Arizona Trail Passage 34: FR418 to Kelly Tank

ARIZONA TRAIL PASSAGE 34 SAN FRANCISCO PEAKS

Forest Road 418 to Kelly Tank

Aspens and pines on the Arizona Trail Passage 34

An Arizona “alpine start”-the pre-dawn trailhead call for a mountain hike- can be timed by the stars. Basically, if Orion has faded into the dawn, it’s already too late.

Hip-high ferns near Forest Road 418

The iconic winter constellation with its prominent three-star belt arcs over the night sky from December to late April.

Storm builds over the White Horse Hills

It then disappears for a few months before making its summer debut in the early morning hours of August. Visible low on the eastern horizon around 4 a.m., Orion the Hunter signals the hour Phoenix area day hikers must leave the Valley to beat high country monsoon storms. 

When thunder roars, go indoors.

There are three things to know about summer hiking on Arizona’s mountain trails. First, temperatures will be cooler, but fickle. Second, mountains make their own weather, often churning out thunder, lightning, high winds, and rain after 11 a.m. And finally, being caught on a mountain or in the open during a monsoon storm is a potentially deadly situation.  That’s why it’s smart to follow The Hunter’s lead and head out super early to be off peaks and into safety before noon.

Silverstem lupine bloom June - October

Per the National Weather Service, “When thunder roars, go indoors.” For more lightning safety education, visit:  https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning.

In addition to staying alive, early morning hiking has many benefits.  

Alpenglow on the Walker Lake cinder cone

The crack of dawn is the best time to observe wildlife and witness the syrupy amber “alpenglow” the sun paints on mountain slopes.

Kendrick Peak viewed from the Arizona Trail

The San Francisco Peaks Passage 34 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail is one worth setting the alarm to experience.  The Flagstaff area favorite runs for 35.3 miles between the Weatherford Trailhead at the south edge of the peaks to Babbitt Ranch in Coconino National Forest.

Monsoon clouds over the Arizona Trail

Along its mostly easy course, the trail cuts through aspen glens, dense coniferous forests, meadows, and juniper-studded rangelands.  The entire passage is hemmed in by mounds and craters of the San Francisco Volcanic Field, an 1,800 square mile swath of the Colorado Plateau with over 600 volcanic features.

A hiker photographs a scenic moment on the AZT

Arizona Trail gate at FR 514

Passage 34 rounds the slopes of 12,633-foot San Francisco Mountain ( the Humphreys Peak Trail goes to its summit), a dormant stratovolcano, and heads north through a maze of cinder cones and lava flows.  For a volcano-centric day hike, the segment of the passage that runs between Forest Roads 418 and 514 is a beauty.

The 6.8-mile out-and-back trek begins in a thicket of aspens on the northwest edge of San Francisco Mountain.  An understory of ferns, lupines, and tall grasses lap at the legs as hikers take on the gentle inclines. Within a half-mile, the trail parallels the Walker Lake cinder cone.

San Francisco Mountain viewed from AZ Trail

A hikeable road leads to the summit of Saddle Mountain

Standing at over 8,400 feet, its pine-fleeced crater contains a shallow pond. The swampy pool is not visible from the trail, but a nearby dirt road leads to its innards. To the east, the weathered peaks of the White Horse Hills rise over Deadman Wash.

Western yarrow blooms June - September

The mostly treeless, isolated volcanic landforms top out at 9,065 feet with a choppy fringe of Ponderosa pines huddled at their bases. 

Elk leave "antler rub" scars on aspen trees

As this hike approaches its turnaround point at Forest Road 514, the tree cover thins out opening views of  10,418-foot Kendrick Peak to the west and 8,864-foot Saddle Mountain straight ahead. Both have trails to their summits. At hike’s end across from Kelly Tank, an Arizona Trail gate  marks the route’s transition into more arid terrain where junipers, brush and wide-open spaces commandeer the viewscape. Still, the mountain-borne lightning storms that happen on a near daily basis in summer are something to monitor and avoid.  An alpine start helps.

