Mazatzal Peak Loop, Mazatzal Wilderness, AZ Only 50 miles from Phoenix, the Mazatzal is at once easily accessible and astonishingly remote. The Park of Mazatzals: Retreat down Barnhardt. I could probably filter it, though I was thankful that I was already at full water capacity and should just keep going. That part of the Verde River that flows along the edge the Mazatzal Wilderness is Arizona's only Wild and Scenic River Area. I pushed on without a pause, hoping to crest the saddle ahead soon. The path is wide and rocky at first as it heads through a stile then begins following the south side of the drainage of Barnhardt Creek through a scrub forest of emory oak, alligator juniper, scrub oak, one seed juniper & prickly pear. A few miles along this trail and maybe things would make more sense. Suddenly the trail crested the saddle and I got an open view down into Y-Bar Basin itself. There were a few tricky parts to the trail here. I did my best to ignore it. Time slipped away as I relaxed near the junction of Y-Bar and Mazatzal Divide Trails. After a brief bout of confusion (the Y-Bar Trail is not clearly marked, only a cairn and a fork off the Barnhardt Trail) I was heading south from the trailhead. There have been other fires up here, little ones that burn a few acres before being snuffed out, but the Willow Fire was the primary destroyer. Might be time to start scaling back in my old age :). The 'basic' loop is still 15 miles long and has a ton of exposure and elevation difference. The other view that began to open up was the long one west, one that I immediately recognized. There was a mention of pools in Deadman Creek from a triplog and that was it. ATA Passage 23 Mazatzal Peak Loop. That wasn't a good sign. Basic HTML tags allowed (a, b, i, pre). For the most part they sucked in with the cuts and did a good job with preserving elevation. Mazatzal Wilderness Running. And the trail was well-defined. I should have been able to, over this short distance and a direct view, yet nothing was there. I had heard that this is a good place to camp and watch the evening sun play on that peak, just hadn't expected it to be aligned this well. I walked under tall trees, through another area that had been spared from the fire, and kept my eyes peeled for trail signs or cairns or anything. Y-Bar Trail was just the beginning of my weekend. Resources. Brody Trail heads south from here, meeting back with the Divide Trail a few miles away (though where it meets I wasn't able to see), and Davenport Trail heads west. One of my new pieces of gear on this outing was a Sawyer Mini, which I used on my last trip out here without much luck. My tight schedule was looking good as well. Other than that there was just the easy trail all the way to the Barnhardt Trail junction. There wasn't much of a drop or climb on these. and passes several scenic campsites and springs. Well, maybe it was a bit closer. It was easy to make out even over the miles of distance, something that gave me confidence about the condition of it. This trail does circle around a massive mountain, of course, and there are deep cuts for the drainage off of it. There must have been a fire along here at some point. That pack of women from earlier today had mentioned this campsite and also a nearby Bear Spring, which was not marked on my map. I pushed quickly down the trail, taking advantage of the downhill grade and doing my best to ignore the encroaching vegetation coming up. There were a few things to take care of - change to dry socks, eat some breakfast snacks, filter that dirty water I had collected from a spring - so it wasn't a complete break, just a pause from hiking. Much of the burn area was within the Mazatzal Wilderness, which explains all of the charred stumps and half-repaired trail system. The gain is worth it. US-60, AZ-87, and AZ-188 make a huge triangle that encompasses both Four Peaks and Superstition Wilderness, with AZ-88 cutting the triangle in half and forming a loose divide between the two wildernesses. 42 Mazatzal Peak 194. I saw tons of deer prints out there, but I think it should be “place of the Manzanita”! Over the next few days I wanted to make an ambitious fifty mile loop around the Mazatzals, circling up and down the ridge and eventually coming back to Barnhardt Trailhead without a single double back. There were some basic tasks to get done - socks to change, snacks to eat, water to drink - and the brisk wind here on the saddle was most welcome. > ATA Passage 23 Mazatzal Peak Loop. My tarp kept the…, Early morning light shone down on Barnhardt Trail and I beamed right back. A few things were a bit off. I finished readying the rest of my backpacking gear, took one last swig of hot coffee, and set down the trail. It may have been the elation of visiting a new area or the fantastic views around me. Updated July 23, 2016. The highest point of Mazatzal Wilderness, Mazatzal Peak, is surrounded by a triangle of trails. I really appreciate your well articulated insights. Now there was only waist-high manzanitas that did little to block me from the hot sun above. Mazatzal Trails The Mazatzal Wilderness contains over 252,500 acres of the Tonto and Coconino National Forests. Some manzanitas did attempt to overtake the trail here. Instead of fire-damaged trees and shrubby recovery growth there was a stand of Pinyons with a fantastic campsite right along the trail. Hot morning sun lighting up Suicide Ridge. Ignoring the water bottles I pushed on past the table and firepit, eager to see if there was anything else. I wasn't sure what to expect here. I was not doing the popular loop, or at least was not planning to. Between the earlier switchbacks and some more gain through the cuts I was almost halfway up the ridge already. They might only run during heavy rains as far as I knew, but it was still something for me to pessimistically ponder upon as I climbed. Unfortunately, the stand didn't last long. I had just drained one of my three 1-liter bottles and could use a refill. 