpressive. Little more than an old corral and a sparse lob cabin frame remain. I chose not to hike on past the cabin as several triplogs seemed to suggest there was little to experience by doing so. Perhaps next visit... I should note that there were pools (read: standing water) in sections of the creek that ran along the trail to Secret Cabin. I personally would not want to drink the stuff, but I suppose one could pump/ treat in a pinch. I waled past the junction for Loy Canyon on my return and hiked the little ridge that takes one to the Wilderness boundary/ trail register for Secret Mountain trail (I'd thought of hiking to Hidden Cabin but didn't realize the trail became a 4x4 road...) before heading back down the trail to Loy Canyon in search of the cliff dwellings. It took some careful scanning of the canyon walls to notice the dwellings but I'm glad I found them because for me they were the gem of the hike. After scrambling to the uppermost cliff dwellings in Boynton Canyon a few days ago, these cliff dwellings almost felt like a safe and easy trek! Today's high was forecasted at 97.

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AZT sobo 2016'

Jul 01 2016

NoPal

Routes 2
Photos 31
Triplogs 4

38 male

Joined Jun 04 2016
Sedona, AZ

Casner - Taylor Cabin - Sycamore - Dogie Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jul 01 2016
		NoPal • Triplogs 4

Hiking	23.00 Miles	4,271 AEG

Hiking	23.00 Miles	11 Hrs 20 Mns		2.76 mph
	4,271 ft AEG	3 Hrs Break	19 LBS Pack

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Casner Mountain Trail #8

Taylor Cabin Trail #35

Sycamore Basin Trail #63

Dogie Trail #116

Partners

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I've wanted to do this loop to Taylor Cabin for the longest time. After a dayhike down Dogie to Sycamore Creek last year and some fooling around on and around Casner this year I did some more homework and opted to do the damn thing from the Casner approach...

After camping near the Casner mountain trailhead, I got an early start just before 6 AM. I opted to drive a little further to the "ROAD CLOSED" gate under the power lines that run up Casner (this is the right of way gate for Casner Mountain). Getting the climb up Casner done first before the heat of the day sets in is recommended. Despite carrying 5L of water the climb wasn't too bad with trekking poles. The views going up are wonderful but the novelty of peeking down into Sycamore Canyon to your left AND the edge of Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness to your right is just fantastic. Pictures won't do it justice...
After spotting Mooney trail snaking up from the edge of RRSM wilderness I came to the junction with both Mooney and Taylor Cabin. The shade of this somewhat overgrown descent was quite appreciated. Taylor Cabin trail is cairned in abundance all the way down to the creek.

I did a dumb thing and boulder hopped ALL THE WAY from Taylor Cabin trail to Dogie trail, stopping at Taylor Cabin with quite a bit of help from Gaia GPS. My entire excursion boulder hopping was exhausting, hot, and dry (I would not recommend) however it did save me the anxiety of bushwhacking and trying to find the cairns marking the trails comings and goings thru Sycamore Canyon. My extra dumb choice was boulder hopping this in running shoes (read: not boots or even trail runners) it would be a hell of a place to slip or twist an ankle... Personally, I can rationalize exhausting and dangerous boulder hopping as "more direct" but ultimately it's just a preference and again, I wouldn't recommend this to another hiker unless as a last resort.

Taylor Cabin was cute. If you go TAKE A COUPLE PENS AND PENCILS. There are no writing implements for the log book. On my visit there was one pan of clear water that had run off the metal roof (about one liter) after the recent light showers in the area. Don't count on seeing water on this loop though, pack enough to safely execute your hike without finding water on the route. I almost packed less water because of the recent showers and I'm so glad I thought better of it. There is a binder with information about Taylor Cabin inside, it's worth flipping through if you like historic details. An intrepid hiker may also find the nearby gravestone of "Jak" (a cattledog I presume), the corral ruins, and adjacent storage cave. During my visit, mice seemed to have set up shop fairly well in the cupboards.

The boulder hop down to the Dogie junction was slow and exhausting. The junction is unsigned and easy to miss as the cairns are spread wide on either side of the wide canyon floor. I set a GPS waypoint on my track for this junction. Dogie trail felt like a moving sidewalk after all the boulder hopping. The trail is in good shape and has plenty of camping spots between the creek and Sycamore Pass tank.

	Sycamore Creek at Taylor Cabin	Dry	Dry
	creek bed and area is dry. one catch pan at cabin had clear water, maybe one or two liters at most

	Sycamore Creek at Taylor Trail Jct	Dry	Dry
	dry despite a few showers over the last 4 days

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AZT sobo 2016'

2 archives

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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