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| Hiking | 3.63 Miles |
833 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.63 Miles | 2 Hrs 2 Mns | | 2.04 mph |
| 833 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | 12 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | TRAVERSE ONLY
Note: Additional notes detailing an alternate climb/path to the crest have been added at the end of this entry...
This entry provides my impressions of the traverse from the Wild Mustang trail in the Tortolita Mountain Park westbound to the northern terminus of the Cochie Springs trail. The two named trails are maintained by trail crews from the city of Marana, while the traverse is an unmaintained, cairned footpath. This description covers only the traverse (from East to West) beginning at a jump off point on the Wild Mustang trail and ending at the terminus of the Cochie Springs trail. There are many descriptions elsewhere of the Wild Burro and Wild Mustang trails which bracket the traverse. Additionally, fricknaley and markthurman53 have provided GPS tracks and descriptions of the traverse. After reviewing my track, it is essentially fricknaley's so I would direct you to his posting.
The Wild Mustang jump off point can be reached from either a hike up the Wild Burro canyon via the trail of the same name, or from the longer approach of the Wild Mustang trail. I used the Wild Burro trail up the canyon/wash past Alamo Springs to the junction with the Wild Mustang trail, approximately 3 miles. From the parking lot at an easy pace it took me a little more than an hour to get to the jump off.
From the junction of Wild Burro and Wild Mustang, proceed west/left. You will almost immediately come to a cattle gate. [There are cattle in both canyons and you have a fair chance of seeing some around Cochie Springs]. At .15 miles from the trail junction you will cross a wash, and at .2 miles the WM trail crosses another smaller wash. {See note at end of this entry.] This is the traverse jump off point. There is a Wild Mustang metal marker (see photoset of jump off point).
The traverse begins heading north up the small wash. The trail is not cairned at the jump off point (most likely to prevent confusion to users of the Wild Mustang trail), but after 40 yards or so you will begin to see cairns along the stream bed. The stream bed is mostly gravel, easy to walk on, and is relatively clear (not many boulders to avoid nor heavy vegetation to fight through). I would describe the majority of this part of the trail as gentle. At .37 the stream bed splits - bear left, and again at .42 miles where you bear right. The trail will leave the wash to the left and parallels it about 50' feet up the slope. The reason is to bypass an impressive 50-75' stream bed wall. [You could follow the stream all the way to the wall but from above it looked like it would be a steep climb out of the wash to regain the trail on the left.]
The trail departs the wash for good about 50 yards past the wall, where you will hopefully see cairns on the right. If you lose the cairns in the wash, just follow it to the wall, climb either side to rejoin the wash, and then pick up the trail as it departs the wash to the right about 50 yards west.
The trail is now in more open ground and cairns are usually visible upon close inspection of the terrain. The next objective is to reach a small saddle so even if you deviate from the path just climb/head westerly toward the saddle. Cairns can help you regain the trail should you stray a bit.
From the saddle the next point is to reach the crest of the trail, which is just north of the very large outcropping (see photoset). The ascent to the crest is not strenuous, the trail mostly gravel and small rocks, and is pretty comfortable to navigate. Upon reaching the crest, and much to my surprise, I realized the climb up the Wild Burro canyon to Alamo Springs was the steepest of the entire ascent.
Having hiked the Cochie Springs trail numerous times and looking at the steep western walls of the ridge line, I was not looking forward to the descent into Cochie Springs canyon. I expected a knee-straining, thigh burning steep descent. While there were a few steep yards interspersed in the initial descent, the footpath tracks far enough north that the descent was much easier than I anticipated. Once again, the trail was mostly rock or gravel following a discernible trail, with very little scree to deal with. Although I had a walking stick, the descent could easily be done without one. There was no sliding or boulder hopping as many of my other Tortolita bushwacking adventures entailed. I considered it a mostly easy, long descent. [Note: this is not to say that hikers choosing the west to east traverse will regard the climb in the same way.] The trail descends toward a large hill (see photoset), then passes over the tops of several more as it descends a ridge line into Cochie Canyon. You eventually descend into lower elevations filled with Palo Verdes, but the trail again is clear enough that you don't have to bushwack your way through any part of it.
Javelina and cattle signs are everywhere at the lower elevations, and eventually the trail joins a cattle trail and crosses a wash with the remnants of a dam on the left/east. You continue on a cattle path in the final descent to Cochie Springs and the Aeromotor windmill. One note about the spring (a cattle trough): in wet and warm weather the area can be swarming with gnats and flies. If you are planning to stop for a bite to eat, you might want to continue out of the canyon. There is a nice rock outcropping about .8 miles south that this almost always bug free (but also unfortunately shadow free).
