BARBERSHOP TRAIL

BARBERSHOP TRAIL This undulating route penetrates the thick forests of Barbershop and Dane Canyons where, in autumn, a wide variety of trees and plants paint the landscape in a riot of warm color. Along this trail, a multi-level canopy of foliage begins on the forest floor where oaks with spiced mustard tinged leaves compete for space among compact blue spruce trees. Above the oaks, Bigtooth maples blush crimson against cool, blue green firs. Towering high above the confetti-like layers of airborne leaf litter, graceful white-barked aspens and Ponderosa pines seem to brush the clouds in a wind-fueled arboreal ballet. The trail, which is named in honor of a long-gone sheepherder who used his sheering blades to give haircuts to cowboys, ducks in-and-out of the forest, and passes through sunny meadows of spent ferns and golden-brown grasses. Adding visual interest to the trail, are two lush, soggy spring sites which feed hardy daisies and yarrow flowers that bloom stubbornly until the first frosts of late autumn send them down for the winter. LENGTH: 4.5 miles one way RATING: moderate ELEVATION: 7,200 – 7,600 feet PEAK COLOR: early October GETTING THERE: From Payson, go east (right) on Highway 260 for 30 miles to Rim Road (Forest Road 300, which is located across from the Rim Visitor Center). Follow FR 300 for 23 miles to Forest Road 137. Turn right on FR 137 and drive 4 miles to the trailhead, which is located across the road from Buck Springs Cabin. Information: Coconino National Forest, Mogollon Rim Ranger District, (928) 477-2255, fs.fed.us/r3/Coconino/recreation/mog_rim/barbershop-tr.shtml