Saturday, May 26, 2018

West Spruce Trail 264 - Prescott National Forest

Weather:  73ยบ, dry, sunny, windy

About this Hike:  This is not to be confused with Spruce Mountain near the Groom Creek area of Prescott.  Spruce Mountain Lookout was the first hike I ever did in Prescott National Forest.  But trail 264 is actually two separate trails.  One branches off near town from Thumbe Butte Rd. and the other begins on Doce Mine Rd. just off of Iron Springs Rd. 

We opted for the latter trailhead.  Doce Mine Rd. isn't hard to find—and if you keep your eyes open for it—a sunburned sign indicates Trail 264 turnoff is ahead while you're still on Iron Springs Rd.  You can try these GPS coordinates for the trailhead (I take no responsibility but these coordinates worked for me:  34°34'12.4"N 112°37'22.4"W).  Also note that Google Maps incorrectly spells it 'Dosie.'

The road to the trailhead is bumpy but in OK condition.  My Xterra handled it well.  A Subaru Crosstrek was also eating up this road.  From the turnoff, it's 2.7 miles down Doce to the parking area.  There's a large campfire ring and turnoff on the right, and this is where I'd suggest parking.  I chose to park a little further up on an area of fine black, lava-like rock. 

Trail #264 starts toward the south and is noted by a brown sign.  The trail goes through transitional areas of high-desert scrub, gamble oak, and some pine.  These pines were mistaken for spruce—hence the trail's namesake. 

Shortly into the trail, you'll come to a dry creekbed.  Lined with grey-blue rocks, and towering cottonwoods, this is a great spot to stop and enjoy the scenery.  Look carefully upstream for a granite formation with a perfect cross in it. 

As you leave the creekbed watch for a few cairns, as the trail can be hard to follow.  From here it's a steady ascent into the Sierra Prieta mountains.  I would suggest pants, as there is some bushwhacking, although mercifully it's not long until you're on well-blazed trail again. 

My hope for this hike was to be among ponderosa forest.  As the summit comes into view, deep green veins in the rock indicate pines ahead.  Trail 264 merges with a well-signed old Jeep road.  Follow the road into the forest.  Beyond this, I'm not certain how much further the trail goes.  We were reaching out mandated turnaround time.  We walked through the forest for a bit, and it eventually gave way to clearing again.  Admittedly, this hike seemed a bit disappointing.

However, as we descended along 264, the late-afternoon light brought out more granite formations and old pine trees.  Skull Valley was in clear view.  The bushwhacking didn't seem as bad.  Somehow I managed to find more zen and enjoyment on the downslope side of this trail.  But the workout climbing up was worth it too.  Someday I might go back and try the other end of 264 and see if it puts me into more ponderosa forest.

As an epilogue to this post:  If you want to hydrate and add in some calories, I might  suggest checking out Barnstar Brewing in this area.  Beer tasting at this cool, family-run brewery might have been the highlight of my day.


Ponderosa forest ahead!