Gathering storm over the White Horse Hills

LENGTH: 6.8 miles out-and-back

RATING: easy

ELEVATION: 8,300 – 7,721 feet

GETTING THERE:

SOUTH ACCESS: FOREST ROAD 418 TRAILHEAD:

From Flagstaff, go 19.5 miles north on U.S.180 to the northern entrance  for FR151 (Hart Prairie Road) just past milepost 235.  Turn right and continue 1.6 miles to FR418. 

Continue 1.1 miles on FR418 to a dirt parking apron on the right. Hike begins on the north side of the road. Forest roads are maintained dirt suitable for most vehicles.

NORTH ACCESS: KELLY TANK TRAILHEAD:

From Flagstaff, go 21 miles north on U.S. 180 to Forest Road 514 (Kendrick Park Road) at milepost 236.6. Turn right and continue to just past the 3-mile marker at Kelly Tank and park in the dirt lot on the right at the beginning of Forest Road 9006R. This is directly across from an Arizona Trail gate.

Forest roads are maintained dirt suitable for most vehicles.

INFO & MAPS:

https://aztrail.org/explore/passages/passage-34-san-francisco-peaks/

Arizona Trail in a Day 2023

ARIZONA TRAIL IN A DAY 2023

I'm doing ARIZONA TRAIL IN A DAY on October 7, 2023 to help raise $$ for the construction,maintenance and educational programs of the 800+-mile trail. Stuff like repairing fire and flood damage, adding water catchments and supporting trail stewards and volunteers need $$ to fly. So if you can kick in a few bucks for the effort, it's greatly appreciated! 

 

No, I'm not hiking 800 miles in one day--just about 12 (and will drink beer after).

 DONATE HERE:

https://raceroster.com/events/2023/76665/azt-in-a-day-2023/pledge/participant/21168283?fbclid=IwAR30Tcc657zuWo8q7j5eUGY3MDZd_7bzLG7vn4c0WhOZEFe9lLlAwkP8t0g

Arizona National Scenic Trail Mormon Lake Passage 29

ARIZONA NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL MORMON LAKE PASSAGE 29

Old growth pine, spruce and fir trees on the AZT

The Mormon Mountain Passage 29 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail slides through the of forests and high plains of Anderson Mesa and the Plateau Lake region of Northern Arizona.

Pollinators alight on sunflowers near Double Springs

At 14.8 miles in length, it’s one of the shortest segments of the 800+-mile route that runs from the Mexico border to Utah and is also one of the most accessible.

Cliffs and clouds on Passage 29 of the AZT

The segment heads north from the Gooseberry Springs trailhead off Lake Mary Road and crosses paths with several campgrounds, water sources and the busy recreation hub around Mormon Lake Lodge to its terminus at Mayflower Spring north of the Dairy Springs Campground.

Navajo Spring site on the Arizona Trail near Mormon Lake

While the trail maintains its backcountry ambience in Coconino National Forest, it never wanders too far from civilization. That’s why this shady slice of the long-distance route located roughly 20 miles south of Flagstaff is a perfect place for day hikers or trail novices to step out with confidence and comfort. Multiple access points and make dropping in and out of the passage or creating abbreviated day hikes a cinch.

A day hike option that starts near the segment’s north end at the Mormon Mountain trailhead doubles down on the shade for a cool summertime escape.

Double Springs trailhead

  Located near the Dairy Springs Campground on the west shore of Mormon Lake, the trailhead is mainly used for the Mormon Mountain Trail, a 6-mile roundtrip hike to the 8,449-foot summit of the eponymous volcanic peak. From the trailhead, it’s a 0.4-mile walk to the Arizona Trail junction where this trip heads left (south). Smothered in old growth mix-conifer woodlands, mountain breezes whip up a cocktail of earthy-pine fragrance in the air. The fir-spruce deep woods that dominate the first mile gradually give way to a Ponderosa pines and Gamble oaks centric biozone.  Where a short stretch of alligator junipers takes over on a sunny ridge, the tree cover gives up fleeting peeks at the lake.