33 Rock Creek Loop 154. Things were more exposed within Shake Tree Canyon. It climbs up to the highest trail-accessible point (over 7100!) Comments may be removed if they are deemed inappropriate. I wandered a few yards west on the Mazatzal Divide to a large campsite and took off my pack. I tumbled down into the wash and found a good spot to drop my pack next to the deep pools. Maybe next time I'll be ambitous enough for a bush-wacking expedition to the summit. And there wasn't many cairns out here. That must be AZ-188, the road that heads down through Jake's Corner to Roosevelt and, eventually, Globe too. Along the way I bumped into a spring flowing across the path, creating a wide section of muddy trail with several small pools and trickling falls below. On the south side was a hitching post and empty water trough, obviously broken, with a great view of Mazatzal Peak. The van was parked at Barnhardt Trailhead, an hour's drive from Phoenix, right on the edge of the eastern Mazatzals. Slowly I made my way around the base of Mazatzal Peak, the eastern shoulder that is also known as Suicide Ridge, and the next mound showed up around the bend. The Divide Trail got interesting as it curved and descended from the Barnhardt junction, becoming more rocky and grassy and dropping quickly. The path crossed a small, rocky creek (again, dry), climbed up with sudden haste, and then re-entered a land of mixed trees and low brush. There isn't much water to be found, so carry in everything you'll need. Climbing it from here didn't seem completely crazy any more, maybe just a little loony. The Park of Mazatzals: North of Hopi Spring, The Park of Mazatzals: Retreat down Barnhardt. I had just climbed close to 3000' from Barnhardt Trailhead and was well over an hour ahead of schedule. That climb didn't seem to be too much, either. The vegetation did not ignore me. After thirty minutes of this I checked in on my progress. I told them about the clear spring along Y-Bar before we parted ways, them heading down and along the base of Mazatzal Peak and me pushing uphill to the saddle ahead. After a short rest at the saddle I continued forward, following a slanted trail along the slope of Mazatzal Peak in and out of numerous cuts. 37 Chopper Camp Creek 172. I was almost level with sections of Cactus Ridge, which had seemed so menacing and lofty earlier, and the flat plains around Barnhardt and Rye were ridiculously far below. I didn't want to rest that long, not with Chilson Camp so close, so as soon as I had a full belly of water and was back up to a full capacity I hopped back up to the trail and continued on. A breeze would have been great. It had also curved even more around Mazatzal Peak and I was now walking north with the sun on my back. I looked around a bit, trying to get a feel for the area. There was still some desert growth - a few prickly pears, various species of pincushions, and the ever-present agave - but there were enough trees to shade the trail and offer a sharp difference from most other hikes I've been on. After one pass I pulled out my GPS with the route loaded up and tried to track it that way. Before that fire this wilderness had been relatively lush with tall Ponderosas and twisted Pinyons, and now it was all stumps and manzanitas and the only an occasional stand. And then the saddle showed up. A three-day trip around Mazatzal Peak in the Mazatzal Wilderness Area near Mesa, Ariz., serves up nearly all four reasons to grunt and pack. Now, instead of towering cliffs of rock piled high to look forward to there were barren rolling hills. Probably. I could be back in the car and in Phoenix before dinner if I turned now. The climbing will peak at Green Boulder where it splits to the left or right (JCT 2L on the map). This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of the U.S. State of Arizona.. Pine trees clustered around the distant saddle. This route starts in the Barnhardt Canyon along a creek. There was a v-shaped view between two huge mountains gave me a narrow view of a long, straight shot down to the general Horseshoe Basin area, north of where I had just done the Club Cabin overnight a few weeks ago. Offering expansive views throughout the heart of the Mazatzal Wilderness, this long path follows the prominent set of mountains between Mount Peeley and North Peak. 74 Miles 119 Kilometers of Trail 1 Recommended Route 0 Easy Trails ; 4 Intermediate Trails ; 2 Difficult Trails ; Trail Run Project is built by runners like you. I was hit with two related thoughts. The manzanitas clogged up everything and forced me to make wide, avoiding loops, constantly wandering on and off the plotted route. Fighting the urge to shiver in the predawn coolness, I busied myself with getting my gear ready to go. This route can be made into a loop with the addition of the Y Bar Trail. After the thick thorny patch of trail it swung back out and began a steady climb. Sheer bluffs plunging down from Cactus Ridge. I was still cold from the morning and not yet sweaty from the hike, which could have been due to my ridiculously light pack or the high starting elevation or just excitement over visiting the eastern Mazatzals. “ One of the trails that forms the Mazatzal Peak Loop. The topographic elevation of a summit measures the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level. Striking cliff faces thrusting out from Mazatzal Peak. Closed a pull request at shutterstock/public-api-javascript-sdk. Air traffic overhead was the only reason this trip didn't score a perfect four. Other features found on this map include: Coconino National Forest, Fossil Springs Wilderness, Horseshoe Reservoir, Humboldt Mountain, Mazatzal Wilderness, Mogollon Rim, New River Mountains, North Peak, Pine Mountain Wilderness, Prescott National Forest, Tonto National Forest. Phoenix, right on the Divide trail got interesting as it should climbs the south flank of Mazatzal loop. 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