From the northern terminus of the Cochie Spring trail, your options are to reverse your hike or continue on the Cochie Springs trail back toward the Ritz Carlton facility or the trail head parking lot. Using the Hotel Spur trail, it's a little less than 4.5 miles back.
I've been anticipating this hike for a long time and it was a very pleasant surprise. There are some great views, including Picacho Peak framed between two hills, you get a good feel for the entire Tortolita Mountain Park, and for being off the beaten path it is a very nice trail with almost no bushwacking required (at least at this time of year). This traverse is certainly an unexpected gem, especially For those who have hiked all the maintained trails in area.
Further observations:
When I hike off the maintained trails and expect heavy bushwacking or tall grass, I wear gaiters for both snake and spine protection. I wore them on this hike, but the trail conditions and absence of heavy vegetation at this time of year made them optional for me.
Pima County and the State have already scouted a trail which will link the CAP trail to the southern half of the Cochie Springs trail. It would be really great if this traverse trail could some day be officially incorporated into the official trail system.
There is no potable water on this route. The trough at Cochie Springs may or may not have water in it, but it's generally pretty gross.
The total distance for this hike was approximately 10.5 miles:
Wild Burro Parking Lot > Wild Burro > Wild Mustang Jump Off > Traverse > Cochie Springs > Hotel Spur > Parking Lot
Note on the WM Jump Off Point: The small wash which forms the trail for the first part of the traverse is the same wash which ends just north of the Alamo Springs bench on the Wild Burro trail. The wash is easy walking, there is only one rock wall 5-10' which requires navigating over or around. Following the wash shaves about .1-.2 miles off the distance from Alamo Springs to the WM jump off, so the distance saved isn't significant. But if you prefer walking up a small wash rather than taking the Wild Burro/Wild Mustang trails, it's an option. You will see the WM trail and the metal trail marker at the jump off point.
Coordinates:
Wild Mustang jump off point: 32.50319, -111.06540
Stream bed wall (approximately, I think I took the reading a bit southeast): 32.50657, -111.06807
Crest: 32.50742, -111.07366
End (Cattle trail/road north of Cochie Springs): 32.50872, -111.08883
Fricknaely GPS: [ gps route ]
Photoset:
1. Wild Mustang Jump Off Point
2. Stream bed/wash with multicolored rocks
3. Outcropping target (pass crest just north of outcropping)
4. Cochie Springs canyon
5. Descent target (trail passes over this and descending hilltops SW as descend)
6. Traverse junction with cow path 50 yards north of dam.
10/31/20 Most posted tracks of the traverse either ascend or descend a dry stream bed (depending on which canyon you start in - Wild Burro or Cochie. The route departs the Wild Mustang trail near it's northern junction with the Wild Burro Trail and uses the dry stream bed (see the main report above).
This week I did an additional traverse from east to west (WB to Cochie), using an alternate route to the saddle from which the descent into Cochie Canyon begins. I started at the Hotel Spur trail near the Tortolita Mountain Preserve trailhead parking lot. The route uses the Hotel Spur, Upper Javelina and Wild Mustang trails to reach a point close to the high point of the Wild Mustang Trail. I had mapped my route out on a map I wanted to take, and when I reached the jump off point (see coordinates below) much to my surprise (and delight) there was an unmaintained but clearly discernible and cairned trail leading NNW. I soon realized I'd seen this trail on my summits of the WM peaks and it runs from my jump off point all the way to start of the descent into Cochie Canyon. It initially runs NNW toward one of the summits and then turns NNE following the ridgeline until you reach the saddle/descent point. I initially followed it NNW for about .3 miles before heading NNE. (I left the trail for a bit since I didn't know if this trail actually climbed the peak to the NNW and I'd already been to its summit). Whether it did or not, I found the trail again not too far to the NNE and followed it to the saddle.
From the jump off point the climbing is minimal - most of the climb is achieved prior to getting to the jump off point. From the jump off point the fauna allows fairly easy bushwhacking if you don't want to follow the trail itself. Vegetation is sparse enough that you can easily avoid the cholla, prickly pear and other troublesome desert plants.
I'll add that the descent to Cochie Springs was pretty much as I described in the initial report, although the descending trail seemed a bit more unstable (more gravel and loose rock) due to the extended drought we've had this year.
This traverse option keeps you on more discernible trails for almost the entire traverse. The terrain on the ascent is open enough that there is minimal bushwhacking even if you leave the path. Since I hike alone and had not been on this route before, I wore gaiters for snake and brush protection. After completing the hike I don't feel wearing them was an absolute requirement.
Jump off point (90 degree bend in the Wild Mustang Trail): 32.49923, -111.07667
Wild Burro/Cochie Springs Saddle/Descent Point: 32.50767, -111.07349
From the Hotel Spur start, the distance to the jump off point is about 2.9 miles.
The distance from the jump off point to the descent point is about .9 miles. |
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