Wildflower meadow near Navajo Spring

After crossing Forest Road 240, the trail enters Double Springs Campground and follow a road a short distance to the Lakeview Trail on the right. The Arizona Trail follows Lakeview for a mile to a junction at the 3-mile point. For a 6-miler, this makes for a good turnaround point.

Part of Passage 29 follows the Lakeview Trail

Mormon Mountain Trailhead in Coconino NF

However, the Lakeview Trail continues for another mile on a sketchy path up to a scenic lookout spot. It’s an optional detour, but forest clearing operations make it somewhat difficult to follow. The Arizona Trail continues south through meadows and aspen glens.

Trail junction at the 3-mile point

At the 6-mile point just beyond Forest Road 90N, the trail meets the Navajo Spring site. A canopy of feathery aspens and acres of wildflowers foil the intrusion of an arc of rectangular concrete troughs.  Once used to water livestock, the decaying array sits in a sunny clearing where filtered light softens its manufactured edges.  

AZT rollovers simplify passing through gates

Farther down a shallow canyon, the Navajo Spring Trail spins off to the left and continues for just over a mile to Mormon Lake Lodge. This makes for another car shuttle or turnaround point option.

Part of the route follows an old railroad bed

For a longer trek, the trail continues south following parts of an old railroad bed before concluding at the Gooseberry Springs trailhead.

The trail is shady and pine-fresh!

 For hikers who still want more, lots of dispersed camp sites anchor the beginning of the trail’s 29.4-mile Happy Jack Passage 28 that explores the Mogollon Rim.

Gooseberry Springs trailhead

ARIZONA TRAIL IN A DAY:

With this primer completed, you might want to participate in the 6^th annual Arizona Trail in a Day event happening on October 17, 2023. The event rallies hikers all across the state to complete the entire trail (in coordinated segments) in 24 hours while raising awareness and funds for trail construction, maintenance and educational programs. Cool T-shirts, too! REGISTER HERE: https://aztrail.org/events/aztinaday-2023/

LENGTH:

From the Mormon Mountain Trailhead:

To Lakeview Trail Split: 3 miles one way

To Navajo Spring: 6 miles one way

To Gooseberry Springs Trailhead: 14 miles one way

RATING:  moderate

ELEVATION: 7,150 -7,484 feet (overall)

Mormon Mountain Trailhead (Dairy Springs Campground): 7,287

Double Springs Campground: 7,146 feet

Lakeview Trail junction: 7,383 feet

Wallace Spring: 7,333 feet

Navajo Spring junction 7,467 feet

Gooseberry Springs Trailhead: 7,484

 

GETTING THERE:

MORMON MOUNTAIN TRAILHEAD (as described here):

From Flagstaff, go 20 miles south on Lake Mary Road (Forest Road 3) and turn left on Mormon Lake Road (Forest Road 90) past milepost 323. Continue 3.6 miles to Montezuma Road and the turn off for Dairy Springs Campground, turn right and go 0.3 mile to the trailhead. Roads are paved and maintained dirt suitable for all vehicles.

DOUBLE SPRINGS CAMPGROUND:

From Flagstaff, go 20 miles south on Lake Mary Road (Forest Road 3)  to Mormon Lake Road (Forest Road 90) past milepost 323 on the right. Follow Mormon Lake Road 5 miles to  the Double Springs Campground turnoff and continue 0.2-mile to the trailhead. Roads are paved and maintained dirt suitable for all vehicles.

NAVAJO SPRING TRAILHEAD:

From Flagstaff, 20 miles south on Lake Mary Road (Forest Road 3) and turn left on Mormon Lake Road (Forest Road 90) past milepost 323. Continue 7 miles to Mormon Lake Lodge. Park in the dirt lot behind the reservation office and horse corral. Hike begins at the Environmental Education Center across the road. Roads are 100% paved.

GOOSEBERRY SPRINGS TRAILHEAD:

From Flagstaff, go 32 miles south on Lake Mary Road (County Road 3) to Forest Road 92. This is past mile post 313 on the left and signed for Gooseberry Springs. Continue a short distance to the trailhead on the right. Roads are paved and maintained dirt suitable for all vehicles.

INFO & MAPS:

Coconino National Forest

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=55006

Arizona Trail Association

https://aztrail.org/explore/passages/passage-29-mormon-lake/

 

Forest Road 6033C

INTO THE WOODS on FOREST ROAD 6033C

FR6033C on the Mogollon Rim

Forest roads can be sweet escape routes from the swarms of summertime recreationists that migrate from the Valley to the cool Arizona high country. Especially the ragged ones; the ones few people notice or care to explore. This is a boon for intrepid types willing to walk out into the albeit signed and plowed unknown.

McCarty Ridge seen from FR6033C

Forest Road 6033C reveals no obvious destination, its purpose is veiled in a tangle of pines.

A drought-stricken wildlife water hole on FR6033C

The backwoods road located a couple clicks north of the community of Clints Well on the Mogollon Rim is signed but not shown on forest service maps.   It runs on the terraced slopes above the course of East Clear Creek in Coconino National Forest west of the popular Blue Ridge recreation area and C.C. Cragin Reservoir.

Several side roads offer more exploratory options

Passage 27 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail winds over Battleground Ridge through the busy hot spot on its way north to Utah. Camper convoys, boat trailers and conga line of backpackers and day hikers speak to the area’s magnetism for heat-weary outdoor enthusiasts.  With so many rich hiking opportunities nearby, the logic for walking on a non-descript dirt road lands squarely between why and why not.

Kaibab pussytoes bloom May - July

The FR6033C hike is clocked from a gate just beyond the dispersed camp sites on Forest Road 9033H.  Within a half mile, the road meets its first junction where FR6033C continues left.  From the junction, the deeply rutted track is an endless series of ups-and-downs that hop drainages, draws and ridges, accumulating over 1,000 feet of elevation change. For a mind-clearing, uncrowded excursion, there aren’t many distractions. 

A horned lizard vogues for the camera

A wildlife water tank and several signed side roads that appear to disintegrate a few yards in are the only disrupters in an environment dominated by Ponderosa pine trees with their signature straight-arrow trunks and rounded canopies.  Forest water tanks are often dry in summer before the monsoons kick in, putting wildlife at risk. Arizona Game & Fish Department receives no general fund tax dollars to  maintain 3,000 wildlife waters including created catchments around the state and relies on donations to deliver life-saving water to drought-stressed locations. (Not necessarily the water hole shown here.)

Solitude not far from popular recreation sites

You can help by donating at azwildlifehero.com.

At the top of several rises, conifer-fleeced McCarty Ridge cuts a prominent profile on the southeast horizon. Except for wind-rustled branches and the scurrying of critters, it’s blissfully quiet. At the 2.5-mile point, in a shaded hallow, the road veers north and becomes sketchy enough to call it a turnaround point.

LENGTH: 5 miles round trip

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION: 6,894 – 7,132 feet (1,107 feet of elevation change)

GETTING THERE:

From the State Route 87/260 junction in Payson, go 40 miles north on SR87 (past Clints Well) to Forest Road 9033H on the right past milepost 292.

SEND WATER:

Arizona Game & Fish Department

Wildlife Hero Program

https://www.azwildlifehero.com/programs/lifesaving-water?gad=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_7rjkcSEgAMVfg-tBh2KdgcnEAAYASAAEgKf7PD_BwE

 

 

 

Cliffhanger-Lime Kiln Trail

CLIFFHANGER-LIME KILN TRAIL

Yucca bloom on Cliffhanger Trail

In a nutshell, the Cliffhanger Trail does what it says. The edge-hugging multi-use trail in west Sedona lives up to its name with a thrilling and scenic trip through a creek-scoured corner of Coconino National Forest where the courses of Oak, Dry and Turkey Creek collide.

A high point vista on Cliffhanger Trail

While Cliffhanger is billed as an OHV trail, it’s more of a hybrid. Part of its forked route shares space with the 15-mile Lime Kiln Trail that runs between Red Rock and Dead Horse Ranch State Parks with one fork leading to a non-motorized footpath that lands at a secluded floodplain on Oak Creek.

Basket cairns mark the Lime Kiln section of the route

The hike starts at the OHV trailhead with a short walk on Forest Road 9845A. At the bottom of a rise at a green gate, the road bends left and joins the Lime Kiln Trail that’s marked by basket cairns (rock piles wired into pillars).

Meadow and cliffs near trail's end.

Edible skunk bush fruits favored by birds and mammals

The route is also indicated with orange Cliffhanger trail posts.  The road continues downhill on a moderate grade through classic high desert vegetation.

Cat Claw bloom May - August

Yucca, red barberry, prickly pear cactus, catclaw, and gray thorn line the russet, rocky trail.  At the 1.5-mile point, the road crosses Dry Creek. 

Edible red barberry fruits are browsed by wildlife

Lime Kiln Trail crosses Dry Creek

A cliff hanging section of Cliffhanger Trail

Strewn with colorful boulders, there’s rarely any surface water, but a leafy fringe of cottonwoods, sycamores, desert willows and cypress trees springing from the sandy soils soak up subterranean moisture. Beyond the creek, the route swings back uphill on one of a continual string of ups-and-downs that add up to over 1,100 feet of total elevation change for the hike.

Stone foundations at trail's end at Oak Creek

With the serpentine course of Dry Creek below and views of Sedona rock formations all around, the road is hacked from red sandstone cliffs with steep drop-offs.  Except for the occasional juniper or pinyon pine, there’s little shade.

Willows and cypress trees line Dry Creek

That’s why is important to choose a cool day and take plenty of water on this hike. At the 2-mile point, the road splits. Lime Kiln Trail veers left following the north fork of Cliffhanger and Forest Road 9845N, the south fork of the Cliffhanger Trail, heads right.

Western patch-nosed snake crosses Cliffhanger Trail

Dry Creek winds below Cliffhanger Trail

For this trip, follow FR9845N as it rounds a knoll before starting its dive down to Oak Creek. This leg vacillates between canyon-bound grasslands and highpoints with views of the Bradshaw Mountains topping out at a sharp right bend where the route makes a severe dive on a rough, tiered track. Below, a brilliant band of green belies the Oak Creek corridor.

Engelmann's prickly pear cactus bloom May - June

Banana yucca fruits

 The short steep section lands in a pocket of juniper woodland where the road suddenly changes from rusty red to powdery gray. Up ahead at 3.3 miles, a green gate bars motorized access to the remainder of FR9845N. Hikers, bikers and equestrians are welcome to trudge the last 0.4-mile.  Tracing Oak Creek, the deeply rutted narrow road progresses to the hike’s lowest point, a grassy meadow hemmed in by the creek and vertical cliffs. 

The last half-mile of Cliffhanger non-motorized use

A native stone foundation and low walls that might have been a cabin or corral stand on the creek’s west bank.

Trees clutter around Oak Creek

View from Lime Kiln Trail

The stone ruins make for a good turnaround point, however FR9845N continues a short distance through the meadow and another faded dirt track, FR9845R offers a weedy walk through a quiet high desert creek corridor.

Banana yucca bloom April - July

LENGTH: 7.4 miles roundtrip

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION:  4,085 – 3,708 feet (1,100 feet of accumulated elevation change)

GETTING THERE:

From the State Route 179/89A traffic circle in uptown Sedona, go  8 miles west (toward Cottonwood) on SR89A to the Cliffhanger OVH trailhead (Forest Road 9845A) on the left.  This is directly across from the Sedona Wetlands Preserve near milepost 366.

INFO & MAPS:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=83430